BlissDom Canada Made Me Do it!
This past year I participated in yet another BlissDom Canada conference with the biggest difference being, I got to attend the conference along with being a handmade market vendor! Going to this event was a big deal for me. It had me face a number of fears I had never encountered before and gave me the confidence I have today!
BlissDom made me do it!
Photo credit to Daniel DiPiazza of @rich20something on Instagram
1. BlissDom made me get over shyness. Leading up to the conference, a fellow attendee posted that her ride had backed out and she was looking for someone to carpool with to Mississauga. If you would have asked me any other time in my life, I would have said no but instead I took the leap and we gave Siobhan a ride. She turned out to be super awesome and was great to have a friendly face to bump into the whole 3 days. We even went to dinner the first night. Who knew strangers could be fun! đ
2. BlissDom made me get over sleeping alone in a hotel room. I have serious anxiety about being alone at night and my roomies Brandy and Nicole (and miss E too!) weren’t going to be there until the next night. Thankfully hanging out with Siobhan for most of the evening and bringing my sewing machine meant I felt a little safer!
3.BlissDom brought together the greatest trio of women for the biggest belly laughs, pizza party, photobooth strip and even some happy overwhelmed tears. Spending those 3 days together with Brandy and Nicole meant more to me than they’ll ever understand. I hope it will become a tradition because BlissDom will not be the same without them.
4. BlissDom made me meet new people without having a “security person” with me. I rarely go to events or parties alone because I get very uncomfortable meeting new people and finding a common ground. With BlissDom we all had blogging (and twitter!) as a common ground so sparking conversations was much less daunting knowing I could question what they blogged about. Plus the conference ambassadors were so helpful and reassuring with any questions.
5. BlissDom made me share my stories. I didn’t think people actually wanted to hear what I had to say or write and it turns out people do! Getting tips and advice on how to write, gain sponsored posts and how to build a better blog, gave me the confidence and drive I needed to continue on!
6. BlissDom made the internet a less scary place. I am in 3 incredible groups that I have not only met the people from but gained friendships from. Had I not forced myself to pick up Siobhan (a stranger at the time) I would have never had the confidence to meet some of the lovely ladies of Makeology in person. Going to a “random” house in Toronto to meet a group of women from online was scary but hey if I can do it at BlissDom Canada, I could do it then! (Don’t worry, they weren’t even a slight bit scary, rather the greatest people I have ever met!) I’ve even had the opportunity to meet some of the lovely members of the NCW Addicts group and nothing is more fulfilling than meeting people who appreciate the handmade work you do! Lastly but most importantly, the Dirty Little Bloggers group is our safe zone, our free place to ask all the questions we feel silly or stupid asking. We get non-judgmental answers and help from the greatest bloggers out there.
7. BlissDom gave me the confidence to write for other blogs. An opportunity came up to write for Jenn Perry’s That’s What She Said site. I didn’t think it would happen but it did! It’s true people liked how I wrote and what I was writing. I haven’t had time to add most posts for Jenn but it pushed me to write tutorials like I’ve never done before!
Without BlissDom, I wouldn’t know Nicole, Jenn, Julie, Sarah or Hannah. I wouldn’t have been able to become friends with Julie and watch her chicken farming and read her insightful blogging post. BlissDom made me grow up, made me confident and gave me some of the best friends I’ve ever had. Sure most of them I’ll only see at the conference but at least we have twitter to stay in touch!
Thank you BlissDom Canada, I’d be lost without you!
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