Alive as Always: 7 Years of Alive as Always

Today marks the 7th anniversary of this blog. It was on this day 7 years ago that I finally published my first post on this space. I've told the story many times—and you can always read it on my about page—so I'm going to refrain from telling it again. Every year on this day—if I remember to—I do something different to celebrate. In 2013, I shared my favourite posts from the previous year. In 2016, I talked about the lessons I learnt about blogging the past 4 years. In 2017, I re-introduced myself to new readers—and since the blog has changed so much since I started. Now, though, I'm clean out of ideas of what different thing I can do here. I wish I had a tradition like Damaris and Dani, with their year in review, but I don't—so, instead, I'm going to copy their idea and take you on a walk down memory lane. Be warned, I'm never the kind of person who'd cut a long story short—I'd cut a longer story long—so you may be in for a long ride. Feel free to click away, if this doesn't interest you.

2012

This was the year with the biggest growth for the blog—nothing unusual, I suppose, since I was obviously still so excited. As with most fashion bloggers, it all started in the bedroom—so many outfit photos taken there, mostly from the same angles. I didn't have a DSLR camera or a tripod, just my trustee Canon Powershot XS200—it was pretty good, but without any adjustable viewfinder, I had to keep going back and forth between shots. It was in April that I started trying to take photos outside—without anyone's help. That summer I was very much into photography. My friends and I had little photography experiments together—using a DSLR we didn't own—and my friend Rezy was kind enough to switch cameras with me until October—his was a Nikon D3000. I became bolder in taking photos in public places and asking Firu and some friends to help me with photos—mostly Rezy and Sakurako. In December, I finally took the plunge and bought myself a Canon EOS 600D with 18-135mm EF lens—using the money I won from New Look. Still the camera and lens I use to this day.

In terms of style, I was still figuring things out—both in fashion and in blogging. I started following tons of bloggers and finding new trends in clothing. I started shopping a whole lot more, including to flea markets and thrift stores, finding so many incredible gems I still love to this day. There were a lot of sartorial adventures, like clothes swapping with my sister—who lived in Australia at the time—and designing my own dress—to be sewn by a tailor. For a girl who never cared much for fashion and trends, this was a huge turning point for me. There were a multitude of trying out combo, trends and styles—mismatched items and crazy patterns included. There were a plethora of awkward poses and cringey photo angles, to say the least. This was the year I started to look at things and places as props and backdrops for blog photos. Any cute or interesting place for a photo and I would get there in a jiffy—even if I had to trespass, although nothing serious, mind you. All of a sudden, 2013 was right before my eyes.

2013

The year kicked off with my first ever guest post over on Jen's blog—little did I know it would spark a (sort of) friendship we now have. That same month I also shared my first backlogged posts from Paris—from the month before. Still the best trip I've ever had! This year I also become more regimented about my posting, making monthly schedules for each series. I started a series called Illustrators Arise, where I interviewed some of my favourite illustrators—a lot of whom still remember and connect with me to this day—and Mix It Up a Notch, whered I share different ways of styling a clothing item. There were also occasional series, such as Ghosts of Seasons Past—favourite outfits from the season in previous years, inspired by Tieka—and Sartorial Obsession—clothing items I've been lusting over recently. Having my DSLR helped a lot with photo-taking—even by myself and without a tripod—because of the adjustable viewfinder. It became a lot easier and I've gotten better with it. Editing my photos, I have tried out other bloggers' tutorials and tried to come up with my own look too now and then.

The biggest thing for me this year is the Rana Plaza tragedy. Like most people, when I found out about that tragedy, it shook my thoughts and beliefs on fashion. I started to re-think what I thought I knew about the industry and how I may or may not have contributed to the incident. It sparked a lot of future ethical fashion and fast fashion-related posts, including this one. It re-shaped how I shopped for clothes, although at first it was obviously not perfect. And I started to showcase some slow fashion brands and designers, such as Rosaspina Vintage and Book of Deer—both of whom were so sweet about the posts. Towards the end of the year, I asked a few of my blogger friends to guest post (for the first time!) while I was away for Christmas and New Year. It could be a stressful experience, but was worth the friendships that blossomed from it afterwards. I honestly believe that this is the best blogging year, if I only knew what 2014 held for me.

2014

I don't know if there will ever be a time when this year won't be a hard one to talk about. Starting off, I still continued on with a lot of series and guest posts from the previous year. The first new things I did were take photos in RAW format—it was revolutionary!—and a Reader Survey—that's just me overestimating myself, really, because it was a massive fail. By the end of January, I decided to reduce blogging considerably—only one post in February!—because I was determined to really build my portfolio to apply for art school (again) in April. [SPOILER ALERT: It didn't end well.] By April, I started to become more active online, because ModCloth contacted me and I was over the moon—although it wasn't a sponsorship of any kind, sadly—and I started my Youtube channel...for some reason. By May, I was packing up my bags to leave for home—and damn if that wasn't the hardest thing I'd ever have to do. I've got a lot of support, not only from family, friends and Firu, but also from some of you guys. It meant the world to me! And I also posted my first ever post in Indonesian, in commemoration of Independence Day. But soon it was time to leave.

Going back home mainly means reuniting with my sister, and for the longest part, there were a lot of sister style posts. However, it also means getting diagnosed with thyroid tuberculosis—despite the fact that I was losing appetite and weight, as well as severe shortness of breath, it didn't occur to me that I might need to see the doctor earlier. The treatment wasn't invasive, but I did get two surgeries—a month apart—towards the end of that year. That post-op was a bitch. Ahem, back to blogging. My sister had a tripod, so I used that a lot as soon as I got home—or forcing my sister to do it, actually. It was sometimes more convenient, but I still prefer the makeshift substitute. Blogging became more sporadic back home—I was too devastated by my crushed dreams and LDR status—but in December I decided to do weekly recipes and end with a lineup of guest posts before 2015 hit me in the face.

2015

By January of this year, I became even more regimented about blogging. Having virtually no routines, I was free to do as I please for the greater part of the year. From day one, there were a total of 5 series I was determined to post every month. Aside from the aforementioned Illustrators Arise and Mix It Up a Notch, there were also monthly Overviews—basically a sum up of the previous month—and recipes—sparked from last December—and 3 Things—which I ditched after a few months. To keep myself busy, I also decided to start posting illustrations along with my outfit posts—greatly inspired by Nancy Zhang—but quit after 3 months, because it was just too much work. This was the year I started to become more active in my networking, that I was able to collaborate with a lot of people, including a style swap I did with my friend Divina.

Aside from old friends, I also made a ton of new friends. My stepmom introduced me to the founder of Kana, when I said I wanted to try the art of batik. Daria from Kittenhood—unfortunately, no longer available, I believe—was so kind to ask me to guest post on her blog. I even got to meet up with Tasha, a friend I met through instagram, for an OOTD outing—which was the start of our annual outings. Since there were no more Christmas breaks, I moved the guest post tradition to Eid al-Fitr—with only two guests. It was also the year of opportunities. I've got my first sponsorship experiences, with Anjolee and Aisle Style. Nothing much, I know, but it was definitely a start. Outside of the blog, I started selling my own LINE stickers—which you can still buy, just FYI. Towards the end of the year, I started Uni once again, which I think galvanised my decision to change the way I blog in 2016.

2016

Although I said I would cut down on blogging, I still posted frequently this year. All the old series still continued on, with a twist. The Illustrators Arise this year was exclusively Indonesian illustrators—a few of which ended up keeping in touch with me. There was also a new feature called Ethical Fashion, which basically showcased ethical fashion brands I've found online. Speaking of which, this was the year I decided to splurge on Book of Deer—and it came with a free-of-charge piece from Eilidh, such a sweetheart! I also decided to introduce some of my favourite films and books more regularly. This was the year I first found out about Fashion Revolution Day—and, of course, I just had to contribute with a Haulternative. In May, I went above and beyond, by refusing to name unethical brands on my outfit posts—even if they were old items. Somewhere along the way, I ditched two of my ongoing series—guess which ones!

Online, I was looking for more ways to network, and so joined various Facebook groups and pages, including IFB, which drove me to post Link à la Mode from time to time—mostly influenced by my friend Devinne. Offline, I met up with a new online friend and one I've met last year already—the latter became a sort of tradition, somehow. It was also the year I frantically explored museums, galleries and exhibitions—often with my sister, but sometimes by myself too. Although my blog felt a whole lot more professional and I gained a lot of friends and supporters from the series that I did, by the end of the year I decided to change the regime again. I wanted to be more myself and be less...structured and rigid about the way I blogged. With that thought in mind, I welcomed 2017.

2017

In the end, I stuck with only three series from the previous years—none of which required any sort of research. The schedule every month pretty much consisted of one overview, one random thoughts, one recipe, one remix post and two outfit posts. It felt like the best mix at the time. I changed a few of the formats, though. The Overview posts, for instance, were more focused on things I read, watched, listened to and highlights—through instagram photos. It has allowed me to be more excited to discover new books, new films or series and new artists or music. The Recipe posts had a major breakthrough when my Photography class gave me assignment on food photography (and styling). It changed the way I arranged and work on my posts—to this day. In April, Fashion Revolution introduced the change from Fashion Revolution Day to Fashion Revolution Week—and I took it a step further, turning it into a Fashion Revolution Month on the blog. Aside from the blog, I've also become quite active on my Youtube channel—focusing mostly on books. It was a bit stressful, but a ton of fun!

Giving myself free rein was probably the best decision I've made for this blog. It has allowed me to do what I really want to do and make the most of it. Taking the energy from last year, I went out of my way to discover new-to-me museums—coincidentally, while also discovering new places to eat. It was tons more fun to take photos by myself again. It has also allowed me to post random (and possibly controversial) posts, such as The Soundtrack of My Life and I Am Not a Feminist. Networking-wise, I managed to meet up with two online friends twice—making that four OOTD outings—as well as acquired a sponsorship opportunity from Paperless Post—which opened up more opportunity for me later on. Offline, I quit Uni again early in the year, but continued at a different campus later in the year. I was finally able to make peace with leaving Germany and my ongoing LDR status—which was a long time coming. It was a year of permanent changes...then 2018 rolled around.

2018

Ah, finally the last year—and then I'll be done with this rambling. I started the year with a somewhat shocking news—or maybe not—to some of you: I decided to quit blogging. Okay, quit is a strong word, it's more like I decided not to care too much about it anymore. There are no more any series that have regular schedules. No longer any structure to the way I do it. In fact, I could go a whole week without posting anything. It's down to only 4-5 posts per month. I wanted to use the time I used for blogging for other more important things, like creating illustrations and quality time with Firu—while he was here all of a sudden. I also used it to read so many more books—resulting in 60 for the whole year—and binge Netflix like crazy. The posts were pretty sporadic, the topics were very dependent on my mood and the quality varies greatly—but most of them are things I actually care about.

In August, I started transitioning to the zero-waste/low-impact lifestyle. It's something I've been meaning to do for years, but was finally pushed over the edge with the help of my sister's impulsive nature. It's been very encouraging to see other people's responses to this transition—and even more so to see people's curiosity and interest in doing it themselves. I didn't meet up with any online friends this year, but managed to really value those IRL ones I've known for years. Also, despite my sporadic posting, somehow I received sponsorship opportunities from Campaign Monitor—twice! I was also trusted, by my friend Gina and her Japanese friends. to shoot some photos for their fashion designer collective, Vint-Age. It was a really unique experience for me.

2019

And now here we are. I can't believe how long ago it has been since the first time I typed words into this field. If you see my first post, you'll notice the difference in writing—if nothing else. Look how sparse I used to type, now I just can't stop talking. It has been a really eventful journey; too many things have happened. Some are great, some are awful, but they were mostly necessary. I've gained some friends and lost some too through this blog. I've acquired opportunities and missed out on chances. These days blogs just flourish so quickly. You see a blog that was created last year and see how high quality their contents are already—granted, some of them are skilled/professional photographers or are helped by them, but still. You'll see my blog's growth so minuscule in comparison. I used to wallow in self-pity at this discovery, until I realise that the main reason for that is I take my blog very personally. I've shared way too many things about my life and myself on this space—Firu would vouch for that, honestly—and I've been very outspoken about things I'd support and fight against, maybe a little too much. I've never been everyone's cup of tea, but that's because most people prefer coffee.

What can you expect from this blog in 2019? Well, I'm not sure. What I can tell you are the following: there will be very few—if any—photos of Firu anymore. I've made a conscious decision of respecting his wishes—that I've waved away for years—to stay out of social media and, mostly, my blog posts. I'll also probably never stop speaking out my mind—especially on environmental issues and books. Other than that, all I hope is that you will always enjoy stopping by here. It's been really great to interact with you. Please leave comments more often, so we can start conducting conversations with one another—I'd love to get to know all of you!