It's My One Year Anniversary on HubPages!
I can't believe it's been a year!
I can't believe it's already been a whole year since I joined HubPages. It has been an awesome experience so far. I had no idea when I signed up how "hooked" I would become! I didn't really know what to expect but one thing I surely did not expect was to be sitting here one year later thinking about how grateful I am to be a part of HubPages. There are lots of online communities out there and I've tried a few but none of them compare to HubPages, in my opinion. My ex sister-in-law is the one who introduced me to HubPages so I definitely owe her a big thank you.
First of all, for me, writing on HubPages has enabled me to meet so many nice people from all around the world. I'm kind of a loner right now so it's nice to be able to get on the computer and connect and meet different people. I love how we are free to write about whatever we want whether it be a poem, tutorial, recipe or just if you are having a bad day. I have a few hubbers that comment on just about everything I write and that feels really good.
That brings me to the next reason why HubPages is so great. Just being honest here folks but I'm not the most secure person in the world (did I just say that?) Yes, that is right... I'm pretty insecure sometimes but I've gained a lot of confidence just through getting comments and it really lifts my spirits when people like my writing so much that they would actually follow me. It helps me to feel good about myself as most of this past year I've been in a depression and I have to say that writing on HubPages and the awesome community here has really helped me so much.
In November of 2010 one of my hubs called 10 Crafty Paper Projects was nominated and actually WON the Hubnuggets award. I was ecstatic! That really motivated and pushed me to write more hubs. I know, I know... I'm 37 years old but the last time I won any award I was in second grade and it was in art class for a poster contest. I was SO happy to have been nominated but winning the award was such a nice surprise! In the scheme of things I guess it's something small but it sure was a big deal to me. Thank you whoever nominated me and for all who voted... it really felt good to win that.
Something else that has helped me here at HubPages is the ability to make some extra money through AdSense and the HubPage Ad program. When I first signed up for these I figured I wouldn't make enough for it to matter but I kept on going anyway. Also, a few months after I signed up for AdSense and started getting hope as far as my earnings, my AdSense account was disabled but long story short, my account was reinstated again. That with the HubPages Ad program my earnings really started to add up. I have to tell you my husband had been on my back for spending so much time on HubPages but I told him I liked this place and I would be getting paid eventually. He thought I was living in a fantasy world but I wish I had a photo of the look on his face when I got my first AdSense check a few weeks ago.
One thing I've noticed lately about myself is that I'm not reading as many other hubs as I used to. When I first signed up I couldn't get enough and was reading tons of hubs everyday. So to everyone I apologize for this. I've been trying to step it up a notch lately and get more involved as far as reading more hubs. I used to go Hubhopping. I'm going to try and start doing that more too. I truly appreciate those who read my hubs and leave comments. I need to return the favor.
Before I end this hub, I want to say THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart to all of the HupPage community especially people who follow me and read my hubs. Thank you to all who leave comments and leave such awesome feedback. The positive feedback really keeps me going. Thank you to everyone who has helped me out when I asked questions. I've learned that many people here at HubPages really care and love to help. I plan to keep writing here and meeting more awesome people along the way. Who knows what the next year will bring?!