The first podcast episode is a conversation with my best friend Julka, who asked me some questions about my blog, future of this space, my plans and coming projects. This podcast is full of laughter and some anecdotes and I’m going to try to translate as much as possible so you, my English-speaking friends, can also enjoy this podcast!
2nd anniversary of my blog!
J: Wohoa!
B: Two years ago I shared my very first blog post. Of course, there were some obstacles that me and my friend Daria, who had helped me to create this page, had to overcome but finally at 10 AM the post was released. This was a huge thing and I was stressed. It’s always like this when you start a new thing – you’re stressed about how it’s gonna work out. So I was stressed. Plus it was another day of my quarantine so this artistic project was a nice way to escape from the overwhelming realty. It’s a funny thing to look back how it was in the beginning and notice how it changes through time.
J: Yes, we can all notice that the blog has changed during those two years.
B: Exactly! Actually that’s why we’re meeting today to talk.
J: Yup. I prepared some questions for you. You guys can’t see that but I have a notebook as if I was a real journalist.
B: Omg yes, so professional.
J: Let’s start! First question, which is going to open our conversation and lead us to more specific topics, where are the posts with food recipes?
B: Oh geezzzz… Yeah I know, haha!
J: Where are 5 recipes for breakfasts and 10 recipes for lunch? Everybody wants to know that.
B: Well, actually… I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I don’t eat that much at home, because I work at the restaurant and I eat there. Plus I don’t use recipes… I mean everybody who knows me, knows that when I cook, I just open my fridge and create something with what I have. Hmmm… maybe I can share my oatmeal? This is the thing I eat every day at home and every oatmeal is different so that’s an idea! Yeah, I need to go back to those posts with recipes. Okay, let’s say it loudly, this is going to be my April challenge to create more recipes and share them on the blog. Maybe with salads?
J: Well, this question was kinda jokie one, because your blog has changed. You started with posts like skincare routine, oatmeal step by step, and now it has changed, you share more of “serious stuff”. So the question is, would you like to come back to those easy posts with recipes or you want to move forward and change your blog to a more serious one?
B: That’s a very good question. On one hand I like sharing my thoughts. You know that very well because every time when we meet I have my monologue about something. I’m always sharing what’s in my hand, beginning with choosing coffee beans, through tidying up my house, ending with social media. Now, when I prepare a post I try to catch the inspiration. Actually once when we met for a coffee you were my inspiration because after our meeting I felt so grateful to have you in my life and to be surrounded by amazing people that I decided to talk about this and share my feelings. But coming back to those food posts or step by step content is also a good idea. Well I always wanted this blog to be an inspiration for others – inspiration that leads you to think, food inspiration, travel inspiration etc. Okay, I need to confess that the last two were forgotten for some time but let’s find balance again. Last two years were like going through a labyrinth – trying new ideas for posts and now I’m going to get this golden balance back.
J: That’s a good plan. We can all see that recently your posts were more about your feelings and thoughts, some of them were more difficult, others were quite easy and light, and I know that at the beginning you were afraid of sharing this hard stuff which needed your point of view and now you do it. What has changed? Do you feel more confident?
B: You’re right, that’s true, something has changed. I remember that once there was a subject that I wanted to talk about, it was connected to the situation we had in Poland but at that time I said to you that I didn’t want to do it because I was afraid of introducing too much political stuff to my space which I wanted to be free. Now it has changed. I feel more brave, I think. It was a process to understand that if I share something I invite people to talk and everybody can share their point of view no matter if they agree with me or not. So now I feel more confident and aware that every time I share something there can be a person who won’t agree with me and that’s okay. Once I heard “maybe you can write something more serious and just share recipes or ways to invite spring to your home” and once I heard “this post about breakfasts/spring was amazing! Love it”. You can’t please everyone.
J: Yes that’s right, it’s impossible actually.
B: Yeah. Oh and I remember that last year, when I wanted to write something for the International Women’s Day, and I decided to talk about femininity and I remember that I talked with you about the whole idea and my point of view and you said to me that everything was fine but if I tell it this way, it could be seen negatively. So I asked people some questions on Instagram to see their points of view and I took all that stuff together to create a post. It went out pretty good and I was very happy about this. Actually when you share something on the internet for a long time you can see the changes.
J: Exactly, nice throwbacks to the pass.
B: Yesssss, sometimes when I go back to previous posts I’m like “oh geezzz… Basia you were so cute” and sometimes I’m like “wooow, still so good”.
J: I can imagine. When you think about your blog, do you create it for you or maybe you do it for others?
B: Recently it was my diary. But even though, I think that when I share my feelings there is at least one person who can say “I can relate”. Oh and I have a story for that! When I shared a post about dealing with goodbyes, I got a message on Instagram from a girl who also was in a long-distance relationship and who wrote to me that she had found my blog and that post and my Instagram too and she was so grateful for this post and it was amazing. At that moment I felt that my content was helpful and cheering up which is the mission of my blog. I’m an extravert person so I feel the need to express my feelings and share my thoughts and that’s why my blog was kinda my diary recently. I hope that there was always at least one person who felt the same. Well maybe I’ll ask some questions on Instagram to know what people want to hear/listen. Yes, that's a good idea! Spring has come so it’s time to refresh and wake up and clean up all the stuff.
J: Yes, it’s time to do it.
B: If we think about this more, you can use a vacuum machine to clean not just the floor, but also a book shelter and your mind. Maybe not literally, but let’s imagine vacuuming minds to get rid of negative thoughts. And you can also clean up your PC.
J: I use a vacuum machine to clean the keyboard of my PC.
B: Really? I’ve never thought about that.
J: Yes and it works pretty good.
B: Okay, advice alert, you can use a vacuum machine to clean the keyboard of your PC.
J: Haha, yeah. Okay, back to the topic. Do you think more seriously about your blog? Maybe sponsorships?
B: Honestly yes. Okay it sounds like I want to commercialize my blog.
J: Wow, and now the truth is out!
B: Oh stop haha! Well, at the beginning I wanted it to be my space on the internet but also I considered it as a way to earn money. Maybe not a lot, but having some sponsorships would be nice. I’m not that known yet but I thought about going to some place in Poznan, that I like and I know them very well, and I want to ask them if they want to create some project together. And also I said to myself that if I have a sponsorship, I have to be 100% sure I want to promote it. The truth is that if you are known and people listen to you, they’re gonna follow you and your ideas or recommendations. So if I promote something that I don’t like but people will follow it, it’s just bullshit and not true at all, so you have to be aware of what you’re saying and recommending. But still it would be cool to have some income from this blog. Maybe passive income? Like ebooks or foodbooks.
J: That’s a great plan!
B: Yes, I think that too, it just needs more time to do it. Oh, I have a story! Once I ordered some stuff from a Polish cosmetic brand and when I got the package I added it on Instagram and I thought they would check it out and ask me if I would like to have a sponsorship with them, but they didn’t even watch it so I was kinda upset, haha! I know, I know.
J: It would be so nice if every single business plan was that simple.
B: Yeah… the truth is that you have to put in the effort to create something. It needs time, work and patience, sometimes money. So my wish is that it will work out at the end, that I can create and have some income. Actually I didn’t think about how it would end, I mean that one day I would stop sharing posts or something. Maybe it will end naturally.
J: End of something is always the beginning of something new.
B: That’s right! If not blog, maybe podcast then, or vlogs, or something else.
J: Exactly. Do you think about yourself as an influencer or blogger?
B: Well… this word ‘influencer’ sounds like… I don’t like it that much.
J: You’re right, but I think that now people try to change the meaning of this word and start to consider it as a real job you can have.
B: Yes, that’s true. Oooh! Big throwback to a blog post from 2020 I think. I wrote a post about our generation, I mean young adults. We start to think about earning money in different ways like being an influencer on Instagram or a blogger. Of course there are people who will follow the studies they did, but there are so many different possibilities and we start to notice them. For example my friend finished technical studies and now he works… as an illusionist, which is so crazy. There are more and more people who notice that you can earn money in so many different ways, for example on Instagram or creating online workshops or ebooks or whatever.
J: Yes that’s true, the Internet has a huge power.
B: Exactly! I can’t believe that it works that well. Like you can share details about your work, even though it’s a normal one, but you can make it in a way that it will be very interesting for others. For example there’s an Instagram account of a woman who is a bookkeeper and she shows that this topic can be fun even though everybody considers this kind of job as difficult or so. Or doctors! They also have Instagram accounts and you can see what being a doctor looks like. You can just share your passion and you’ll find some followers who will like it very much. There’s no limits. Your imagination is your limit.
J: Beautifully said. Actually, is there a subject that you can talk about as a specialist?
B: Well I think yes. I start to think more seriously about my French. You know, recently I realized that it’s been 10 years since we’ve known this language. Oh you have to know, dear readers, that Julka and I were in the same school, in the same class and we studied French together. Also this language has almost become my maternal one because my boyfriend is French and talks in French all the time so I can practice my French and learn much more than at school. And now we have a good moment to say that I have a French series on Instagram which I call “French Tuesdays” and every Tuesday I share an Instagram story in French. For example, recently I talked about cultural differences between France and Poland. I think that’s the topic I can talk about more, I mean in general about French language, about learning foreign languages and so on. Also, another topic is traveling, especially traveling on budget because during the last six months I traveled a lot and those trips have become such a normal thing for me, which is crazy. When I was younger, traveling by plane was a huge thing and now it feels like a normal trip.
J: Haha, yes like going by bus through the city.
B: Exactly! Another topic is handmade stuff. I did that a lot, it was a good idea for presents, home decoration or something and I think I can go back to this stuff and start again and then share on the blog. But I think that first is the French language. Oh another idea! I’m working as a waitress so maybe I can share some tips or truths about this job, but I think it’s gonna be a future topic.
J: Yes, cool, a lot of ideas! Would you like to add anything else? What can we expect on the blog?
B: Well, as we started this conversation, recipes are coming! Maybe a post about coffee? I mean there was already a post about coffee as a pleasure but maybe a post about preparing coffee. There are so many different ways to prepare it and I think it’s very interesting. Also I’m gonna refresh my page, new categories are coming! So stay tuned for that. Anything else? My thoughts and feelings for sure, it’s like my trademark. All of my friends know that I’m an extrovert person and I talk a lot and sometimes when I ask them a question, I have my monologue during which I come up with the answer I was asking for. I know, funny. When it comes to topics I think there will be posts about zero waste, about veganism and plant based food and maybe climate change.
J: You definitely have a lot of things and topics to share. Is your podcast gonna be the medium to share your thoughts about those subjects? Or maybe it’s just a small adventure for now and you don’t know how it’s gonna be after?
B: Well I hope this podcast will be the medium to share my thoughts and then the blog will be for posts like “step by step” or posts about tips. I would like this podcast to be a serious thing and not just for a month or so. I would like it to be regular but I know myself and I know that having two mediums, a blog and a podcast, it can be too much to share an episode and a post the same week so I think I’m gonna separate it, I mean one week for podcast and one week for blog.
J: Yes, you have to think how to organize it because when it’s too much, it will be too difficult and it won’t work out.
B: You’re right. Actually it’s funny that a lot of people who started their own business on Instagram, had been in a huge corporation before.
J: You’ll do the same?
B: Well I would prefer not to.
J: Hopefully you won’t have to go to the corporation to start your own business. We’re all crossing fingers for you.
B: Would be great! Thank you!
J: Thank you too. It’s amazing to see your growth and self-development and I’m saying it as your best friend but also as your greatest fan.
B: Awww, that’s so nice! Actually there’s a secret, Julka is my personal redactor of my blog posts *Polish version! English version is checked by my other friend Daria* so thanks to her they are always easy to read.
J: My pleasure, I always try my best to make it more clear.
B: Julka, thank you so much for this interview. It was so nice to talk with you.
J: I’m also very happy that I can participate in this project.
B: Hopefully you guys, dear readers, liked this interview too!
Thank you very much for reading this transcription of my podcast episode. I really appreciate that!
with love
Basia
