dailygaelley

Blogging has played a big role in my adolescent years. It was what I ran to when I wanted to rant about school bullies and crushes. It was where my love for feature articles began. I started blogging when I was in the 5th grade; my colorful Xanga blog containing most of my 11-year old self’s thoughts. My blog was then upgraded into a Multiply fascination, and then a Blogspot (now Blogger) one.

In my freshman year in highschool, I discovered Tumblr. It’s where I explored blogging creatively; adding photos and videos into the usual bland rant about life. Tumblr is what introduced me to a community of bloggers. It was where I met some of the most creative (and weirdest, tbh) people in my life.

 

For a long time, that’s all I did: write, like posts, and reblog… and then I realized how creatively draining that was. I no longer craved the feeling of creating my own articles, and instead lived through someone else’s thoughts. It was then that I planned to revive my old blogger website. I started writing again; exploring the freedom I had and creating content that I thought challenged the world. It wasn’t long that I realized that I was just a speck of opinion in the vast world of the internet. I shifted to creating articles for my school paper, hoping that I somehow help my schoolmates see another aspect of the world. It worked out and kept me busy.

I was introduced to the world of journalism and I loved it. I loved being able to feature people and tell their stories. I loved expressing my own opinions in the editorial form and I enjoyed challenging the opinions of my schoolmates. I was introduced to different people in different organizations and it was through one organization that I was reunited with my love for blogging.

As soon as I graduated college, I created a new blog. This blog, I promised myself, was going to be one I grow. I wanted to incorporate the things I learned in journalism in my own blog posts. I wanted to be a blog that featured events and things I love.

It wasn’t easy at first. I realized that I had a lot of things to learn about blogging; there were photos to be edited, there were SEO tools to master, and there was this constant struggle about being my own blog whilst featuring things I didn’t significantly like. There’s this pressure of making your blog big and yet being still authentic and original. To become a big blog, you need to keep up with the trends and I wasn’t someone who enjoyed most of the trends. DDI helped me cope with that.

I first heard about Davao Digital Influencers, Inc. through my friend in Davao Eagle Online. I had been to events DDI was also invited to and I had this feeling that they didn’t have the pressure I felt. They were carefree and yet they managed to maintain some of the biggest blogs in the city, if not the country. It was in May 2017 that I finally decided that I wanted in.

I thought the first event I covered for DDI was Max’s Rice Bowls. When I looked through my Instagram feed, however, I saw that that wasn’t the case:

Almost a year ago, I covered my first event as a blogger in the Kadayawan 2016’s Indak-Indak sa Kadalanan. I honestly forgot about my press ID until a couple of days ago. It was actually under Davao Digital Influencers. I remember that day, thinking about how exhausting it was and how icky I felt after. Seeing all the contestants dance and withstand the heat, however, made me proud to be there. They were beautiful.

That’s what DDI makes you experience: Beauty, in all forms.

You meet the most colorful and beautiful people. You will experience beautiful events and you will realize the beauty in the smallest of things. It is through DDI that I learned to appreciate the local beauty of Davao City. It is through DDI that I learned to accept how diverse and vast the blogging community is. It is through DDI that I am discovering myself as a creator and a writer. Thank you for accepting me in your growing community, Davao Digital Influencers. Happy first anniversary, DDI! I can’t wait to grow with you. See you all tomorrow!

Of course, DDI wouldn’t be where it is today without any help from the following sponsors:

Platinum: Smart Communications, Inc., AirAsia, FWD Life Philippines
Gold: PLDT Home
Silver: Jolly Canned Fruits and Vegetables
Bronze: Abreeza Ayala Mall
Benefactors: Lachi’s Sans Rival Atbp., Cecil’s Snack Inn & Restaurant, Seda Abreeza Hotel, Marco Polo Davao, Park Inn by Radisson Hotel Davao, M Magazine.

Thank you for always sending us your love and support!