Life’s Seasons
Life unfolds in seasons: chapters of change, growth, and rediscovery. Join me as I reflect on blogging, family, and new passions.
Have you noticed that life also has its own seasons? Well, it’s not the typical season defined by a weather condition, but life’s seasons are like chapters that would metaphorically unfold as we experience new things or collect new milestones. Those seasons would shape our goals, directions, or even interests.
On a more personal note, I found it amusing when I realized lately that my blogging journey reflects the many seasons of my life. I started my site as a personal blog, going by the handle of “Frenchraisins.”
My content then was more of random thoughts and weekend pursuits, at a time when personal blogging was still a thing. Those were the good old days of the internet. The early days, in which we just enjoyed browsing things online and sharing our interests without being scrutinized by the world.
My interest in traveling soon grew, so my blog evolved to be a travel blog (The Introverted Weekender), to a couple travel blog (Ivan + Khris’ Travels), then to a family travel & parenting blog (Dad On The Move) when we finally had kids. I was Dad On The Move for about six years, writing content that resonated with me, doing brand collabs here and there, and being active on social media as an aspiring “dad influencer.”
However, lately, I realized that the blogging and content creation landscape has changed drastically in the years in between. The algorithm update, which hit my blog hard around three years ago, is still not in my favor, and short videos are what viewers demand.
I was also no longer as interested in doing brand collabs as before. My social media posts became fewer, partly because I wanted to dedicate my time to activities that truly interest and inspire me, like going back to reading, rewatching my favorite childhood shows, and being with my family.
I also began to write fewer parenting articles on my family travel blog (although I still post about family milestone updates). Well, that’s because I realized that I don’t really believe in the advice given by parenting “influencers,” so why should I also post similar pieces of advice? Let me elaborate on this further, please.
I appreciate the efforts of parenting influencers, but if you think about things carefully, they’re also not experts. They rely on the advice of professionals and try them out for themselves. There’s nothing wrong with that, because at least you know that they filter for us what’s working for them or not.
But in the end, I understood that they were also doing trial and error, just like any other parent out there who is raising their kids. They also rely on gut feel, just like the rest of us. Instead of spending time reading about what they do or watching other content creators, I’ll just go on and do what I feel is right for my family.
I encourage you try that, too. You’ll realize that you don’t really need an expert to help you with your daily parenting needs. Anyway, just keep in mind that the most important thing, and one that your family will truly appreciate, is that you give them time. Spend time with them on weekends, during breaktime, or right after work. That’s what truly matters.
I’m also not actively writing about autism awareness anymore. While I mindfully put a positive spin on my posts, I noticed I would often start them with a slightly negative tone. I don’t want it to be like that or to convey the message that my special needs son is a burden. On the contrary, we are extremely grateful that we have him in our lives. Whatever challenge we face is what all parents normally encounter, special needs or not.
On a different note, I also became extremely interested in documenting my town’s history (events, places, people, etc.) on my travel blog. This is a full circle moment for me because when I started my travel blog in 2006, what I wanted to do was to document my town’s local traditions, proverbs, sayings, local legends, beliefs, and so on. However, during that time, references were scarce.
I didn’t know how to start back then because I was based in Metro Manila and I didn’t know any local historian whom I could ask. But now, with the popularity of social media, I was able to gather good information from my kababayans who would comment on my posts, provide their stories, and share the knowledge that they have.
Having said that, I think a new season is already underway, and with that, I have rebranded my family travel blog (again) to Ivan On The Move. If you are a long-time reader, you may have already noticed the change in my blog title. It’s not really a major change; I’m just expanding my topic to include culture and heritage, and not limiting it to family travel. At the same time, the goal is to make the content more cohesive (I won’t delve into the technical stuff anymore).
This brings me to another shift in content. For my parenting stories, autism awareness articles, family milestones, and personal essays, I’ll post more of them in this blog. This will be my more personal space. I like the idea of going back to the basics of blogging, and that is to document life’s seasons as well as the things that interest us and make us happy.
With that, I’ll gradually transfer my other fatherhood articles here. I also realized that my other online persona, Dad On The Move, is hard to let go of. It has been my online identity for the last six years. So I’m keeping that identity through this space.
If you made it ‘til here, thank you for always supporting and reading my articles! I hope you will stay and continue to read stories like this one. It’s during this time that old-time bloggers like me badly need your support.
Again, please accept my deepest gratitude, and I wish you well in all your endeavors!