I recently came to the conclusion that starting a blog was both the best and worst decision I’ve ever made. When I launched A Pair of Passports in 2016, it was for the sole purpose of sharing all of the adventures that Sean and I go on. Since then, we’ve developed some wonderful relationships with other bloggers, and have had some incredible travel experiences. Travel blogging helped me realize my love for photography, taught us to travel differently, and provided me with an outlet for writing, which is something I’ve always loved doing. That’s the ‘best’ part of my opening statement.

The ‘worst’? Travel blogging also turned my love for checking in with friends on Instagram into a hatred for the platform. I started spending more time trying to get the perfect photo for my feed than actually enjoying my surroundings. I stopped spending time with friends in the evening because I needed to work on the blog. Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter threads absolutely consumed me and I let it happen. I had to get the ‘numbers’, so I stopped caring about why I started in the first place. To the point where I became so overwhelmed, and so frustrated with the lack of results, that I stopped everything. A Pair of Passports essentially ceased to exist.

And somewhere, in all of that, I thought it was a great idea to start a second blog. So Mongan Moments was born. Mongan Moments was always meant to be more personal. It’s a place for me to share my life beyond travels and my random New Year’s Resolutions. It’s a place for me to share my wisdom and opinions on books, wedding planning, home renovations, and everything I go through as a young adult living in London. I never intended to get wrapped up in all the social media, but it’s nearly possible to avoid. So, when I took the break from A Pair of Passports, I took a break from Mongan Moments as well. I wasn’t enjoying any of it anymore – it was causing more stress than enjoyment.

Now I’m back on both platforms and trying to approach them differently. I’m going back to my roots, so to speak. And part of doing that is focusing on what I actually want to get out of my blogs, and what I want to give through them. And I figured there’s no better place to share my wishes for Mongan Moments than on Mongan Moments. So here it is. This is what I hope you find on this site (and feel free to hold me accountable if you don’t!):

I want to create content, but I still want to live in the moment

Sometimes getting the “perfect” photo takes way too long. So long that you actually miss out on enjoying whatever it is you’re taking a photo of. I don’t want to be that person any longer. Yes, I will still take photos of delicious brunches (sorry Sean!). And yes, I will still document our adventures at home and around London. But, did you know that 90% of the blog posts I write (including this one) get delayed because I don’t have a good photo to post? There’s no reason for that!

There may be some posts on Mongan Moments with iPhone photos only, or with stock photos. Or *gasp* with no photos at all! Because I love photography, but I also feel that there’s a time and place for it. And I’m not going to spend 30 minutes outside in negative temperatures when I could be enjoying a totally uninstagrammable glass of wine inside a cozy pub with my husband and my dog by my side!

I want to be as real as possible

Okay, I’m probably not going to post a photo of my bedroom in its current state (believe me, you do not want to see that!). But I’m also not going to avoid anything negative going on in my life. And I’m not going to live my life a certain way just to create the same content. So there will likely be weeks where I only post about books because all I’m doing is reading. And I’ll be honest about my marriage, like when I posted about lessons learned in our first year as a married couple. I also want to tackle real issues that people my age are going through – learning to budget, finding their first home, switching careers, etc. Anything I go through that I think others can learn from will be shared.

This post is the first step. I hate feeling vulnerable and I feel like, whenever someone publishes their feelings or hopes or dreams on the Internet, it makes them extremely vulnerable. But I want to be real. Honest. Me! It’s not going to be all pretty cafes and dreamy bubble baths, but it will be a true reflection of the life of a newlywed(ish) 25 year old American living in London!

I want this blog to grow with me

Right now, this is a blog that follows the life of a young, married couple in London. If we one day decide to move to America, I want this blog to come with me. When we get a second dog, I want to share it on the blog. We hope to have a family one day and, when that happens, this may turn into a blog focused more on family stuff than couples stuff. At the end of the day, it’s about my ‘moments’ as Kelly Mongan and those are bound to change as I do. It’ll be so great to look back on this in 10 years and see what I was up to when I was 25.

I want to share things I love/hate/want/feel

Blogs are all about sharing. I am literally sharing my life with this blog (though hopefully not oversharing). I am 100% not an expert in any of the following categories: beauty, fashion, books, money, marriage, travel, technology, careers. And I’ll never claim to be. But I’m going to post about that stuff when I have the opportunity to because I want to share things I love. Whether it’s a new favorite lipstick shade or networking tips I’ve learned through my personal experience, I’m going to post it. Because there’s the slightest chance that someone else will love something I love, or someone will benefit from a lesson I share. And for just one person to benefit would make this all worth it.

I want to feel like a friend to my readers

Do you have bloggers that you follow that you would love to grab a drink with? That’s what I want to be to my readers! The bloggers that inspire me the most are the ones that really do feel like a friend I’ve never met. They’re genuine. They like similar things to me, so I trust their recommendations. And they never seem like they’re too put together (because who wants that?!). I admire those bloggers and I want to sit down with them and ask them about their lives. And I hope that, one day, someone will find that connection in this blog!

So if we’ve never met, but I kind of feel like a friend to you, reach out! Because you can never have too many friends 🙂

If you’re a blogger and you’ve been through a similar struggle, I’d love to hear from you. I see so many blog posts across the Internet talking about blogging frustrations or the changes in the blogging world, and it’s so interesting to read them and see what everyone’s opinions on blogging, the Instagram algorithm, etc. are. Maybe this post will turn into one of those discussions, or maybe not. Regardless, it felt great to get that all off my chest, and I look forward to taking you on the Mongan Moments journey with me!