What does a museum blogger do when the museums are closed and the pandemic burnt you out on everything?
If you have followed me, you may have noticed that my blog has been quiet and my Instagram almost completely leaves out museums. There’s a reason for this. Prior to the pandemic, I started to burn out on Museums. I work for a museum, my degree is museums, a lot of my friends ( I LOVE you all) work in museums, my husband works for a museum, and I run this little museum blog/insta thing. Museums can be wonderful places but for me, it became too much of a good thing. My life was so saturated by museums that I burned out. I was cranky about the field and overthought how I should approach my Instagram and blog. I needed to take a break and think about my interests.
Something I realized was that I hadn’t truly diversified what I consume intellectually- most of that content related to museums and early American history, which is also what I work with 9 to 5. Throughout the fall, I started binging a NASA podcast and found it so fascinating and refreshing to engage a part of my brain disconnected from museums and the history field. No, I am not joining the STEM field, but this signaled to me that it’s time to engage my brain in other areas.
So, my friends, it’s time for a change. Some of you started following me for museum-related content and I’ll try to pepper it in occasionally since it’s still part of my life. I’ve been taking a lot of time this year to slow roll the direction to take and I don’t have it 100% figured out yet. However, I feel okay about that since I don’t want to go silent but also don’t want to rush this. I’ve taken both approaches in the past and neither work. I’m just going to wing it. Perfectionism destroys good things and I’m determined to let good enough be perfect.
What will I write about? This blog will transition to a lifestyle category with the focus of living well for less. Being a museum professional can come with the baggage of a lower salary and high student loans. This made me pretty thrifty while still enjoying life. Here are examples of what you might see me talk about:
- How I save time and money on nutritious foods.
- Where I splurge v save on skincare and make up.
- How I update my wardrobe without spending a ton of money.
- Our never ending home update projects.
- Life with a Toddler (aka Crisis Management).
- Or Whatever I Feel Like Sharing
For now, I’m still The Museum Girl but even that could change at some point. To be perfectly honest, I’ve used The Museum Girl as my handle on Twitter since 2010 and I’m not ready to say goodbye to her just yet.
I am excited about this new direction and look forward to learning more as I grow. Thank you, friends, for joining me on this journey.
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