Well folks, i can't quite believe it but today marks one year since i first started this blog - The Liver Bird. Back in September of last year i had recently finished 6th form coming away with 3 A Levels. The original plan was always to go to university to do Geography as i simply love the subject but due to my A Level grades not being quite high enough to get enough UCAS points i ended up being unable to take the university option.
Ever the optimistic person, whilst i was realising how much spare time i had when not spent searching for jobs or courses i started to find myself on the internet a lot more than any normal person would be. To fill my time i would always be checking up on the latest Liverpool news because after all, my football club is my second love and anything that involves them and keeps me occupied can't be a bad thing...
That's when it hit me, i'd stumbled across a few really good Liverpool blogs and forums and just thought to myself why not give it a shot? I'd researched some blogging websites and after choosing Blogger i soon found myself with a fair few blog posts up and right in the swing of things. A few months in i created a Twitter account and if i am honest without Twitter and the security of knowing at least someone is reading my posts, i think the blog would have crashed and burned.
I mean, to keep myself occupied and because it was a hobby i suppose i would have continued, but it does make me feel a lot better knowing i have readers.
So post after post went by, readers began to learn about how i live in Wolverhampton and work at the Molineux stadium, but what i also clearly portrayed was my passion for the club. Sometimes fans from other cities can be out of touch with the club they support and it's traditions and values but i was proud to know that people could see i was a true fan.
Even when the posts came about me first experiencing seeing Liverpool, when i got a free ticket due to my job to watch the away game against Wolves, fans read my almost diary posts and made good voices about it.
My highlight of my year of blogging though had to be my first trip to see the lads at Anfield. I had been to Liverpool and Anfield on many occasions but up until February for several reasons had been unable to watch my beloved team play at the glorious Anfield.
I was very nervous about posting my match report/diary of the day because it seriously felt like i was just rabbiting on, the super long post was nothing like any of my others but to my surprise people really enjoyed it. The Twitter Liverpool fan base even got into a spur after reading the post and i had fans tweeting me posts about their own first experiences of Anfield. It was fantastic to see everyone linking together and fascinating to read some fans stories.
I've always maintained that i am no football brain, i enjoy my football, have a basic understanding of the rules, managers, clubs, players etc and i simply say it as i see it. I am sometimes bias and i've certainly had many a rant but my main aim is always to provide an easy and mildy interesting read for any Liverpool fan, wherever they may be in the world.
To end on i would like to leave you with some kind tweets from some of my readers/top twitter people and i will also leave you will a few links of some of my favourite posts.
Thank you all so much for reading, here's to another year doing what i have loved so much these past 12 months, writing about Liverpool FC!
CJPLawley
@LFCKirstyLFC your best blog was about your 1st match at Anfield, truly felt I was making the trip with you, outstanding piece of writing
rohan_kalli
I love reading the thoughts of a young talent like @LFCKirstyLFC - always fresh & insightful, honest but fair. I look forward to much more.
robbohuyton
@LFCKirstyLFC Your 'first match' post was my favourite because it came across how excited you were about experiencing Anfield.
Ian_LFC
As the title suggests she's a bird & not even Scouse! But this top blog is full of Scouse passion & knowledge for our great club - LFC YNWA
RojoYoda
@LFCKirstyLFC Can't pick out 1 piece. But thought ur match reviews were written w/ur passion for LFC but also maintaining a pragmatic view!
theguvnor_02
@LFCKirstyLFC A person can change name, address, etc, but one thing you can not change....... your passion(LFC) your blog iz awesome ;)
My match report and musings on my day after seeing Liverpool at Anfield for the first time (most read post) - Here.
The post containing the farewell to Rafa - Here.
The post that actually moved me whilst writing it on Hillsborough, if you haven't already done so, please take the time to read the links on this post at the bottom - Here and following similarly the post i did containing my email to the disgrace of a man that is Russel Hawker - Here.
My post having a rant about the play off for champions league idea - Here.
Match report after seeing Liverpool at Molineux - Here.
Post on standards corrupted shirts (Get yourself one!) - Here.
The story of my day and match report after watching us v Wolves with my other half and some mates who are Wolves fans in a pub full of gold and black - Here.
That beach ball goal - Here.