Confession: I have a blog crush on Christine Friar (AKA Drink Your Juice). She has one of the most honest and wittily funny blogs you can find on the Internet, and yesterday when one of her readers asked her for advice about writing and how to go about following your dreams, she wrote a really great response that I think can be applied to any aspect of life, so I’m going to share what she said here:

Q: This is going to sound really weird but I’m about to ask you for life advice. Before you start laughing (because if someone asked me for life advice I’d laugh because I’d have no advice to give), I just want you to know that I’m completely sincere in asking. So my parents asked me earlier what I wanted to do with my life and basically I told them “I want to do what Christine Friar does.” I’m just wondering how you got to where you are now, successful blogger/HuffPost writer comedienne person.

A: Okay. So. Here’s how I’m going to answer this:

1. Make new things every day. How much of your blog is reblogging other people’s work? Cut that in half. And then cut that in half. And keep cutting it in half until your original content to reblogged content ratio weighs heavily in favor of original content. Make your blog a place where people can come to hear what you think about stuff, not to see posts you really like. (Doesn’t mean don’t reblog a video or a song or whatever, it just means they should be accompanied by something that gives the content value. “This song reminds me of [blah]” or “This video is just like the time [woof].”)
2. Be kind. If someone says, “Hey, I like what you’re doing,” and you think they seem like a nice person, thank them. Talk to them. Befriend them. The best people you’ll ever find in this world are the people that are already enthusiastic about you/the things you’re enthusiastic about and want to form a human connection because of it.
3. Find people who are doing what you like, and figure out why they’re good at it. If someone out there is making something you think is awesome, figure out why it’s awesome. Then look at their friends, cause they’re probably awesome too. Fill your internet with people who are doing work you’re excited about and sniff out the things in your life that make you excited in that same way. Then do more of that stuff.
4. Develop taste. Realizing what you don’t like and why is just as important as realizing what you like. The why is what’s really key, and it’ll make you far more fun to talk to than someone who’s just like, “Nope, it sucks. Just does. Sucks.” At the same token, do as many things as you can — test boundaries, try things on for size, throw them away, wear holes in the knees, sew a patch on them and then outgrow the patch and rip it off and tell your mom you need new pants and go to the mall and consider whether or not you’re the type of woman who wears red cords. Absorb everything you want to. Constant process of elimination. You are a life sieve.
5. Don’t be afraid to be earnest. Stakes are exactly as high as you make them. The blogs I like reading the most aren’t from people who relegate what they share to just “topic x” and “picture of myself y” — it’s people who aren’t afraid to be ugly and vulnerable and empowered and political and goofy and trolly all in equal measure whenever the fuck they feel like it. Don’t just blog when you feel sexy or when you feel like Liz Lemon. That’ll attract a boring-ass follower community and it won’t be fun to write after a while because you’ll be curating poop instead of throwing poop at the ceiling and walls to see what poop sticks and then deciding what stuck poop is your favorite.
6. Ignore any and all of those suggestions whenever you feel like it. Don’t do anything that feels uncomfortable just because someone’s told you it’s the right thing to do. Exert yourself upon yourself, because you know best at the end of the day. You wanna be a writer? Write. You wanna be a vlogger? Vlog. There’s nothing stopping you from doing any of this stuff now. Don’t wait to graduate.