Wow, one whole year of Mimosas & Lipstick. It's crazy how much your life can change in one year. This time last year I was fresh out of college and just returned to Chicago after celebrating Mardi Gras in New Orleans; I felt stifled. I felt stuck with what I learned at school and was lacking a creative outlet in my life. I followed bloggers, admired them, and for a while had been wondering if I could do it too. I often asked myself, why would I be a blogger? Who would listen to me? Who would look forward to my posts? I constantly shot down my 'wild' idea because I was afraid of failure. I was afraid of opening up my life to other people. It made me anxious.
Since high school, there had always been an aspect of my life that involved writing. Whether it was poetry club, working for an online magazine, interning with Jay Ducote at Bite & Booze, there was always space for me to write creatively.
I followed bloggers, admired them, and for a while had been wondering if I could do it too. But why would I be a blogger? Who would listen to me? Who would look forward to my posts? I constantly shot down my 'wild' idea because I was afraid of failure. I was afraid of opening up my life to other people. It made me anxious.
After running this idea by everyone in my life, I realized the only thing I feared was fear itself. I researched and asked around, searching for advice to start my website. Bloggers I had known all of college like Karli Willis and Filo Garcia, gave me some helpful tips, and just like that, I just started. It was as easy as that. It became clear to me that with hard work and persistence, you can achieve anything; you just have to push yourself to just do it.
Anything worth your time takes effort and time. In a year, I feel that I've found my way, and I continue to work at it every day. After all, that's the only way you get better! I luckily had friends and family that helped me every step of the way with their moral support and photography abilities.
Over this year, I have grown in ways I never thought possible! I never realized how much of my degree I would use in a hobby, and surprisingly it's made me better at my professional skills.
If you are the kind of person who likes constantly learning, then blogging is for you. The blogging process is a lot like anything else. Try, fail, take a step back, reevaluate the process and try again. Although events in the past year weren't necessarily "failures", there were times that some things did not go the way I had imagined. An outfit looking frumpy although it looked perfect in my head, a blog post, a social media post not getting the engagement I expected. There are trials by fire for so many things, but getting to evolve over time makes it all worth it.
Through blogging, I have found an amazing community, my voice, and confidence. I used to second guess every decision I made and although I still do that, creating my own brand has helped me believe in myself and my capabilities.
The biggest thing that I can take away from this journey of a year is to listen to your gut. I look to my intuition for a lot of things; even I can be quick to push it aside and assume I'm wrong. If you're good at something, stick to it. Don't listen to the naysayers, the people who try to bring you down a peg when you're working for something you love. If what you're doing isn't harming anyone and it makes you shine; trust it and be consistent. With your thoughts, words, and actions.
Although blogging is a hobby for me, and not a full-time job, I love everything I have learned through the process. I am pursuing a career in marketing and the lessons I have learned through blogging have been very applicable to my field Topics like coding, website design, branding, and others are often brought up during interviews which I can now speak to on a personal level. I'm using my hobby to better my professional skills and career. Blogging has kept my brain sharp and ready for my next career move, giving me a way to funnel any creative energy into a single space: Mimosas and Lipstick.
When someone questions my intentions, my hopes from this, or tries to tell me it is a waste of time, sometimes I find myself believing them. Maybe I should pack it up. Maybe I should quit. Maybe I'm not impacting anyone and I'm selfish.
When I feel down about my blog, want to quit and pack-up my bags, something always happens. You. The feedback I get from blog posts, Instagram stories of me being a goofball or a tip I randomly give, and how they help you. How some of you look forward to them, some of you didn't even realize you were struggling with something or you just like to laugh at me. Basically, putting myself out there positively impacts another person.
It makes me want to keep going. To keep evolving, learning and creating content that helps others. Whether you need a new mascara or motivation for self-love, rest assured that I am preparing and gearing for the next year to create content that you want to see.
So here's to the first year of Mimosas & Lipstick. The highs, the lows and everything that I learned because of them. I thank each and every one of you for joining me on this journey of love, laughter, and the realness. Here's to you and taking the time to consume my content, none of you go without being noticed. I'm thankful for you every day.
I never thought I'd be here a year ago, so let's see where we are a year from now!
No comments:
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.