HOLY CRAP: I’ve Been Blogging For 8 Years!!!

My first blog was called Pink Champagne Problems (anyone around for that???). I came up with the idea with a friend (hi, Claire) at Shake Shack while living in Virginia for college.

And wow. A lot has changed.

I think by now we all know that the influencer industry is very much here to stay. I would be lying if I said I didn’t miss the good ol’ days of blogging for fun. The days where people did not give a crap about what they posted, but they posted because they wanted to. But I would also be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy having this space as a source of secondary income. The opportunities that have come from having this space have been amazing, and I’m very, very lucky.

Instead of giving you a list of what has changed in the blogging world or what I’ve learned over the years, I wanted to talk a little bit more on a personal level.

bad outfits

I mean. If you’re in this space too, you’ve probably had some QUESTIONABLE outfits on your website. I sure as hell have. I mean, one second I was wearing HEAD-TO-TOE J.CREW ALL DAY EVERY DAY, and the next I was wearing Kendra Scott earrings with black lace up heels. I mean, I just can’t. But hey, you live and you learn. AMIRIGHTLADIEZ?!

break ups, make ups, and more

I loved having my little space in college. It was there for me when I went through a break up. It was there for me when I found a new guy. It was there for me when that relationship didn’t work out. It was there for me when I started dating someone new. It was there for me when I met amazing new friends, and when I was hurt by friends. Over the last 8 years, my relationships with not only others, but with myself have dramatically changed. It’s so nice to have this little space to look back on so many different seasons of life.

new jobs

I started my blog way back in college. When I graduated, I decided to keep up with the blog even though I was starting my first big girl job at Perry Ellis. That’s where I learned that I KNEW I wanted to be a Merchandiser forever. That’s where I knew I wanted to manage both a full time job and my blog. My blog grew with me in my career – I covered what I did day-to-day as a Merchandiser. I talked about when I knew it was time to move on from Perry Ellis. It followed me to my next job at Free People: A place where I loved the brand, but realized I was doing a job that wasn’t true Merchandising. I talked about what I learned from doing a job I didn’t love. And finally, my blog was around when I landed an actual DREAM JOB at a DREAM COMPANY, Lou & Grey.

doing my own thing

I say this a lot, but I have grown SO MUCH as a blogger/content creator/influencer in 8 years. I started off as someone who just wanted to share whatever I wanted. Then, I started sharing outfits to become a TRUE fashion blogger. I wore things I’d never actually wear in real life. Once I realized you were responding to my longer form posts, I completely switched up my content creation strategy. What used to be perfection and image-only feeds and blogs, shifted to real, raw, and unedited wants. I think, as bloggers, we failed people in a way. We gave people SO MUCH fluff, and unrealistic lives. We started showing our true selves too late. I’m happy I really started taking control over my own brand a little bit ahead of the curve.

I’ve been having so much fun sharing my REAL life with you. It’s also allowed me to stop stressing about being “perfect”. I tell you about my highs and my lows. I talk about relatable things with you

meeting really cool people

It’s pretty cool that I have friends all over the world because of the Internet. To some people, it might be weird. Sure, you follow someone online and then when (or if)  you meet in real life you feel like you actually know them? Yeah, slightly weird. BUT how cool? I met people who are really freakin’ awesome. I’ve met people who have been there for me on both personal and professional levels. I don’t know, to me, that’s just really cool!