One of my most frequently asked questions is: Why did you start a blog?
The easiest answer for me to say is: I’ve always had a love for fashion and after working in the marketing industry for five years and switching careers to wealth management, I decided to start a part-time blog to have a creative outlet.
Although this is the easiest answer, there is truthfully a much longer and a bit of a vulnerable story behind my blog. My hope is that this will help you to not only get to know me better, but also help those of you who might be searching for encouragement to chase your dreams and do what you love!
Why did I start a blog?
First and most obvious, I love fashion and always have. From memories of shopping with my Mom, Grandma, and friends, playing dress up in fitting rooms, to that special feeling of wearing a brand-new dress to a special occasion, fashion has always made me feel happy and beautiful!
Although fashion has always made me feel good about myself, it hasn’t always been easy for me to find clothing that fit correctly. I’m 5’1, considered “curvier” on my bottom half, but “extra-petite” on my top half. With this, my selection of 100 dresses gets dwindled down to 10. I sometimes wonder… how many women can actually wear everything off the manikin? Based upon my personal observation, my guess is a very small percentage! Fortunately, over years of fashion trials and errors, I’ve acquired many tips and tricks to finding clothing pieces that fit perfectly! Why not share these tips with other women? Everyone deserves to find the perfect fit and feel beautiful right?
A few years after college graduation and working in the land of corporate marketing, I started to day dream of creating something of my own and share my fashion finds. Blogging was a newer concept and I was working my little tail off up the corporate ladder with zero work/life balance. When would I ever find time to start something of my own?
The years following my hunch to start a blog consisted of many major life changes, at this point I went from working in corporate marketing for five years to working in a home-based office doing financial consulting. People would always ask, “working from home is so nice right?”. Yes it is – but I missed my community, the camaraderie at work, the people, friendships and creativity I left behind!
In addition to a complete career change, my husband and I had moved from Iowa, Arkansas, Texas, to Arizona, got married, and purchased our first home, all in a matter of a few short years. All happy and exciting things but so so so much change!
Then all of a sudden… three months after our wedding, we endured a very unexpected death in our family that brought on so many sad tears during our newlywed years. The day of our wedding will forever be the last time we saw my father-in-law.
Up until this point, everything in my life had been pretty “text book happy”. I never experienced a traumatic event of this magnitude. I was stuck in a what I call, weird “funk”. A deep “funk”. I had experienced so much change and trauma in such a short amount of time!
I was working from home, alone, missed being around co-workers at an office, friends and family in Iowa, and we were mourning the loss of my father-in-law. Seemingly happy on the outside, but so deeply sad on the inside. My husband was so heartbroken and so was I! Watching someone you love be sad and not being able to do anything about it is the most heartbreaking thing in the world.
The years following my father-in-laws passing, I started to follow more and more bloggers. It was my outlet, my uplifting “me-time” of the day, all the positivity was just what I needed. A distraction that got me through a very depressing time.
I do want to note, I understand there’s a big stigma tied to instagram that it’s just a highlight reel of people’s lives. And I agree, it can be a bit unrealistic to only see the good, but I needed that in my life! Personally, I didn’t want to see or hear the bad. I needed all the positive vibes I could get! I chose to follow bloggers that kept it “real” but maintained a positive vibe and focused on the good rather than the bad.
At this point I had been day dreaming of starting a blog for what felt like forever! All these life-changing events finally pushed me into mustarding up the courage to create it. It was time for me to crawl out of my “funk”! I needed a creative outlet and a place to push out positive energy! And hey…. you’re not guaranteed a tomorrow. So why not?
But what will everyone think? (Gut drop) Is it silly I want to start a fashion blog? Where do I even begin? Will this look like I’m full of myself… a showoff?
I had a list of blog names saved to my phone for an entire year before I even told my husband about my idea! I was so fearful of what others would think! What will my family and friends say? All of these questions made me squirm!
The moments spent sharing my idea to start a blog with family and friends were beyond what I could have imagined. The amount of support I felt was overwhelmingly positive and encouraging.
To date I’ve been blogging part-time (nights and weekends) for a little over a year now and have no regrets! I’ve connected with so many amazing women, made new friendships, focused my energy on something I love and finally feel like I’m out of my “funk”! I love sharing outfits with each and every one of you and hope to be a positive outlet to you like so many bloggers are to me.
If you’re thinking about starting a blog, new career path, or hobby, my advice to you is, do it! Surround yourself with people who cheer you on and support you! Keep them close and do your thing! It sounds cliché but life is too short! Spend it doing what you love and with the people you love!
xoxo Brittany
