Seven years ago, I started blogging. And I use the term "blogging" loosely. I was not efficient with it. I did not take it seriously. I did not have a focus. I just rambled online because some teachers I worked with suggested it. Check out my very first post here.
But, I have recently, over the past year, decided to get back into it as a way of expressing myself and having something to do. Mainly, I was looking for bloggers to follow who were like me and I struggled greatly with finding them. Most bloggers I found lived and had the picture-perfect life. Which I far from have, believe me. I also found they were all super tall, thin, had impeccable skin, fabulous hair, and looked like a model even before they walked out the door. Then, the self-doubt started to sink in. I am not tall, I do not look like a model, my hair is a hot mess almost every day, and I am as far from a model as one can be. I mean, I'm 4'10" tall and have a round shape. Let's be real.
The more I thought about it, the more the doubt set in. I don't look like the average blogger. I don't talk like the average blogger. I don't decorate my house like the average blogger. I don't post like the average blogger. I don't style the shelves in my home to be featured in a magazine. I don't walk through the grocery store in over-the-knee boots while wearing a floppy hat and cashmere sweater. You'd walk past me 100 times over without even noticing me most days.
But then I stopped. Why do I want to be average?! Why do I want to be like everyone else?! Sure, I take inspiration from other bloggers. I mean, who doesn't want the cute new booties from Target they're all wearing or have gorgeous front steps covered in mums and pumpkins styled oh-so-perfectly?! Don't we all?! But inspiration is different than becoming.
Instagram was sucking my sense of identity from me. I was constantly looking for the next best outfit, the newest accessory for my house, the cutest new boots, eyelash extensions, but for what?! And why?! To be like everyone else?! I just can't anymore.
I asked on my Instagram stories over the weekend a few questions to my followers. I asked about what kinds of pictures they want to see (staged or real life) and 99% said real life. I asked what kind of fashion pics people want to see (use what you already own or buy new) and 96% said use what you have. I asked if they wanted to see my family life as well as fashion and styling and 97% said yes. I asked if they found bloggers and influencers to be inauthentic and 99% said yes. And I finally asked about my #thisis40 challenge I made to myself and if they enjoyed it and 98% said yes! I found these answers enlightening and greatly assisted me in my newest decision.
I am going to continue blogging and I hope that I appeal to you and your friends. And I am going to continue to be me, 150% me. Authentic and real and if I have spinach stuck in my teeth in a picture, so be it. That's what you're gonna get. I share style and fashion tips, fun restaurants that my friends, family and I discover, and lots of ins and outs of being a mom.
I'm not your normal blogger. I'm your neighbor, your friend, the mom you see enjoying her coffee while strolling the aisles of Target with a messy bun and mismatched socks. I roll on the floor at MyGym with my toddler every week, I cry at stupid GE and AT&T commercials, I love to shop but savor a good deal. I don't wear makeup everyday, my pictures are taken in selfie mode or by my toddler, I wash my hair maybe once a week, and I do this "blogging thing" because I know there are others out there like me who just want to read tips and tidbits from a fellow "normal mom" and know it's ok to not be picture perfect day in and day out.
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