Why Blogging Will Always be Relevant

Growing up it isn’t uncommon to be told “you can be anything you want to be.” For a long time I upheld the (extremely random) idea that I was going to be a model/actress. And yes, I did actually say “model slash actress” when people would ask me the infamous question “what do YOU want to be when you grow up?” I don’t remember if I got weird stares or not, but that’s probably because the adults around me wanted to be as supportive as possible even though they knew that was an unlikely profession.

I was so set on this future of mine that I took a modeling class at my local community center with my best friend (oh yes, it’s a thing), got headshots (Starshots, if we’re being honest here), and enrolled in Drama 1 my Freshman year of high school.

It wasn’t until I auditioned for my first play (a play by Shakespeare, mind you) that I realized how intense my stage fright was. I’m talking knees shaking, stomach in knots, can’t even think straight, wait to audition LAST so no one is around, kind of stage fright. It goes without saying that I didn’t make the cut and quickly shifted gears. 

Clearly not designed for the acting spotlight, I decided to skip Drama 2 Sophomore year and pursue student council instead. I was much more cut out for the poster-making, working any-and-all school events, being as school-spirited as possible at all times kinda life. The desire to become an actress was dead and buried and I never spoke of it again. 

As supportive as my mom was in my modeling dreams, again, not very realistic. Coming in at a solid 5’4” I wasn’t exactly made for the runway, and the only way for me to get a decent picture includes a lot of “does it look okay? How should I stand? Wait, can you take a few more, my face looks weird.” So again, that idea was put to rest. 

In college the pressure was on. I had to decide what subject I wanted to study for the next 4 years to then pursue a lifelong career in said subject. How the heck do they expect an 18 year old to make a decision that big? I mean…I’m 29 and being indecisive is STILL one of my biggest faults. 

Luckily, my mom instilled within me a passion for clothing at a very early age. To this day one of her favorite stories to tell is that as soon as the doctor said it was okay for me to go out in public as a newborn, she headed straight to Nordstrom.  

Another serendipitous fact is that my 1st choice college happened to have a fashion merchandising major. Seeing as my dad refused to let me go to FIDM ( simply because he knew how indecisive I was and he thought I would definitely change my mind about my next career endeavor ) this was a miracle in my eyes. A win-win. I got my fashion major along with a four year university in San Diego right on the beach. 

Regardless of the years of studying what I loved most, I entered into my senior year of college still uncertain about my future. I was working at Nordstrom ( don’t you love when life comes full-circle ), preparing to enter into my final semester of college and had no “real” job lined up. I had taken an internship at a small fashion magazine in San Diego that sadly died right before I was set to graduate, and felt like I had run out of time. 

“What now? Where am I going to work? What am I going to do with my life?” 

It was time to get creative.

But first, a few background notes:

1. Something that I’ve always enjoyed is writing. My nana told me right before I started high school that I should write down my memories, no matter how small, so I can always revisit them and be transported to that very moment. So that is exactly what I did. To this day my best friend knows that if I die unexpectedly, one of her jobs is to dig up my diaries and destroy them all. Because I quite literally wrote every detail about my high school and college life in those things. I even gave them all titles. So you can imagine how incriminating that evidence would be. BUT, I do go back and read them often and it is a magical thing to have your very own time machine. 
2. When Myspace was a thing ( RIP, I’ll always miss you ) I used to redo my layout weekly. And I’m not talking templates or whatever we used to call them. I’m talking I used to read and write code, manipulate native page features and rework my entire layout. I even had friends ask me to redo theirs from time to time. It gave me the ultimate creative high. 
3. I wasn’t one of those kids in high school that partied. And, no judgement at all to any who were…I just mean that I was A) way too sheltered to even think about doing it, B) didn’t even understand how my friends were going about it, and C) would way rather stay home all weekend taking photos and making videos with my best friends. I was a picture FIEND. 

Now let’s get back on track. 

I’ll never forget the first time I learned what a fashion blogger was. One of my roommates (while I was studying abroad Sophomore year) walked into my room and said “do you know who Fashion Toast is? She’s my favorite fashion blogger.” That’s all it took…and my world, I guess you could say now, was completely turned upside-down. 

She showed me how to navigate her blog and every single day after that I would hurry home from my fashion classes to see if Rumi Neely had updated her site or added new pictures. 

I was so enthralled with the idea that she could create her own beautiful images, upload them to her site and write whatever she wanted. It was literally all of my favorite things all bundled up into one. 

From one Myspace lover to the next, Facebook will just never compare. It lacks creativity and just does not give you any ability to design whatsoever. With Myspace, you were a web designer. You knew how to code, you could change your mind at any time, you could showcase your individuality however you wanted. It was my ideal online platform. 

It took some time for the thought to hit me to start my own blog, but when it did, there was no going back. My soul was on fire at the thought of having my very own online space. And the best part of it was that no one could tell me “no.” It was all my doing, no approval needed…no getting permission or having the right “look.” I could just…start. So I did. 

Back when I wanted to be a model/actress, I had my heart set on it – it’s all I wanted and all I could picture myself doing. The funny thing of it is though, there are so many people in the industry who’s job it is to tell you “no.” Blocking you from your dream, making you jump through hoops and climb mountains, to one day…hopefully, land your dream job. Once you gain their approval, of course. 

I absolutely understand that if you’re good, then you’ll make it. Of course not EVERYONE can just be a model/actress simply because the desire is there. You have to work hard and you earn your place. But at the same time, I know some extremely talented individuals who were not only passionate about it, but were incredible actors. They even knew all the right people. But if you don’t have the right look, then it just wouldn’t work.

And I guess there’s truth to that in lots of industries, the world is just shallow at times. There’s not much we can do about that entirely. 

But with blogging – you don’t need approval to start. You get to just do it.

 You can buy a domain name, start writing, taking photos, and uploading to social media, with no one there to tell you no ( internet trolls are another topic ). 

It seems like every few months there’s a new article in some magazine or on some website proclaiming that fashion bloggers are a dying breed. That the industry won’t be long-lasting and the interviewee is typically rooting for this outcome. There’s so much animosity surrounding the industry. People like to make fun of posting trends, bloggers hustling with their bluetooth remotes and tripods in empty parking garages, and using the word influencer. It’s like the industry has come to be the punchline for a big joke to so many.

But to so many others, to me, it’s provided a life I could never imagine in my wildest dreams. I’ve made best friends, found mentors, learned business strategies, tackled website coding and design, social media marketing, photography, editing, video production, editorial calendar management, you name it – I’ve been able to have my hands on it. 

I have created this life from the ground up, and it has given me memories I will cherish forever. 

Even the beauty of not having a boss to report to every day is not lost on me – my anxiety has decreased (slightly lol) because I don’t have someone trying to knock me down or stop me from growing – and that alone makes me look at life differently. 

When I started writing this post in 2018, I wanted to prove a point.

That blogging will never die because it is open and accepting to all – anyone can create their dream life and work as hard, or as little, as they want to make their wildest dreams come true. It takes lots of work to get there, but if you want to start today, you can. 

I do not think that blogging is too saturated, because I believe that everyone has something unique to offer. Even if it isn’t something noticeable to the naked eye – even if it is simply your character, your heart, you have some different to bring to the table. And you should. This table is big and there is room for you.

Blogging has opened our world to the beauty of real-time, raw, honest opinions. It has given consumers a direct line to someone who may have an item they’re considering investing in, and getting real feedback. From a person who isn’t of celebrity status, who won’t ignore them or push their message to the side. Who will take the time to give them a review of something and make it worth the consumer and the brands money and time. 

I finally decided to publish this blog, 4 whole years later lol.

At first I was nervous about feedback I would get, and pushback from people saying blogging is dying.

But here we are – four.whole.years.later. And I STILL feel the same about every word I wrote 4 years ago.

Sure, the introduction of platforms like TikTok that are sweeping the way we consume content have a huge influence on the trajectory of the industry moving forward. But I can confidently say that not one time since I bought this domain in 2013 have I experienced a blackout that kept me from accessing or creating content for my blog.

We suffer from algorithm and app updates WEEKLY on TikTok and Instagram.

The best part about owning a domain is that ( God forbid ) anything happens to any social media platform I currently create content on, I know that I have a place to turn to. My blog. My newsletter. My audience that is invested in what I have to say — and I get to call the shots here. Not an algorithm.

If you read this post and made it to the end, thank you for reading this journal-like entry that I feel deeply passionate about. Discussing social media, as you know, is my favorite, and I could talk about the importance of blogs for hours. I have SO many other things I could dissect on this topic, but I will stop here…for now 🙂

Let me know what you think below! x