I admit I’m pretty addicted to the internet, specifically the digital spaces of many individuals out there, otherwise known as bloggers. I’ve been scouting new blogs to read for leisure and specifically those that are genuine, feel personal, and ones I feel I can relate to. So I came across Bloomin Rouge this past weekend and was immediately drawn to her dreamy photos and well-thought out + written posts…lots of good tips and reviews there – a true diamond in the rough if you know what I mean. Anyway, she happened to ask me:
What’s your story if you don’t mind my asking? Your blog is brand new but you appear to be quite experienced.
I was perplexed as this was the first time anyone’s called me out on it so I thought now would be a good time to drop some background info as to not seem misleading. Truth is, I’m no blogging neophyte. I’ve actually lived through three blog aliases in my prior lives (Late Nite Addiction, NoviceStyle, Novel Ave) and now, this one (it’s permanent, I promise). Blogging has been an up/down journey for me…I’ll die and then come back because of a few things: I love creating content, taking random photos, and connecting with readers.
So here’s my story/ I discovered blogging back in late 2009 as I was unhappily graduating from college and immediately fell in love with the community as any beaute/fash enthusiast would. Eventually, I became too inspired and tried my hand at it thinking it’d be easy peasy – the internet is a dangerous place and little did I know, I’d be in for a major surprise. Late Nite Addiction started as a beauty blog where I mostly posted reviews and makeup looks at night since I just had Jolie and spent my days working/taking care of her. I eventually got tired of beauty blogging and wanted to partake in the fashion scene. So away went LNA and commenced NoviceStyle with the idea that it’d be about affordable fashion for a younger audience except I didn’t realize how hard it’d be to take self-portraits with a point-and-shoot. After about 6 months of that, I became pregnant with my son and felt tired all the time so I just put blogging off altogether. Another year flies by and I’m on a 3-month maternity leave with my son – I get a sudden urge to start creating content again, thus Novel Ave was born. I bought my first DSLR, began shooting, and posted a mix of beauty and fashion posts (and also my most popular post on how I got started in the retail fashion industry. I stayed there for the last 2 years without ever figuring out what my concept was and it became an exodus.
So now as I reflect on my “blogging” odyssey, I realize and accept that part of me being a blogging nomad was really about feeling insecure, confused, and satiated with what I was creating and putting out – my photos weren’t turning out the way I wanted them to, my writing felt like a typical fashion blogger knock off, and my lame names were killing me (or so I felt). But the only way to get better at something is to keep doing it…so I pushed forward. I continued to shoot ugly pictures and produce horrific edits with over curving, color overlaying, and stuff – I even went through a phase of that cliche “faded look”. I kept attempting to write witty-seeming paragraphs that just ended up being the cheesy blog post anatomy of that no-one-wants-to-read fashion blogger, and worst of all, I was annoyingly influenced non-stop by all the noise out here in this virtual world. So I called it quits for the last time and focused my energy on photography. After all, the main thing drawing me into this is truly the photographs (since we all know by now, photographers are masters of illusion). That meant I took a hiatus from this world and poured my heart into tons of photography/editing forums and ebooks – it was a new found obsession. I’d also just write and write my heart out about random shit whether it was in my journal, e-mails, coverletters, resumes, or whatever – I love writing, I just needed to find my inner voice. And just earlier this year, I finally decided on a not so lame name (because my daughter’s name cannot be lame and I’ll never get sick of it).
So now, I’m here, happier than before with what I’m creating and putting out and making new friends (you all!). And you also know now that it took me a while to find my blogging voice, photography style, and personal aesthetic and that mostly explains why I transitioned from blog to blog – what can I say…I’m a late bloomer. Hopefully, this inspires one of you in the tiniest way (or you can just pretend).
Whatever you’re struggling with, I hope you find the strength to persevere, start over (if needed), and become confident and happy with what you’re doing/putting out. And thank you so much Holly for asking this – it really helped put things into perspective for me!
Note: Polaroid template found here.