Not a snowflake.

Hello beautiful readers.  This is not going to be a typical post of mine, so I apologize if you came here in hopes of seeing what new wild and crazy outfit I've come up with. ;)  I'm shifting to a serious and more reflective gear tonight with my intention being to help answer any questions you have about me as well as clear up any assumptions you may have as to why I decided to start a style blog.  Here goes nothing (or something?)..

I was perusing some style blogs earlier this evening and came across one that particularly caught my eye: Closet Vomit.  One post I read in particular consisted of a very sincere explanation/description about this blogger and why she has a fashion blog.  I found it to be incredibly honest, compelling, and more importantly, smart.  If you would like to read her words yourself, visit http://www.closetvomit.com/. The post title is, "Five things I can't provide you as a blogger".  Everything she wrote I wish I had written myself.  It is beautifully said, nail on the head kinda stuff.  And so it goes, she inspired me to write a little post in list form, explaining exactly why it is that I do what I do.

1.  I am not a snowflake. I don't believe that I am any more special than anyone else.  I am ME.  And ever since I was a little girl I have loved expressing myself through what I lovingly call "personal style".  It has always been extremely important to me to be exactly who I am, and express that outwardly.  Growing up, especially during my teenage years, I was often scared to be who I wanted to be, because, like so many of us, I was often teased for looking different or not following the social norms of "fashion".  Now that I am an adult, I just don't care anymore.  You can take me or leave me.  I will never stop being me, and this realization in my adult years has inspired me to make a platform for myself, via this blog and other forms of social media to inspire any and all others to be exactly who they are without fear of judgement or persecution.
2. Fashion is a curse word.  What is fashion, anyway?  I prefer "personal style" (in case you hadn't noticed haha).  Fashion implies that if you aren't dressing the way the magazines are telling you to dress, you aren't doing it right.  Hogwash.  If you are dressing the way that YOU want to dress, you are absolutely doing it right. Period.  We all seek inspiration from each other in order to grow and become the individual we truly want to be.  If there are certain trends out there that ignite a little spark in my own personal expression, that's just part of the fun in it all.  But in no way do I believe that you have to follow trends in order to be who you want to be.  Trends are just a fun little side dish. That's it.
3. Money is not the goal. I was recently contacted by an advertising company that wanted me to feature ads via their website, and share in any profit or revenue that might result out of traffic or post-clicks leading to a specific purchase.  I respectfully declined.  I think that it is extremely cheap and tacky to have ads displayed on this specific kind of blog, a style blog, because in my opinion it screams "I'm trying to earn money for this". All I'm trying to do is inspire.  If someone approached me to actually style specific looks for them or their company/agency in exchange for some revenue, THAT would be a dream come true.  But I am not blogging in order to earn fast money from a random website that wants to litter my online "home" with ads. 
4. Recognition is a perk, but not necessary. Sure, it is always nice to get "likes" or "hearts" or comments on your endeavors/work.  But if one million people or simply one person reads my blog, the number of views or engagements will never stop me from doing a hobby that brings me joy.  I will never let numbers influence my happiness.  
5. I am not a ditz with a credit card. (Thank you, Cher Horowitz.)  I don't have any credit cards.  I have strong, deep feelings and thoughts about our world and planet that often haunt me on a daily basis.  My existential crisis has never been more severe.  I ponder life and death and suffering more than any person should, but I also believe that my personal struggle with the current state of reality makes me tenacious and wise.  My fluffy, colorful blog filled with outfit ideas and my endless love for shoes does not mean that I am a stupid, uninformed human with no understanding of the complexities of life.  Having a style blog means I have a hobby that allows me to escape said monsters for just a little while.  My husband plays Dungeons and Dragons as a hobby (I join in too, every other week) because it is far more fun to battle imaginary monsters than the evil in real life.  
6. I love selfies and pictures of cats. And any and all other Instagram images that might remotely fall under any of those categories.  I love people's faces, I love animals. I actually enjoy seeing what awesome food creation someone has cooked up for themselves.  I love it on the days when I feel so good about who I am that I want to snap a picture and tell my little world.  I just do.  And I'm not sorry for any of it.

I could go on forever, but I feel like my list has touched on the main points I wanted to convey to those who might inquire.  I love all of you so incredibly much, for exactly who you are, and all I ever want out of any of this is to be an inspiration to someone.  Anyone.  Thank you so much for taking the time to read this blatantly honest post of mine.  I promise next time around I'll be back to the usual unicorn stuff.  ;)

Love to you all.  =^.^=