B’H Photography
Next week marks my four-year Fashionlaine anniversary! Which for bloggers, 4 years equivocates to like 800 years because it really feels like it takes that much of your life away. I guess as they say, “time flies when you’re having fun”? I truly cannot believe that it will be four years of me being @iamfashionlaine because it feels like just yesterday I started this little old thing.
Someone just recently asked me why I feel the need to make such a big commotion over my anniversary and do something to celebrate it every year as they highly doubt any other bloggers really do anything to celebrate theirs. And the answer was so clear and evident. To me, my blogging anniversary isn’t a celebration of me turning another year older as a blogger or someone who Instagrams their “outfits of the day” and Snapchats the food that they are eating. Instead, every year my blogging anniversary is a symbol and reminder to me of the day that I decided that I was finally going to believe in myself and do something I was passionate about and loved. For those who know my backstory, I went through a lot in college trying to “find me” and figure out what it was that I wanted to do with my life–thinking I had to go for the norm and the “safe” route of doing a career in medicine or law which is what I ended up studying in school. The one day I had a turning point and decided that that was not what I was going to do with the rest of my life and started my own rulebook and went for something against the grain.
“What will people think of me?
What if this is a failure?
What AM I DOING? (as there is no rulebook on how to be a blogger)”
It’s REALLY scary to form any in action in life that has no guarantees and not knowing what the outcome will be. So for me, the birth of Fashionlaine was a symbol of one of the first times that I went for something I believed in, even though I was terrified about it the whole time. I started this blog with just a simple hope– a hope to inspire others to do the things they too felt passionate about and loved and not let the opinions of others affect their actions. Whether that meant waking up in the morning and wearing something that you thought was cute but weren’t sure what others would think to going after the things you believed in whether in career, friends, or love.
When I started this blog, I didn’t know what the future would hold for it. And to be honest, I still don’t know what the future will hold for it. People may not think that being a “blogger” is a difficult task as “all we do is take pictures of clothes, food, and go to events”. Yet, being Fashionlaine has been no easy feat by any measure and is truly a 24/7 job. There are still so many days that I just want to give up and throw it all away as it can be overwhelming and exhausting, yet when I get comments from people about how my pictures or Snapchats brighten their day, or how I’ve inspired someone to dress in a certain outfit, take a picture in front of a colored wall, or reach out to ask me to ask for advice about how they too can go about finding their own voices in life– I am reminded that I’m doing this all for something greater than just me.
Who knows what I’ll be doing a week, month, or even a year from now. Yet all I did know at the time of starting my blog was that I didn’t want to live in the “what if” world anymore–always wondering what would have happened if I had started blogging. And what’s actually funny is that one of the first questions people always ask me is how I decided to start my blog. And the answer I always give is that for many years my closest friends had always encouraged me to start one, yet through fear, I had always shut this option down. So when I finally decided to listen and put my fear aside– it’s been amazing to see what incredible things have been able to bloom from it. From the people I’ve met, places I’ve travelled, and things I’ve been able to do– this four year journey has been nothing short of a whirlwind and I can’t wait to see what the rest will hold.
SO WHAT AM I DOING TO OFFICIALLY CELEBRATE?! Well if you can recall from last year, I did the cutest emoji-filled Fashionlaine Turns 3 party but this year I wanted to switch up the game with a fun little #FashionlaineTurns4 series and I’m SO excited that I’m going to be having Reebok involved in this! I went to the soft opening launch party for their new exciting showroom here in Los Angeles a few weeks back and got introduced to a campaign they have called #BeMoreHuman. There was a white board in the showroom with the question asking us what we are looking to #BeMore of. And as I sat there and thought about what I wanted to contribute to the board, I realized my answer was that I wanted to #BeMorePresent. As I mentioned above, being a blogger is no easy task and is truly a 24/7 job and sometimes I feel like I get way too caught up in my blogging life to appreciate actual life. So taking on my own words of encouragement, I decided for this celebration I want to stop and LIVE in life for a moment. So I’ve created a fun and playful “bucket list” series where I’ll be taking you on four journeys (get it, because I’m turning 4?) throughout California in the next 2 weeks of places and things that I’ve always been dying to do but have never had the time to. I’m going to keep where I’ll be heading a surprise, but trust me, you’re not going to want to miss out!
And as a sidenote, I came across this video I made last year for my three year blogging anniversary of “10 Things I’ve Learned As A Blogger” which I just rewatched and felt like it was still so true so I’m bringing it back from the archives for you to check out if you haven’t seen it before! And thank you California Donuts for my customized unicorn treats!!
HAPPY FASHIONLAINIVERSARY!
xoxo, Lainey
What do you think?