Milwaukee Fashion + Lifestyle Blog
Hello again. I am sitting here writing this wondering how it’s been so long since I’ve last posted something on my blog. Sure, ‘life happens’ is always a great excuse and rationalization, but I assure you it doesn’t represent the important role that my blog plays in my life or in my personal story. This outlet for creativity and expression is extremely important to me and definitely deserves some TLC after my time away. So what have I been doing? Still living and spending time in Milwaukee, traveling a bit, visiting with family & friends, and making some changes in the personal and professional life. I’ve also been struggling a bit with what some may call “impostor syndrome”.
Throughout our lives, we are constantly looking for ways to define ourselves – daughter, best friend, student, graduate, employee, runner, blogger, etc. Most often, those definitions are driven by what we do (and sometimes don’t do). This combination of descriptors, verbs, and values can be thought of as our personal “brand”. Just like a company, and especially as a blogger, we are looking for ways to easily communicate what it is we do, what we’re about, and what we value. Over the past few months, I have been re-envisioning what that looks like for me and there’s a few reasons why.
When I first started my blogging career, way back in college, I was looking for a creative outlet where I can express my thoughts and talk about things that I like. Pretty simple. Flash forward to today and the reason for me having a blog is the same. I view it as a creative outlet where I can express my thoughts and talk about things that I like. But I always want it to be informative, helpful, and valuable not just for me, but also for you.
In this saturated blogging and influencing world, there is a lot of competition and comparison. I was falling into that trap which led me to my impostor syndrome. I found myself feeling like I didn’t have the experience or expertise to blog about certain topics, didn’t have the time or resources to make content that looked like the top bloggers and influencers I admire so much, and I saw a lot of similar content that I wanted to share out there in the world already. I wondered if I was truly creating anything unique or new. What I was forgetting is that my perspective, creativity, and writing style makes anything that I put my name on unique and new. And I think you (yes, you) are here engaging with this content because you appreciate my perspective, creativity, and writing style.
So let’s dive into the reasons I’ve been MIA and what the plan is moving forward.
I’ve recently changed jobs.
It’s true, I am no longer an employee at Levi’s. A little over a month ago, I gave my notice and a few weeks ago, I said goodbye. I worked in wholesale account management for them for the past 4 years, so it’s been a bit of an adjustment and shake-up to my routine, ways of working, and daily life. BUT it’s a good GREAT thing. Though I loved working for the company and being an ambassador for the brand (I still plan to #liveinlevis), I needed to follow my gut and push forward down a different career path. My gut was telling me (pretty consistently) that I didn’t love what I was going to work to do everyday. I was good at it, but that can’t be the only reason to do something. It might be the millennial in me, but the paycheck was no longer worth the time and energy I was investing into my job. In the end, you need to do what’s best for you. So I did.
Not that I was actively looking for new opportunities, but when something pops up that you keep thinking about, dreaming about, and envisioning in your life, don’t ignore it. That opportunity came in the form of part-time blogging for a marketing agency here in Milwaukee. So I have been writing these past few months, just not for my own blog. Through that PT opportunity, this marketing agency then offered me an opportunity to join their team full-time, working in digital marketing (hallelujah), something I’ve wanted to do full-time for a very long time. So here I am, starting my second week as the Digital Marketing Strategist for Vertz Marketing, and can honestly say, so far so good. I’m working on creating an office for myself that sparks creativity, fosters optimism, and invites inspiration. And through this work, I’ve gotten my groove back in the blogging sphere. I feel more confident about my writing abilities and proclivity for taking on new, interesting topics. So get ready readers, we’re going to try some new things together.
I want to ensure my content is authentic & a reflection of me.
One thing I always strive for is to be confident with myself and stay true to who I am. I don’t want to share anything with you that is a false representation of myself or who I want to be. I don’t want to share a review of a product or restaurant that is positive, even if I had a bad experience. And I don’t want you to leave here without feeling like you know a little bit more about me and a little bit more about yourself. We’re all trying our best to be the best versions of ourselves, and even if that isn’t always reflected in the social media space, I want it to be known that struggles being confident and authentic 100% of the time are inevitable.
But my promise to you is to always be open, honest, and authentic, even if the end result isn’t always pretty. I want you to trust me that I am only sharing words with you that I truly believe, feel, and am passionate about. I want you to know my heart, even the parts that have scars.
I want to provide value for you.
In the end, I want you to leave here having learned, felt, or experienced something that is real. I don’t want to provide fluffy, nondescript content that isn’t useful for anyone. I don’t want to write it and I don’t want you to read it or see it. I want to share things that I care about and I know you care about as well. I want to provide information and recommendations that will be helpful. And I want to share valuable, authentic snippets about life or things I’ve learned along my journey, in hopes that they may help you along yours as well.
So with all of that said, I still plan to share my love for fashion and playing dress-up, living in Milwaukee, eating & drinking, traveling the world, creating and absorbing content like books/movies/music, and trying to be the best version of myself. That’s my everyday life and the things that I love to do.
Finally, I want to thank you for being here. The support (through comments/likes on here or on social media), the feedback, and the appreciation you’ve shown does not go unnoticed and I am truly honored you choose to be here. Can’t wait for what’s to come in my journey.
Cheers,
Leena
