Is it just me or did this week fly by!? I guess I’m pretty excited about this blog post, which I might say about every blog post, but ah! This one is going to be a good one so grab a glass of your collagen infused water and get ready to find out why I don’t regret taking a break from blogging! Oh, and if you don’t have time for all the backstory I’m about to share, then scroll down to the bolded section, which is where I really get into the whole life lesson stuff.

I was inspired to write this post after more than a few people reached out to me about starting their own blogs. Side note- I LOVE when people reach out to me, whether it’s just to say hi, to ask where my agenda is from, for outfit details, and especially when someone wants advice about blogging! Obviously I’m not an expert blogger, but something most of you might not know is that I first started blogging 5 years ago. But wait, Style Inherited is only 10 months old at this point. Correct- but Style Inherited wasn’t my first blog.

In 2013, before going off to college, I started my very first blog called “Above the Top Shelf,” which was very similar in concept to Style Inherited. I’ve been stealing clothes from my mom’s closet for a longgg time! The pictures and writing I posted were cringe worthy, but my values haven’t changed. Back in 2013 blogging hadn’t really taken off yet, my inspiration came from The College Prepster and Gal Meets Glam, who were kind of the only big ones in the blogging space! Sure sometimes I wonder if I’d stuck with it would I be as popular and successful as Carly and Julia? BUT that’s exactly the opposite mindset of this post!

Some more background that’s important to know, I stuck with Above the Top Shelf for probably about 9 months before falling out of love with blogging. Then in 2015 I started a new blog called Pickup Truck Prep (which still exists, click HERE for a good laugh!), but dropped the ball on PTP a few months later. It wasn’t the right time for me to blog, and only now do I really understand fully how glad I am that I put it on pause.

I put Pickup Truck Prep on pause in February 2016, not for a lack of love for blogging, but I was too busy with college and too frustrated with my limited resources (my iPhone at the time was the only camera I had, so my picture quality was sub-par, and I didn’t have anyone to take pictures of me, which limited my content). So fast forward now to August 2017 when I started Style Inherited…

Launching Style Inherited was one of the most exciting days for me! I put countless hours for weeks leading up to the launch to get my blog up and running (I blame my parents for not putting me in coding camp as a kid!). The first two times I started blogs I wasn’t as invested, but also the first two times I started blogs, blogging wasn’t as big of a deal as it is now! Having a professional look, a cohesive feel, and most importantly, a brand, were all factors that I’d never considered prior to Style Inherited. Before Style Inherited I was using a free domain and free templates through WordPress, this time I wasn’t messing around. I bought my domain name through Host Gator (no complaints about them!) and bought a theme through Restored 316 (also no complaints!) in order to achieve a polished platform for all my thoughts, ideas, and outfit inspo!

“why I don’t regret taking a break from blogging” 

I guess we’re ready now for diving into it all! Let me start by saying that this is entirely personal to me, but I still think there’s something to be learned from my experience. I think if I’d stuck with blogging back in 2013, I would have come to dislike it overtime. Back when I first started, I was so young, I still didn’t know who I was, I lacked the level of confidence I have now, I lacked inspiration, and most importantly (to me) my writing skills were mediocre at best! ICYMI I majored in biology and creative writing in college, and I graduated with honors in my creative writing major!

I would have fallen out of love with blogging completely because I would have gotten tired of questioning myself, my content, and my impact. At this point in my life I know who I am, and for better or for worse I’m okay with it! Honestly, I’m a lot like both of my grandmothers (in good ways and in bad!), then again that’s what you get for naming your daughter Helen, I was born to be an old soul! [Complete side note- the first time I met someone under the age of 65 named Helen was TWO weeks ago! Yes, the first time ever. For real. It was crazy.]

Okay, back to blogging now. While I’m still a micro-influencer and then use a magnifying glass and THEN maybe you’ll see me, I’m proud of the fact that I’ve grown my blog following to 60-100+ visitors a day! I’m confident in my content, and at the end of the day I know that I’m publishing something that is worth while to read, at least for one person out there. And that’s all that matters. But at the age of 17 I didn’t get that. At all.

At the age of 17 I took offense to the few to nonexistent viewership my blog was getting. I spent more time worrying about the number of views my blog recieved and less time thinking about my blog’s content. Clearly it showed! Just look at how far I’ve come from Pickup Truck Prep to Style Inherited’s posts. And while we’re at it, at the age of 17 I still was trying to figure out who I was, and what it meant to be Helen. (Answer: awesome!). A HUGE part to being successful as a blogger is knowing who you are, and I’d argue it’s nearly impossible to create a brand without a clear sense of self. With that being said, I definitely think there’s a niche market for girls figuring out who they are as bloggers, but looking at my personal experience as a teenager, the bloggers I was following (and still today) were always older than me and already knew who they were. Their concrete identities helped shape mine.

And lastly, I don’t regret putting a pause on blogging because I always dream too big for my own good. Hello #teamoptimist !! I’m glad I didn’t really start blogging untilI had the funds, means, and passion to fuel my vision for a professional looking blog with entertaining writing (if I do say so myself), and eye-catching content! As I said earlier, I grew up reading Gal Meets Glam and The College Prepster, and while I was blogging while reading their blogs, I was always dreaming of mine to look like theres. Of course I realize I’m so much smaller than Carly and Julia’s influence reach, but I feel like at least I’m producing final products that are polished like theirs. And that’s something to be proud of, right?

Do you ever feel like you’ve said so much, but then also nothing at all? Ugh, that’s me right now! Have I made any sense at all? Is there any message even in here? Long story short- I finally committed to blogging when it became something I couldn’t stop dreaming about, something I couldn’t stop imaging, something I couldn’t stop wanting. I’m grateful I had all this built-up creative energy just waiting to pour into something (something=Style Inherited) and I think it has paid off. I’ve been at it for 10 months or so now and I’m now at the point where brands are reaching out to me to collaborate. Yay! Can you believe it? Dreams do come true! Sometimes you have to put your dreams on hold, which is exactly what I did here, but eventually they will come true. Just don’t forget to add the not-so-secret ingredient, which is endless hours of hard work!

Alright, there you have it folks. Why I don’t regret taking a break from blogging. You’re a big reason why I have no regret, because you’re here now and I’m here now and that’s all that matters! Happy FRIYAY!