begin again
It's a little crazy to write but I started this sparkly corner back in the summer of 2016. At the time, things- the blogger landscape, the influencer landscape, social media as a whole- looked a lot different.
When I think back, the reason I started this blog in the first place was because I wanted a safe place to create. I wanted a space where I could be the editor-in-chief of my own voice. If I’m being honest, I didn't know how to start a blog or what maintaining one would even entail. But, I decided to ignore the noise and reached out to a couple of bloggers who I admired for advice. I told myself “If they could do it, why couldn't I?”
And, over the years, I’ve had some incredible opportunities! Not only have I been able to create and collaborate with other incredible bloggers, photographers, and brands; this space has also brought me you. I’ve been able to have some real conversations with you all about your journeys, your learnings, your goals, your dreams; the list goes on. I don’t take any of that lightly and truly appreciate those of you who have been along this ride with me.
Somewhere over the last ~3 years, it has been more difficult than usual for me to create for this space. Part of that, I can attribute to focusing on transitioning from San Francisco to New York. The other part of that I can also recognize as focusing on my transition from YouTube directly into the fashion industry. And of course, there has been COVID these last ~2 years, which I know I don’t have to belabor. But, most recently, I have also been able to identify there's something else that was keeping me from creating. I realized that my sentiments towards this sparkly corner, and, by proxy, creating for it, has been tainted by my feelings towards, well, I guess there’s no reason to be coy, Instagram.
If I’m being totally honest, I really miss the old Instagram. I miss being able to share things without the pressure of performance, and, truthfully, I miss the caliber of content that used to fill my feed. Nowadays, it feels like my feed is filled with fluff to appease the IG algorithm instead of creating meaningful content that sparks discourse and conversation. [Let me be so clear, there are accounts that I follow that I LOVE like @krystal_bick, @enigivensunday, @thelanguageofyolande to name a few]. It’s just that with Instagram execs openly dictating the kind of content they will be prioritizing (and therefore what they are de-prioritizing), I think it signaled to me, even if subconsciously, that the future of content was changing, and it wasn't something I thought was for the better nor that I necessarily wanted to take part in. And so, I leaned out.
But I miss it; I miss creating. And what I realized, as I was committing to my 2022 goals, was that this sparkly corner has nothing to do with Instagram. So I’m going back to the basics, and doing what I did when I first started this space. I’m ignoring the noise. And I’m going to keep creating the kind of content that brings me joy, no matter what an algorithm may say.
So here’s to recommitment– recommitting to creativity, creating without boundaries or pressure, and, of course, recommitting to sparkle. I hope you’ll continue to come along with me!
Top: J.Crew//Pants: Everlane//Boots: Urban Outfitters//Vest: Thrifted via Goodwill// Sunglasses: Dolce & Gabbana // Earrings: Mejuri//
Photos by: Diana Davis
