A BIT OF A CHATTY ONE...

So, it's not often I get all chatty on my blog but as I'm sat here thinking about this topic, I feel a strong urgency to share.

For a young woman in this technological age, as I am sure the majority of you are, it is difficult. We are surrounded by images of photoshopped girls and the surrounding idea that everything has to be 'perfect'. But what is perfect? I don't think anyone has the same answer to this question, yet why are we so obsessed with it?

I am my hardest critic. I'm so guilty at comparing myself to those that I have never even met before, and I think that is where I have found difficulty within the blogging world. To most, social media, such as the likes of Instagram, is just a world of selfies and avocado-on-toast pictures. To me, it is so much more. It is something I am incredibly passionate about and something that I do work hard on in my own free time. It is on my mind constantly. I am always looking at my feed with such a critical eye, getting obsessive about filters and whether they match. I am working to create my own brand, and achieve the goals that I strive for. However, I am also finding myself constantly comparing - this is not so good.

Before starting my blog, I was inspired by many girls that started from nothing and used these platforms to share their passion with the world and start their own businesses. However, the whole way through I feel like I haven't really found my "voice". Within my art degree, I am constantly being told that I will find my own artistic voice, and I feel it is the same with this creativity. Being so passionate about it, I feel like I am trying too hard and that it is almost holding me back. I had such an epiphany this evening where I just sat and realised that it is okay not to meet expectations, and in fact, I shouldn't! You all know what a blogger is and what we do, but I feel like the successful element that makes you stand out in a crowd is the person behind the blog. It's me! Which sounds weird because I am just little old me trying to please. But I do have a voice, and I feel like within my Instagram I have held that back in fear of not being favoured. I've abided the rules, I've tried too hard to meet expectations, and I've tried to just fit in with everyone else in order to get guaranteed likes, reposts, or follows. I may not have equating to 500k, or even 10k, but I am proud of what I have achieved this past year, and how far I have come. I just feel like it is time to stop worrying, overanalysing, and overthinking.

I guess where I am going with this is... we all really need to stop damn comparing! I am writing this post to remind myself, and perhaps even inspire some of you to realise that it is okay to do you, be you, and not take any notice of anyone else. Don't feel like you need to wear that extra lip liner just because someone else does and it is high in the popularity contest. I'm not saying my work online is a lie, it isn't at all, but it is me trying far too hard to fit in with what is expected from us bloggers. I imagine it is the same within different contexts hence why I feel the need to share and remind you all that there is only, and will ever be, one you. Be the honest, true version of you. I believe that is where the beauty and the happiness lies.