This Blogging Thing

“If you can get paid for doing what you love, every check is a bonus”

Oprah W.

Hi everyone! Happy Monday 🙂

For a little while I’ve been wanting to write a blog post about this blogging thing and share with you a little piece of my personal story.

I’d never in a million years imagine myself to be doing this. I don’t recall the exact moment I decided to start a blog. I remember opening my Instagram account back in December 2014 and I had no idea what to post. I knew I wanted to have a record of my looks, my feelings and my thoughts, but after a month I realized IG wasn’t going to be enough. I needed a website, and that’s how Ways of Style was born.

At first I was so excited and shortly after, simply scared. I think fear of failing or fear of what people are going to say stops us from doing a lot of things, and that was a reality of mine for so long, until now. There was something inside me, a voice as some may call it, that never shut up until I decided to start with the website. Now I have all these ideas all the time. I’m still finding my voice, discovering who I am, what I like and what I don’t and so many things that I wouldn’t have been able to discover without all of this. Blogging is the only thing in my life where I don’t have an excuse for. I mean I have tons of excuses for eating healthy, working out, catching up with work etc. But for blogging and taking pics I always seem to have time and that says a lot.

My love for fashion has always existed, but I wanted my blog, my space, to cover so much more. Because let’s face it I don’t have the best stuff or the best pics (But it will get better, because this is my learning process), but I do have a lot to say and I wanted my blog to be a platform for creating a voice, and hopefully some day a really loud one. For this blog post I partnered up with Ikwetta, a beautiful brand that creates hand-made products in Africa and generates jobs for local artisans. They made this beautiful red clutch I’m wearing. If it wasn’t for my blog I wouldn’t have had this opportunity.

It’s funny but I wasn’t going to post these pics. You see, my sister told me this outfit was a little “Christmassy” the green and red combo, and of course I didn’t listen. But it kind of does, right? Anyway, I don’t really care LOL, I love this dress and I’ve been using it during summer a lot and I can’t wait to style it with sweaters and tights for fall! Plus the funny picture is sooooo funny. And by funny I mean weird. I seem to do that with my legs a lot hahahaha. Scroll down for details hahaha.

When it comes to trying out new things, we have to be open minded about doing things wrong. These days I’m looking forward for mistakes, they give me such an opportunity to grow and to learn from them. I’ve learned to see every mistake as a unique blessing. I’ve realized that every time you try to be unconventional with anything about your life, there’s people who will immediately walk away and I’ve tortured myself with thoughts and asking God and myself why until I read this:

“Not everybody is built to handle the rough times. Can’t be surprised when you fall off with certain people. Few people understand what it really means to be there for somebody and that’s the roughest part about being on a journey. You realize the main ones that said they’ll ride, are the first to fall off. People make promises when the sun is shining and make excuses when the storm comes. That’s why I’m always thankful for the rain; it washes away the unnecessary. The reality is, you could be amazing, genuine and sincere but still be overlooked. Because honestly, people don’t want something real anymore, they just want reasons to complain and excuses to avoid.

Having a good thing is so hard because meeting a strong person is so rare. So I’ve learned to respect when people run from me, I’ve realized my kind of love ain’t for everybody and I’m at peace with that.”

Can I get an Amen?

Well, this is my gift for you. This wonderful piece of advice. I wish you a wonderful and positive week ahead.

Take care and thank you so much for reading,

XO,

 

PS: I have a huge announcement for next week, can’t wait to share it with you all!

 

And this is the funny pic! I just had to post it because from the waist up everything seems ok hahaha but then my legs… God… Tyra Banks would be proud!

 

SHOP SIMILAR ITEMS:
(I couldn’t find the exact same dress, but here are some similar ones)
Link for the clutch here.