On The Subject of 2020...

A few important notes on my blog direction for 2020, typed on notes on my phone:

As 2020 is approaching, I’ve been reevaluating my social media presence and the purpose of my blog. It’s been an insightful experience to look within and say “Is what I’m doing now line up with what I’m passionate about?” and “Does my blog encompass my true self and impact others as I intended?” Although it was difficult to do so, I realized that the answer to those questions were a pathetic “Kind of.” Let me explain.

I had mentioned in an earlier Instagram post about not wanting to post as many pictures of me because it was not something I enjoyed — yet I continued to “put myself in a box” of what I thought I supposed to do as a blogger and post pictures of myself. I did so because I was afraid of ‘not fitting in’ to the blogger community and because of a fear that people would otherwise be uninterested in my content. What I realized is that if I follow what I perceived people's expectations of me to be, then my blog is not authentic. It does none us any favors, especially if my intent is to enjoy blogging and be true to myself.

So, although I enjoy fashion and makeup at times, it’s not my primary passion or really something I look forward to sharing with you everyday, hence my current rate of a few posts a month. Also, if we are being honest, I’m pretty much always bare faced and in big t-shirts and joggers— which is not exactly a fashion or makeup blogger look—so, when I would dress up for photos or do my makeup it felt deep down like I wasn’t showing you my true everyday self. Furthermore, fashion and makeup were not the reason I started this blog, even though that’s what it has mainly turned into. My original purpose for beginning this journey was to impact people, inspire them, share my life experiences, and empower others; all of which I would argue to say I’ve “kind of” done so far.

Another reason I think I held myself back from the empowerment, positivity, and motivation I so badly wanted to share was because of other people. I worried what people would think, and I let some voices from the past live in my head. I was scared people would make fun of me or would think I was “fake.” But, what I was doing because of that was actually being untrue to myself; I forced myself to abandon my true passion and purpose for my blog by conforming to what I thought ALL people would see (i.e. my posts recently) as acceptable or noncontroversial. Why did I let the few negative people who don’t understand my heart overpower the 1000 positive ones who are behind my movement and understand my true intentions? Also, last but not least, The Lord knows my true heart, and I am not being a true servant of Christ if I let the opinions of the world rule my head.

A few other minor things contributed to this as well. From lack of confidence, to fear of failure, to the desire to be accepted, I let all of these worldly things play a part in hindering me from being ME. While those are incredibly human emotions and feelings that I am sure you have also felt at times, I am not going to let those rule my head and rob me of my purpose, and I would invite you to do the same. Own your journey and your big dreams; you live this life only ONCE so make it count.

In conclusion, here’s to a new year of re-branding The Carolife to its original purpose and to my primary passions. No more letting people rule my head, and no more putting myself into labels or perceived expectations. Thank you all for your incredible support, and I’m so excited to see where this new journey will take all of us! It will be refreshing to start being more authentic, more motivational, and more inspiring with my social media and blog presence as I have so long aspired to do.

(P.S. This is no slight on any amazing bloggers who do fashion and makeup and post pictures of themselves; that’s your passion and for you to follow that, I admire you. I also thoroughly enjoy your creativity and learn a lot from what you share! I will still continue to do a few of those posts myself; they just won't be ALL I post anymore.)

Sending Love,

Caroline

#2020 #goals