SHOP THE LOOK:
Dress – Tadashi Shoji || Heels – LK Bennett ‘Megan’ || Clutch – c/o Vera Bradley || Necklace – Zara || Sunglasses – Ray-Ban || Lips – YSL ‘Volupté’ Tint-in-Oil No. 7 ‘Crush Me Orange’ || Nails –Deborah Lippmann ‘Amazing Grace’
Photos by gorgeous blogger Anna
Wow, I can’t believe it…
Tomorrow is Sed Bona’s First Birthday! Or Blogversary if you prefer!
Blogging is such a crazy, fun, rewarding, demanding, exhausting vocation. I’ve learned so much over the last year, making plenty of mistakes along the way, and I wanted to share a few words of wisdom from my first year experience:
1. Always be kind.
If there’s one thing I learned while living in India in college, it’s that karma really does come around. Sending support and positivity into the universe brings it back three-fold. I can’t tell you how many times just being kind to someone has paid off in unexpected ways.
And I always like to remember that you never know what someone is going through — a little unexpected kindness can make the world of difference.
2. Always be genuine too.
I think the thing I was least prepared for in the blogging world was how many bloggers can be ALL about the money. Or ALL about the attention. It’s crazy! I started blogging because I’m practically bursting with the need to create my own unique content. I passionately love being able to write about the food I devour, the clothing I wear, and the cool places I see along the way. The fact that I’ve turned it into an almost full-time job in the last year is something that I wake-up grateful for each and every day.
If you’re genuinely passionate about what you do, it’s not only obvious to the people you meet, it’s also contagious! I consider it the highest compliment when someone tells me I’ve made them want to start their own blog.
3. Don’t waste your time and energy being competitive.
Blogs are often intertwined with personal branding so it can be hard to separate who you are as a person from your blog. Contests and comparison games really do come with the territory.
If there’s one single lesson I’ve learned this past year that has helped me the most, it’s to not give a f*** what other people are doing.
I mean it. Step away from the screens. Breath the fresh air. Take a walk outside. Do something that inspires you. Focus your valuable energy on creating content you absolutely love instead of focusing on what others are doing.
Don’t get me wrong, I love reading other blogs (see who I follow on my personal page on Bloglovin’) but I often remind myself how different my vision is from the blogs I love. The great thing about blogging is it’s unique to each of us so put your personal stamp on your site, stand by your voice and remind yourself that what others do doesn’t matter, you’re a different person on a different path.
4. Surround yourself with the right people.
I’ve found (the hard way) that there are so many people out there ready to wring you dry for everything you’ll give them.
For free.
Since I’ve started blogging I’ve realized how important it is to surround yourself with truly good people and to protect yourself from the rest. Most of my best friends aren’t bloggers and I often tell them “if this blog starts changing me for the worse, it’s your job to slap me back into reality”. And I mean it. Give me a big ‘ol smack. Because I know I’ll do myself and who I am as a person a disservice if I turn into the type of person whose ego fills the room the moment I walk in.
What a first year of blogging this has been!
It’s truly been one of the most enormous adventures I’ve ever taken. I have come through it more disillusioned, passionate, angry, elated, frustrated, and moved than I ever thought possible. I’m thrilled to be charging into Year Two with so many valuable lessons under my belt — no doubt these next twelve months will come with even more scary/amazing adventures and I can’t wait to get started.
So thank you.
Thank you for reading, thank you for supporting this little passion project of mine, and thank you for inspiring me to create better and better content each day.
I really do feel like the luckiest woman on the planet to be doing what I love and doing it the way I want to!
