Happy Monday, everyone! Last weekend I ran into a major issue--for those of you who don't follow my Insta, my MacBook ended up dying on me. I wanted it to last me till at least the new year before I splurged on a new one, but unfortunately that wasn't happening. I could have paid to get it fixed, but with the amount of issues I've been having with it I just decided to make the splurge than and there. I wasn't able to blog all last week due to not having a computer, but my new one came so I'm excited for all the new content I have/already had planned!

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 My Insta when I first started A Small Town Fashionista vs my Insta now

I can't believe I've been blogging for an entire year! It has been so fun creating content that's my own and being able to express who I am through fashion. I've wanted to share my personal experiences with running my own fashion blog with you guys, especially those who may have just started blogging or are interested in starting their own blog but nervous to.

The most important thing I've learned is to never compare yourself to anyone else. When I first started blogging I was so interested in what other bloggers were blogging about, how their pictures looked, what their fashion sense was, etc. that I sort of started to lose touch with my true self. It's ok that your fashion sense is different from other bloggers and it's ok that your pictures look different. Always be sure that you're expressing your true self and follow your heart. 

One day I hope I'll be able to blog full-time to make a living. To get on that path though, I need to start working with brands and get sponsorships but the one thing I've always made sure to tell myself was that it's ok to say no to an offer that doesn't feel right to me. I still don't have any sponsorships, I know those take time, but I have worked with a couple of brands recently. Others have reached out and I have said no simply because they didn't fit who I was and my message as a blogger. I want my followers to trust me and know that every brand I promote, I'm promoting because I am genuinely interested in it.

Practice makes perfect. With finding your voice, creating blog posts, finding a schedule that works best for you, and editing photos. During the year that I've been blogging I've worked with a lot of different schedules to find which works best for my current situation. I've found that Sundays are the perfect day for me to shoot for the week ahead. While I was in school and working I only blogged 3x a week, this past summer I blogged Monday-Friday, and just recently I've decided that I'm going back to a MWF blogging schedule just because it's getting overwhelming with blogging 5x a week and working a full-time job, It's ok to switch it up, but it's also important to stick to that schedule when you do figure it out and stick to a consistent posting time. Editing photos also takes practice, or at least for me. When I first started blogging I edited my photos straight from the photo app on my MacBook, then I finally bought a monthly subscription for Photoshop and Lightroom and figured things out from there. 

Creating a blog takes time, but don't feel discouraged about starting one!

Thanks for reading! Xo