I have to be honest with you…I haven’t been very honest. At least, to myself. Blogging is an absolute passion of mine; I love getting to share lifestyle and fashion inspiration with you, my dear reader, and share my tips and tricks for how to put together an outfit for anything.

However, I’ve been put under a lot of pressure. To look good, almost perfect, all the time. It’s tiring. I have to keep up with clothing and accessory trends, travel locations, and even home decor. 

But here’s the thing: no one is putting this pressure on me. I did it to myself.

I am putting all of this pressure on myself and you know what? It’s hurting me. Specifically, it’s hurting my confidence.

There are SO many other fashion and lifestyle bloggers out there. It’s an overly saturated niche. And I found myself following others on Instagram, struggling to keep up with them. Everyone has the latest, trendiest tops, “in” shoes, expensive jewelry, and the Gucci Marmont bag. It’s an expensive -and exhausting- lifestyle to keep up! I thought, if all of these big bloggers have ruffle sleeve sweaters, jewelry from David Yurman, and Louis Vuitton bags, then I have to also! I put myself under so much stress trying to keep up with trends and be like everyone else, that I haven’t been true to myself.

What’s wrong with this?

It’s hurting my confidence: Not being able to afford these beautiful clothes and lavish trips like other bloggers is definitely a blow to my confidence. I felt like I could never be as good as they were, simply because of what I could afford. While I am no stranger to working hard for what you want, realistically, I’m not in a place where I can keep up with these bigger bloggers. I felt self-conscious, insecure, and worthless- as if my worth is determined by the clothes I wear or the trips I take. It’s not.

It’s being dishonest: I was lying to myself, and to my readers. I was pretending to live a glamorous lifestyle with beautiful clothes. In reality, I work both a full-time and a part-time job, run this blog, and attend university. It’s a lot for anyone to handle. It’s so much more glamorous to pretend you have nice clothes and vacations. I work hard for the things that I do buy, and I’ll tell you a secret: most of the designer stuff I have comes from eBay. I also buy nice quality clothing from stores such as Nordstrom when I can, and I’ll be honest with you, half of the “trendy” tops I’ve ever featured on social media, I’ve worn for the pictures then returned. While the tops are cute and definitely in, they weren’t something I would wear more than once. Statement tops are definitely nice to have a few of, but I prefer to buy clothing that can be worn in different ways again and again.

I wasn’t being true to myself: In order to keep up with the latest trends and pieces, I was neglecting my own personal style. An identifier that makes me, me.  Part of the reason I started blogging was because I got so many questions and compliments on my style, which is classic and simple. I am of French descent, and style is something we are known for (among other things!) 

I was hurting my body: Stress affects everyone differently; for me, it causes poor diet choices, resulting in a less-than-flawless complexion and weight gain/loss. I was losing sleep, I was unhappy, and financially I was putting myself into a rut. Today, I have been trying to take steps to lessen my stress and heal myself. I promise you -and me- to be true to myself, my values, my WHY. I blog because I love it, because I feel  a sense of purpose and accomplishment. I inspire other women to feel confident about themselves through my campaign. These are the reasons that drive me, not this year’s trendiest bag (which would probably get lost in my closet once the season was over).

Some big changes are coming to LRH. I hope you’re just excited for them as I am! And for those of you reading this, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

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