Last year I decided to have a
word of the year and while I have lots of goals and plans for 2019 I decided to
have a word for the overall theme for 2019 as well and this year I’ve decided
on Live Colorfully.
word of the year and while I have lots of goals and plans for 2019 I decided to
have a word for the overall theme for 2019 as well and this year I’ve decided
on Live Colorfully.
Living colorfully can mean many
things though and while yes I take it to mean literally not being afraid to
have color in your life I think it can mean so much more than that. To me,
living colorfully is about trying new things and purposely finding new
experiences. It’s also about not living
in the shadows and embracing the full experience of life.
things though and while yes I take it to mean literally not being afraid to
have color in your life I think it can mean so much more than that. To me,
living colorfully is about trying new things and purposely finding new
experiences. It’s also about not living
in the shadows and embracing the full experience of life.
As a blogger on thing I’ve really
struggled with is finding an aesthetic – you go to many bloggers instagram
feeds and they have soft neutrals, or bold colors, or delicate pinks . . . but
then you look at my feed and I’m all over the place. Here’s where I’m going to
let y’all in on a little secret – there are a lot of bloggers who post staged
photos and do not wear the outfits in their photos in real life. When I tag my
pic #realoutfit gram I mean it – this is the actual items I wore and this is
how I actually style them. I don’t want to limit my clothing purchases to a
certain color scheme. I don’t consider my clothing disposable in that I’m going
to wear it a few times and get rid of it and I don’t buy things that look fabulous
but aren’t practical for my life so in 2019 I’m not going to think pink or feel
the blues – I’m going to continue to live colorfully in my clothing choices.
struggled with is finding an aesthetic – you go to many bloggers instagram
feeds and they have soft neutrals, or bold colors, or delicate pinks . . . but
then you look at my feed and I’m all over the place. Here’s where I’m going to
let y’all in on a little secret – there are a lot of bloggers who post staged
photos and do not wear the outfits in their photos in real life. When I tag my
pic #realoutfit gram I mean it – this is the actual items I wore and this is
how I actually style them. I don’t want to limit my clothing purchases to a
certain color scheme. I don’t consider my clothing disposable in that I’m going
to wear it a few times and get rid of it and I don’t buy things that look fabulous
but aren’t practical for my life so in 2019 I’m not going to think pink or feel
the blues – I’m going to continue to live colorfully in my clothing choices.
On a deeper level though I think
being open to new experiences is an important part of living colorfully. This
can be as simple as trying the new Indian restaurant down the street or as
dramatic as backpacking through the jungle for a month – it’s whatever you
decide to make of it. I for example love the arts and when I travel I always
like to visit museums and expose myself to things that aren’t in my home town.
It doesn’t mean that I like or even “get” every piece I see but I can
appreciate its existence and the statement it is making. At the end of the day
I think the world is full of people with different talents and skills and we
are all better for it when we expose ourselves outside our beige bubble.
being open to new experiences is an important part of living colorfully. This
can be as simple as trying the new Indian restaurant down the street or as
dramatic as backpacking through the jungle for a month – it’s whatever you
decide to make of it. I for example love the arts and when I travel I always
like to visit museums and expose myself to things that aren’t in my home town.
It doesn’t mean that I like or even “get” every piece I see but I can
appreciate its existence and the statement it is making. At the end of the day
I think the world is full of people with different talents and skills and we
are all better for it when we expose ourselves outside our beige bubble.
The most important part of living
colorfully to me is not living in the shadows. By this I mean not being held
back by fears, the opinions of others, or doubt. I cannot tell you how many
times I have worried “what people might think”. Just as a silly example I
recently cleaned out my instagram account and blocked users I not so affectionately
refer to as “creepy men”. A part of me worried what would other bloggers think
– it’s going to look like I’m losing my audience. But here’s the deal – having
men I don’t know and don’t have an interest in fashion lurking on my account,
sometimes making comments about my body and sending me unwelcome messages makes
me uncomfortable – getting rid of them is better for me for my sanity as well
as my account engagement and it’s ridiculous that I would hesitate to do
something that’s in my best interest because of what someone who doesn’t pay my
bills or run my life and truth be told I don’t even really like might think.
And you can insert this attitude into any aspect of your life where you might
be holding back – this means wearing the swimsuit when you are at the beach,
not waiting to lose 20lbs to wear a style of clothing you like, not missing out on experiences because no one
wants to go with you, or not being uncomfortable sitting alone in a restaurant
(side note: sometimes when you don’t have a dining partner to focus on you can
get some really good people watching by sitting in a restaurant). I’m not saying I’m going skydiving anytime
soon but I’m done letting the everyday little fears and doubts get to me and
holding me back from things I was to do.
colorfully to me is not living in the shadows. By this I mean not being held
back by fears, the opinions of others, or doubt. I cannot tell you how many
times I have worried “what people might think”. Just as a silly example I
recently cleaned out my instagram account and blocked users I not so affectionately
refer to as “creepy men”. A part of me worried what would other bloggers think
– it’s going to look like I’m losing my audience. But here’s the deal – having
men I don’t know and don’t have an interest in fashion lurking on my account,
sometimes making comments about my body and sending me unwelcome messages makes
me uncomfortable – getting rid of them is better for me for my sanity as well
as my account engagement and it’s ridiculous that I would hesitate to do
something that’s in my best interest because of what someone who doesn’t pay my
bills or run my life and truth be told I don’t even really like might think.
And you can insert this attitude into any aspect of your life where you might
be holding back – this means wearing the swimsuit when you are at the beach,
not waiting to lose 20lbs to wear a style of clothing you like, not missing out on experiences because no one
wants to go with you, or not being uncomfortable sitting alone in a restaurant
(side note: sometimes when you don’t have a dining partner to focus on you can
get some really good people watching by sitting in a restaurant). I’m not saying I’m going skydiving anytime
soon but I’m done letting the everyday little fears and doubts get to me and
holding me back from things I was to do.
Whatever your plans are for 2019
I hope you’ll live a little more colorfully.
I hope you’ll live a little more colorfully.
