Blogging is no joke, guys. But I think one of the toughest parts of being a blogger is that most people don’t realize that it’s more serious than it seems, and they also don’t realize the many many pressures behind it all, so I wanted to open up to you here a bit about the pressures I myself personally feel from working in this biz, since in the past few weeks as holiday quickly approaches, I feel like the pressure increases. Maybe this post will unburden me of some pressure (as writing and unleashing tends to be therapeutic for me!) or maybe it will just clue you in a bit more to some behind the scenes you may not know about, so as you’re scrolling your trusty ole’ feed, you’ll have a bit more empathy for the ladies out there posting every day. I know it isn’t the MOST serious job out there, and doesn’t come close to the amazing doctors who save lives, or the compassionate therapists, or a lot of titles, but in this neck of the woods, some days it feels like a lot!
The first pressure I feel is obvious, to look good, indefinitely. So for me, I enjoy dressing up and always have, so it doesn’t bother me much to have to put something cute on every day, or fix my hair a bit. It actually doesn’t really put pressure on me, because it’s a way I’ve always been, BUT I do feel pressure to continue to look a certain way. I know a lot of bloggers get work done, or get botox, and I have yet to jump into any of that. But I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I’ve thought about it. I am 31, in an industry where most people are younger, so it crosses my mind, especially as I catch glimpses of my crows feet in photos every day. I try my hardest to practice self love, and I feel since having Hudson I’ve been kinder to myself than I once was, but it’s still a pressure that I did not feel when I worked at a desk job and sat behind a computer every day.
I also feel a very large pressure to not let you all down. I know, that’s silly, right! But, it’s a tricky compromise, because I make my income on partnerships that I hope you’re interested in seeing, but also know that if I pick something that you all feel isn’t correct for me, or is a company you don’t stand behind, I could offend you. I try my hardest to just “do me” and book work that feels right, but sometimes even if it’s a brand that I use, there’s some of you who may feel it’s not a good company, etc. I’ve always been one to beat to my own drum, BUT I do not want to let you, the people who follow me, down. I care about the likes and messages that allow me to continue working this job, and that truly puts pressure on me almost every day, to book work that you also connect to, and then to shoot quality photos that live up to the standard I’ve set for my work.
Which leads me to the next pressure – to post only the very best work! This one is really tough sometimes, because I am always trying to meet halfway with a brand, to help them reach all of you, and they may have a different vision of what I should be posting. I am always feeling pressure to not let my clients, the brands, down. I want them to walk away from every job feeling amped on the work I’ve submitted and posted on their behalf, and sometimes I will go the distance to achieve that.
So, at the end of some weeks, I feel really tired. I was thinking about it today, and it made me a bit downtrodden, because there’s weeks where I am constantly thinking about keeping you all happy with my content, the brand happy with my content and my family happy, and at the end of the week I’ll realize I didn’t even take a second to wonder if IM happy. So, I am going to try to do that more! And hopefully even if this post is a big negative, it opens up the inside of this world a little bit to all of you. Life is full of pressure, and we should try our best to just keep on keeping on. I’ve always been that way – never felt compelled to keep up with the Joneses, and I have to continue to remind myself to stick to that path! So maybe just by putting these vibes out into the world, it will make you feel the same – honored to be living in the path you’re on, and living by your own rules.