Let’s get real for a second here — Blogging is hard.
It’s only been about a month since I’ve launched hoodiexo and already I’m trying to stay positive, creative, and motivated when other aspects of my life aren’t exactly going swimmingly.
But the thing is, life’s a struggle. Sometimes more so and sometimes less, but overall it’s the things we overcome that come to define us, and it turn us into the people we are. True, my life hasn’t exactly been hard compared to so many other people out there, but we all have our ups and downs.
Lightening the mood, I’ve been keeping a keen eye out for inspiration anywhere I could find it. I needed a pick me up, a motivational talk, or even just a few wise words when I could get them. Luckily life didn’t fail me, and just when I needed a boost most, I found them. I’m sharing a few inspiring souls with you now in case you need to connect to something too — we’re all only human, after all. Check out these amazing girls.
Stephanie Yu
I recently attended a blogging party in Vancouver and had the pleasure of listening to blogger and YouTuber, Stephanie Yu, share her story. She started an ‘oatmeal blog’ to chronicle her times of overcoming an eating disorder, and has since worked every single day to stay true to herself, her message, and never, ever sell out. I had only just met her, but she immediately stood out as a very genuine, happy person. Not only that, but something she said really stuck with me. She said (and please don’t quote me because I didn’t write it down at the time) “The reward can’t really be rewarding unless you’ve had to work and overcome some struggles to get there.”
Check out Steph’s blog / Instagram / YouTube channel
Isiuwa Igodan
I met Isiuwa in almost a fan-girl way, which is really, truly unlike me. She had done a video project for the company I worked for and I was so blown away by her work that I had to reach out to her and tell her how inspired I was. To be totally honest, I spent an entire evening pouring over her website and connecting with everything that she stood for. Her latest video, The Power of Hair, is extremely powerful (ha), and incredibly brave. She’s taken on this challenge where she wants to overcome everything she is afraid of this year, and I was so impressed by her that it’s inspired me to spend more time on self love. If you can, take on her no-makeup challenge for a couple of weeks. I’m not quite there yet, but I hope that at some point soon I can have even half the courage she does.
Check out Isiuwa’s blog / Instagram / YouTube channel
Shamayne Zindoga
I met Shae through the company that I work for, and had the pleasure of working alongside her up until very recently. She has this infectious positivity, and it’s impossible to not feel like everything’s all going to work out when you’re around her. Luckily, you don’t just have to know her in person to feel uplifted by her inspiring light — she has a blog where she shares her thoughts, motivations, and even travels. Better yet, Shae is my go-to photoshoot buddy for my blog, which is amazing. She’s SO supportive, which is integral to where I’m at right now since I’m just starting out and all my other friends tend to roll their eyes when I ask them to take a photo. Trust me, if you’re just starting out, make some other blogging friends and help each other!
Check out Shae’s blog / Instagram
When it comes down to it, yeah, blogging’s hard. But that means that this industry is full of the inspiring, strong, and empowering people that work through it. I feel so lucky to now be a part of a community that embraces sharing their thoughts and lives with others, and I hope that one day, I’ll end up in someone else’s blog, just like this, having inspired them too.
