From Ghost Town to Glow Up: Rekindling My Love for Local Gems and Inner Growth in 2024

Ok, I’ll be frank. Popping on and off the internet is nothing new for me. Like most people, life gets in the way, but more than life, imposter syndrome gets in my way. It’s frustrating to feel like you can’t fight through it and winding up disappointed and wondering if you’ve let down your audience. However, in this spiraling panic wondering what people thinks of me, I forget that showing up everyday is a “me” battle. 

I really struggled in 2023. It wasn’t a bad year for me but it was a year of…nothing. I tried to get back into posting on social media. Couldn’t. I tried to launch a subscription box with a good friend but schedules didn’t line up, and frankly, I got freaked out that I was doing something I was really passionate about and set it aside. Not fair to my friend and certainly disappointing for me to give up on a passion so quickly. Work was also challenging to say the least, but I’d rather not clutter my creative space with such professional matters. 

The point is, by the end of 2023, I was frustrated with myself and the mess of very little I had accomplished. Now, I shouldn’t beat myself up too much, there are definitely some wins in there, but from a creative standpoint, I just wasn’t happy. I was actually pretty pissed at myself. And while yes, the new year is when everyone is assessing their lives, I really feel like I’ve allowed myself to be in the background for far too long. Not being seen is comfortable for me. As a perfectionist from birth, I can’t stand the thought of disappointing other people or under delivering on what others expect of me, but somewhere along the way I forgot about the girl in the mirror. The thing is, I love being on social media, but it also terrifies me. It’s scary to be vulnerable with others, especially strangers. I’ve been described as a cerebral person, my feelings often not portraying the whole mess of emotions and thoughts underneath. I’m convinced, and in fact confident, that even my parents aren’t aware of all my layers. 

That being besides the point, the whole of 2023, I’ve just thought about all the things that make me happy and wondered how I could recapture that and I thought getting back to blogging would be the best place to start. Perhaps not the most popular form of social media, but it’s an easy one for me to get into and if only three poor souls read it, it feels less scary than thousands, despite the fact that my goal in writing a blog is really meant for thousands of people to read i—nevermind, I’m getting off track.

Ultimately, I’m tired of living for other people and doing or not doing things for others rather than doing things for myself. I’ve lately been pretty ruthless and have just been charging ahead with learning more about what I really like and pursuing those passions. I’ve also been working on speaking up, setting and maintaining boundaries and while this all feels very scary it also feels pretty damn good. Although not a Taylor Swift fan (I’m not getting into it. Just know I’m not a fan), I have labeled this chapter of my life my “Fed Up and Dangerous” era. This also means that there will be some changes around the blog. Here’s what you can expect: 

Lifestyle Content

You’re pretty used to this but I will be making more of an effort to let you into the inner sanctum. Being vulnerable is hard, even though I know as humans we all have shared experiences, it can sometimes feel embarrassing to admit failures in life. In the same vein, releasing some of those emotions could also do me a lot of good and remind me I’m not alone when I read the comments. 

Local Finds

This isn’t going away but I am going to change up the way I approach this in a way that feels more sustainable to me. I’ll talk more about this in a later post, but rest assured, I still love shopping local and supporting local businesses. I will not be abandoning my roots, but I am trying to expand them. 

Sustainable Living

This has been something I’ve started to really care about more and my brand was already shifting in this direction way back when, I just didn’t really showcase it much on the blog. This is an aspect I’m really excited to take on because I have plenty of “I should make a blog about this” content on this topic. 

Self Care and Mindfulness

At this point, self-care and mindfulness have become the buzzwords of many influencers, but I want to provide tools and tips that are actually attainable. When I watch a reel or TikTok of an influencer showing you their 15 step skincare routine, I just die a little inside because who has the time and why would I do that even if I did? Either way, I want to catalogue how I keep myself accountable and build my confidence along the way. 

Into The Unknown

Hopefully some of these changes sound exciting to you. They certainly are to me. Keeping Up with the City was a completely different blog in my 20s. It was fun, explorative, and it opened a lot of doors for me. However, as I move further into my 30s, I want Keeping Up with the City to be about something else. I think it can still have elements of the old, but I’m a different person, not to mention I’m going through a little bit of a spiritual awakening. I hope you’ll choose to follow along and share this blog with a friend, maybe you’ll find something interesting, funny, or useful while you’re here. Whatever you find, you’ll just have to keep up.