This month I celebrate ten years of blogging and five years of Instagram. and No I have not followed all the rules of blogging I did not post the typical balloon picture on Instagram celebrating my blog anniversary. Instead I am writing this reflection post.
Happy TEN years of Blogging Cincity Style Edition!
Reflecting
Ten years ago I discovered blogging and fell in love with how many of my favorite fashion bloggers like Wendy from Wendy’s Lookbook or Samantha from SammiMaria aka Beautycrush were sharing their own fashion stories online. It inspired me to start my own petite fashion blog originally Cincity26 nothing fancy. At that time I did not do my research and thought I needed a fancy photographer to take my photos. Or I needed a PR rep to help land campaigns. I had no clue how the industry worked and frankly at that stage it was fairly new itself. Since then it has evolved into a huge platform for many individuals as a creative outlet and at times earn an income from.
Back then when my energies were in a different space I never thought I could actually earn an income from blogging. In 2014 when I became a first time mother then decided to stay at home permanently was when felt a sense of loss that I was no longer contributing to our families income. Another aspect of that loss was experienced when it came to my relationships and connections with other women. Many of my real life female relationships either completely disappeared or changed. These feelings lead me to dive backing to blogging and Instagram as tool to build a community of women through connecting on topics about daily mom life, fashion, beauty, and inspiring women embracing the now of motherhood. I still question if I have been able to do that. Many of the connections I have made online have fizzled out. I am not sure if that is because I have not been good at maintaining the connections or if the other person is the one not holding up their side of the connection.
In the process of learning about blogging, marketing, photography, writing, editing and running all the behind the scenes of a blog and Instagram account. And trying to identify my place in the blogging space has been difficult. In my attempt to build a community of connections with women near and across the country virtually through my Instagram and blog. I have found that parts of me were lost through that journey to produce content that is engaging and inspiring. This lost hasn’t been negative at all though. It has been a great opportunity to rediscover things that I loved just with a new perspective.
Celebrate your successes!
In 2020 we walked right in a pandemic that had us quarantined for most of the year putting a halt to all the plans that many of us had for the year ahead. If you relate to me then you probably also felt that you were stuck or your hands were tied when it came to creating content. So many creators began using video content much more that lead me to try creating a few videos. One of the video’s I was able to collaborate on was with my fellow West Indian moms. This video was fun to make and allowed us moms to connect online forgetting about the pandemic for a short time. We were all so excited when the video was reposted by Alison Hinds, herself. The excitement was overshadowed by all the negativity it received from our fellow black Caribbean sisters for the exclusion of them. The intention was not to exclude anyone but to showcase one part of the diversity that the Caribbean holds. Although this was not the response i expected especially during a year when supporting each other was most important not turning against each other. I did not let that discourage me I continue to connect and create with so many amazing ladies. One of them was creating Cincity Style Edition Collection of inspirational tees inspiring women to enjoy Motherhood stylishly! I even got a chance to share my story in an except about Mothering During the Pandemic in a book Blooming through Adversity A collection of Short Stories by Tiffany Manbodh.
2020 is didn’t end without its losses. My husband lost his job right around my birthday and the holidays. Changing the dynamic of our household. The job market in Florida hasn’t not changed due to the pandemic and the entertainment industry has taken a huge hit. Therefore our paths have changed for the upcoming year. We have been brainstorming tons of ideas and opportunities that we could try as couple and what we can each individually do.
2021 + What is Ahead
2021 I haven’t chosen a word that is going to guide me through the year. What I have chosen is to EMBRACE what comes my way, to FOCUS on my families needs, CONNECT with myself, lastly CHALLENGE myself to OPENLY share the positive and the negative aspects of my blogging life.
2021 I will be actively posting more blog post in this space related to skincare, beauty, and fashion.
2021 I will be creating more styling videos that can will be found over on my Instagram page.
2021 I will be sharing more mommy + me outfits with Neve my mini me.
Although not life shattering these are all small goals that I have had for myself in the past. That I have been afraid to dive into. Mainly because I have been afraid of the negative responses that I might receive. From the persons who have commented on how much time I spend on social media, the persons who question how I am parenting my children because I share matching outfits of us or the persons who express their dislike for influencers + blogger moms but seem to always be watching what your up. These have all been thoughts that have scrolled through my mind causing hesitation from me to explore these creative avenues. This year I am not holding back I will be experimenting with new ideas, creating and exploring all the opportunities that are presented to my blog.
I am grateful for all the opportunities that Cincity Style Edition has honored me with in the past and am open to all the opportunities headed our way in 2021.
Thank you for reading and always following me in this online space. Wishing you a all the success and o beautiful year ahead! Let’s connect on Instagram and share our success together.
xoxo,
Cindy
