E P I P H A N Y .

That's what I just had as I was browsing through my solo shots of my most recent photo shoot with a dear friend and fellow fashion blogger, Miguel of miguelraphael.com. 

Through our hangouts and discussions, we chat about what our goals and dreams are for our fashion blogs, but recently we've also constantly been going back to our intentions. Why? Why did we start this blog in the first place, and why continue it? What's the point? 

Miguel found a great method of using mind maps to help him figure out how fashion blogging fits into his life and its importance for him. However, I was still struggling on figuring out why I've continued to do this for almost three years now. Until just a few minutes ago, as I was going through images of me, from the last photo shoot I had with Miguel (which will be a blog post very soon)!

I have always had thoughts in the back of my mind, why blog, and why are you still doing this? what are you getting out of this activity that isn't related to your potential future career? And especially recently since I befriended Miguel, have I gone back to my intentions and thought more seriously of the why. And because of the several reasons that I've started with since the inception of Unconventional Bliss and some reasons that I've only realized were important and meaningful to me now: {warning: long post ahead; you've been warned}.

Blogging is Learning. 

Through blogging, I've reached out to some local bloggers and have met up with them a couple times. And through these brunches, I was able to learn what these more serious fashion bloggers experience and what problems or inner struggles they have faced while blogging. It opened my eyes that there really is a community out there of fashion bloggers who take blogging professionally and seriously. And that makes me look up to them even more. Blogging also has led me to some collaborations, and through these, I naturally have conversations with these creative people, whether they are photographers or fellow fashion bloggers. I come to know their passions and why they do what they do. I also learn more about themselves, their personalities, goals, aspirations. I gain a new perspective of the world, even if it is a tiny sliver. I become refreshed and humbled after meaningful discussions about fashion and life in general. I constantly become motivated. Genuine, caring, creative people inspire me and help move me forward. 

Fashion is a creative outlet. 

Fashion is something that seems so artificial and materialistic, which it can be, no doubt. However, after thinking more on why fashion is important to me, I realized at the start of college that fashion challenges my creativity. As a design student, I'm constantly working on being innovative and unique from my peers. As a personal exercise, I needed my mind to stay inventive and constantly exercising my innovative thoughts. I've always been interested in fashion and was inspired by fashion bloggers I was reading at the time, and thought, I could totally be like that if I pushed myself. And I started to do just that. Through fashion, I challenged my creativity, had restraints and limitations (such as trying to recreate a look I saw online, but had only my closet to work with) as well as try not to repeat outfits by mixing and matching different pieces, layering, exchanging jewelry, or even doing my hair differently. Fashion can be a workout of the mind. 

Unconventional Bliss allows me to be a model.

As a 5' 1.75" tall girl who loves bread and has the minimal amount of exercise (walking to class and the bus), I don't exactly have, what society has dubbed, a model body. Which I personally despise and loathe; society's standards of beauty disgusts me and can take up a whole other blog post. Anyway, through this blog, I am able to have my own photoshoots, and even collaborate with other passionate creative individuals, and become a model. This blog, I am realizing as I am typing this exact sentence this very second, has allowed me to come to terms with how I look and love and accept myself: my facial features, hair, height, and especially body. I've come to gain a much greater sense of self-love and confidence since high school and middle school, when I was just lost and confused with life in general, let alone where my individuality and self-expression was. I may not be six feet tall and have long, delicate legs like a gazelle, but I am valuable and important, and I love who I've grown to become with the aid of the amazing experiences, classes, and friends I've met in college. Despite occasional side remarks from my own family/family-friends about my weight, body type, height, etc, I shrug it off. A few years ago, that would have deeply impacted me and make me hate my body and myself, and wonder why I was not  "beautiful". However, hearing when I do hear these remarks, I honestly could not care less. The thing is, I get incredibly upset. And not because I don't feel like I'm not passing the standards of beauty (which does NOT exist!), but because the people I expected to be loved unconditionally by and expected to feel the most safe, made me feel the most unsafe and vulnerable. How dare they even dare mention to my face that I need to "work out more" or "eat less". NO. I'm grateful and blessed that I am mature, knowledgeable, and more confident that these occasional remarks don't cause me to harm my body to follow their expectations. However, these remarks can dangerously affect younger girls that overhear this, and that is definitely not ok. This blog has allowed me to grow so much, in so many ways, and through this blog post, I've come to realize it might also be a saving grace in regards to self-image and self-love. Please, if you are reading this, you are beautiful. And don't let ANYONE tell you otherwise.  

And those are all the reasons I can think of, in regards of the importance of my blog. If you have read this far, I commend you for your endurance. As well as your enthusiasm to follow me on my fashion/creative journey! I thank and love you for your support! <3

Preview of my next blog post and my latest photoshoot collaboration! And this was the photo that made me realize, well, everything in the above post. And motivated me, somehow, to write a blog post (which I haven't done in a while, but I hope to restart)!