Not only am I embarrassed to tell people I am a blogger, but I am also very embarrassed to tell you guys this… but it’s been weighing on me- so I figured, let’s talk about it.

I am painfully uncomfortable when someone asks me “what do you do for work?”.

If anyone came to me with this problem, my advice would be to own it & be proud of their hard work… & then I’d be a total hypocrite. I have felt this way since I started blogging, but this past weeks viral blogger controversy has got me fixated on this issue.

I am not gonna link any of this nonsense. Only because I am trying to give the subject less energy, but I will sum it up for you guys. A blogger/influencer reached out to a hotel to discuss a trade partnership. Her email was professional, it laid out what she was offering in return (which was a lot), she had great engagement & a solid following. Reaching out to hotels to stay for trade is 100% normal in the world of blogging, & *most* hotels have a marketing budget put aside specifically for these kind of collaborations because they yield such great rewards for hotels.

These trade stays involve a lot of work on the blogger’s end, along with a great deal of exposure for the hotel. It’s business & both sides benefit from these types of collabs.

SO– said blogger is later leaving the gym (or somewhere) & sees her Twitter is blowing up. The hotel owner posted her letter (name crossed out) & fake replied the most horrific email for all of his followers to see. This continued for days, went viral, & I of course chimed in w/ my two cents. He continuously said remarks like “maybe if you got a real job you could pay for your accommodations”. His follower’s chimed in, & it pretty much turned into one huge blogger bashing party.

DON’T GET ME WRONG, I am sure there are blogger’s out there in it for wrong reasons/feel entitled to free things, but majority of blogger’s I know/love/follow/respect take their craft damn seriously & it’s people like this who give blogger’s a stigma. The same stigma that makes me EMBARRASSED to tell people what I do.

Again, I can’t speak for everyone, but the general vibe I feel I get when I say “I’m a blogger” is “oh, that’s so fun”. It’s the response you would get if you just told someone you crochet in your free time (HOW CUTE!). You can tell, they can’t wait to check your Instagram to see if you are even worthy of being taken seriously.

I am well aware that I am not an accountant/lawyer/secretary/whatever other respected career option. However I still think I have the right to be proud of my work? Blogging has been a windy ass road. I have worked really hard for 10 YEARS to grow Fashionlush. Many of those years doing it while also juggling a full time job. I have probably wanted to quit 500 times. The income ebbs & flows. I work unhealthily late nights (2:40am as we speak) + every weekend, & having to be “on” all the time can be pretty draining.

It has all been worth it because I stuck with it & am truly doing what I feel like is my life’s work & finding that alone, regardless of what is, is a win. I am forever grateful for the opportunities that blogging has brought me, but frankly- I am just kinda sick of people thinking blogger’s just expect things to fall in their lap. For anyone in this industry, it takes persistence & lots of dedication.

My point is with this whole rant of a post, is that it doesn’t matter WHAT anyone does for a living, as long as they are hustling to work towards a goal is killing it in my book. Moving forward, my personal plan is to stay humble, continue to work hard, do more, respect everyone, & stop the damn stuttering when someone asks what I do for work.

& I suggest everyone do the same!!! Rant over- just keeping killing it & if you made it to the end of this post, LOVE YOU! x, E