It's been a little while since I've written a more personal post for you guys. I felt like it was a suiting time to do this post now because A. my blog journey is flowing really well right now and B. I have new readers who I really need to say HIIII to, so HIIII.
So to all of you who have been on this journey with me since 2016 when I was a baby graduate mentioning my anxiety every two seconds and to my new readers who have no idea how much of a mess this blog looked when I first created it, let me re-introduce myself.
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I'm Shay and I have been blogging for nearly 2 years. For 2 years I've been sharing stories, putting myself out there on the internet and to my dads disappointment, working freelance. I started this blog after graduating in July 2016 with a 2:1 in Magazine Journalism. That course introduced me to blogging, introduced me to living my life authentically and introduced me to putting my written work 'out there'.
While at Uni I had a few published articles #MajorProudMoment and didn't really know what I wanted to do afterwards. After that course I worked as a Social Media Manager for a photographer which I loved, since that position ended I have been working freelance. I'll be brutally honest (lol I hate when people say brutally honest), I love so many things about my work life, like working when I want to, having free time in the week and not having to answer to a 'boss'. In addition to those perks, I also miss having a team and work friends, going for lunch, a fixed pay-check and I wouldn't mind switching work mode off every now and then.
2 years on I have taken the more professional route to blogging, it still is a hobby but it is also a brand and a passion. I rebranded from DearHumansWithLove.com to ASeatWithShay.com, my content had changed from being self-motivating to life-motivating, fun and real and I needed my brand to reflect this.
My mental health journey has been well documented on this blog. Anxiety was the only thing I associated myself with a few years ago. I had lost being Shay and only connected myself with anxiety because that's how I felt 24/7. I don't know what it was about that time but I felt like I had lost myself. Maybe because I was away at University with no family or close friends but I appreciate the experience like I appreciate every hard-ship I have ever gone through.
*cue the bloody violins*
I went on a spiritual journey in 2015 and looking back, I have never felt better in myself than I did then. I started reading a lot of self-help books, meditating, doing yoga, listening to stories of those on a similar path and practising daily gratitude. I felt awake for the first time since maybe childhood and I would do anything to get that feeling back.
It was amazing but I made a mistake. Like many others I stopped my journey once I felt slightly fulfilled and slightly healthier in my mind and I feel awful for it. It isn't something I planned or really acknowledged until now as I reflect and notice that feeling has slowly disappeared. What I have recently been reminded of is that once you stop going forwards you'll slowly start going back. Don't get me wrong this isn't just about anxiety and depression, it's about me getting caught up in my own temporary happiness and forgetting the long-term goal.
My journey isn't about finding temporary happiness and stopping there, it's about working everyday to become a better me and there should be no end to that. I'll be doing more posts about what I learned a few years ago on my and I'll slowly start taking steps to get back to that mind-set and that feeling of freeness.
Today, my goals focus on self growth and happiness. ASeatWithShay.com has now worked with over 10 brands and is slowly but surely generating income. This isn't a race, I don't aspire to be the best blogger in the world, I just want to do what makes me happy and the fact that I can incorporate that into my working life is a dream come true.
Love, Shay.
Top: Zara Earrings: H&M Bag: Zara Bun: Bloggers Own Location: Greenwich Market
