The Myths Of Being A Lifestyle Blogger

Hey Everyone!

So today I'm writing about 'The Myths Of Being A Lifestyle Blogger' I know I have only been writing TRLOA for just over a year now, however I have noticed some things being said both online and also away from the computer screen about being a lifestyle blogger.

One of the biggest myths I've come across is that lifestyle bloggers have ''perfect lives''
Someone once said this to me in real life and I honestly just stood and stared at them in shock. My life is far from perfect I can assure all of you. As a seventeen year old Irish girl in Fifth Year with a Leaving Cert next June and Summer exams in little under a month, my life isn't ''perfect'' and trust me, never has been.

From reading other blogs, it's easy to assume lifestyle bloggers have perfect lives. We cut out the imperfections and blemishes both in our appearances and life stories, mentioning the ''good bits'' or as I like to call it ''the highlights reel.'' People compare our ''highlights reel'' with their ''outtakes'' and ''behind the scenes'' of their lives. You will rarely seen my ''outtakes'' or ''behind the scenes'' only the ''highlights.'' These will be completely parallel, they will never meet nor will these be identical.

I write about the good things in my life, a funny joke with friends, a photo I took of flowers and everything in between, emphasising even a small moment in my life that made me smile. I rarely write about waking up at 3 am every night from vivid nightmares or just for no reason, with my heart thumping with fear about the Leaving Cert, school, exams or  worrying about getting enough points to go to the college I want. That is the reality of my life, the fear of failure and a fear of underachieving in life, not the 'perfect life' apparently all lifestyle bloggers have.

Another myth or stereotype is that ''Lifestyle bloggers are too obsessed with themselves and their own lives''

I've been told that by writing about my life that I am ''vain and self obsessed'' and also ''want everyone to fall in love with my life.'' I never started The Random Life of Aveen as a means to 'brag' or to try put others down. I started blogging because I love writing. Writing is a huge part of me. I've been writing a diary since I was ten years old and I'm eighteen in September. That's a lot of notebooks about my emotions, life, hopes and ambitions.

I really don't want people to fall ''in love with my life'' Not trying to be self-deprecating but as stated earlier, my life isn't perfect. I don't want others to try mimic my mistakes or the ''good things'' I've done in my life. Everyone has their own lives and life paths to lead and this is mine. You just know about my life path as I write about my life.

Lifestyle bloggers aren't obsessed with themselves. We post photos of everything and anything that has meaning to us. I used to post photos back in 2013 of attending mental health conferences, award ceremonies, visits to tv sets, Croke Park and lots more. This was because that's what my life was like during Transition Year hence the title ''The Random Life of Aveen'' This year I'm in a serious school year, and next year will be even more so. Which is why I post photos of even the small things in life that make me happy, we all need something, however insignificant they appear to be, to make us feel happy.

I may post a lot of selfies and in the eyes of some people that's a sign of being ''shallow and vain'' and that I should stop ''obsessing over my appearance'' How does taking a photo of my face or clothes for my blog deem me as being a vain and shallow individual? It's become a more socially accepted idea to hate your own body with every ounce of your being than to realise that we're stuck with our bodies for the duration of our entire lives. 

We're always going to want to change an aspect of our appearance. I wish I had better eyesight, a smaller nose and lots of other things but I don't let that dictate my life. Nobody is perfect and we have to realise this. The idea of hating ourselves and picking out our flaws and imperfections, and doing the same with complete strangers is getting out of control.

 Judging a person merely on their appearance, not their personality, intelligence, humour, laugh, smile, music interests, hobbies and much more is just ridiculous. This ideology completely limits people into thinking that if they're ''pretty'' that's all that matters in life. That's not the case. I'm not pretty at all but I don't let that and the opinions of others stop me from achieving the best I can in life. I like to think that I make up for those ''flaws'' in my personality, I try to be kind, smile, laugh and be myself. 

The next time you call a lifestyle blogger, or anyone for that matter, those sort of names, think again. Just think about what you're thinking and saying about people you know in real life or only know from the laptop screen. I get various off-the-cuff comments about my blog, personality and appearance, in both real life and online,  but I don't let them get me down any more. So long as you know you're a good person (and act like it) and try your utmost best in life that's all that matters. 

So I hope you liked this blog post about the myths of being a lifestyle blogger. It took a long time to write this but I feel it conveys exactly how I feel about the myths surrounding being a lifestyle blogger. Thanks for reading this and you can comment below if you have any opinions on the post. 

Of course, blogging isn't all negativity, I love posting every week and I've made so many friends by blogging. 

Stay Strong, Happy & Fearless!

Aveen xx