VLOG | New York Fashion Week Recap

Whew. Fashion Week. What a week. Lemme preface the above video with a few thoughts:

First off, can I just acknowledge how lucky I am to have the opportunity to attend anything fashion week-related AT ALL? It’s such a dream.

And to be able to do it with some of my best friends? Unreal.

My photographer, Haley, turned to me at dinner the other night and asked, “can you believe this is really our life right now?”

We were sitting at dinner at the swanky, dimly-lit New York Soho House ( also included: my girl Kristen ), over our pasta & red wine feast, looking at eachother like WTF… HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?

Sometimes, it’s important to step back, take a second to acknowledge how far you’ve come, and remember where you came from. I couldn’t be more grateful.

The only reason I am able to do what I do for a JOB is because of you guys. I’m honestly in awe of all of you, & I’m SO thankful for your support. Being able to take y’all along in my life seriously gets me up in the morning. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, LOVE Y’ALL.

For any of you who might be caught up in a job/life/relationship that you don’t LOVE, PLEASE believe me when I say the life you want can be yours. You are in complete control, and YOU are responsible for your happiness.

I’m not even close to where I want to be in terms of my career ( I’m still a lil baby blogger ), but, two years ago, I took a risk, didn’t listen to the naysayers & the haters ( there were MANY ), & went at this blogging thing FULL FORCE.

Ya know when people talk about getting married to the love of their life, & they describe their feelings towards them as “just knowing” they were the one?

Well, what I’m doing now is absolutely the first love of my life. Blogging makes me feel the most like myself. I feel challenged & inspired. I just know this is what I’m supposed to be doing. It’s so simple and it’s so real.

Of course, choosing a path like this is full of obstacles. Blogging while being a full-time student in my Texas college town proved to be incredibly difficult.

Not having a structured working environment is intimidating. If you want to make money, you’re going to have to learn how to make it, because NO ONE is there to hand you a pay check.

You have to figure out how to monetize your skills, how to run a business, what works & what doesn’t work for your brand, how to manage your time, etc. It’s a learning process, and it takes an entrepreneurial mindset & crazy drive.

What y’all see on the blog & on social media is a small sampling of what blogging entails. I don’t share so many of the behind-the-scenes moments, working hours on end to create what I’m envisioning.

Occasionally, I experience large set backs, & life has definitely gotten in the way a number of times in the last 2 years.

One of my favorite Charles Bukowski comes to mind when I think about this:

I am a series of small victories and large defeats and I am as amazed as any other that I have gotten from there to here.
Charles Bukowski

The most important thing, the most essential tool for success, in my opinion, is NEVER ( ever ever ever ) GIVE UP & FOCUS on your goal. When you fail, reflect on your failure, & then keep moving forward. Don’t let yourself get distracted with trivial things.

Blogging is something that I can’t NOT do, so the never-give-up thing is pretty second nature of this point. I couldn’t stop if I wanted to, LOL.

Also, prioritizing my work over other life things ( like my social life, for example ), has been relatively easy. Missing out on things like going out all the time/dating becomes easy when I’m focused on something greater. ( I told y’all I’m trying to learn to balance my work & social life a little more, though. Trying… )

Following your passions/dreams isn’t all rainbows & unicorns ( it’s a lot of fucking hard work ), but if you just START & SHOW UP every single day, it’ll happen for you. Everything takes time, and I’m enjoying every second of crafting Hustle + Halcyon into the brand I want it to be. When you love what you’re doing, “work” takes on a whole new, thrilling meaning.

I’m hoping that everyone gets the chance to experience the sense of pride, accomplishment, hope, discomfort, adrenaline, & confidence that comes as a result of doing something that you love. It’s nothing short of incredible, and it absolutely gives me life every. single. day.

On that note, I hope y’all have fun watching my lil fashion week VLOG! It covers all 7 days I spent in New York with all of my BEST GALS.

Talk soon. xx

Photos by Haley Ringo.