What I’ve Learned From a Year in LA

Hi everyone!

July 1st marked the one year anniversary of my huge move from Philadelphia to Los Angeles.  It feels like it was just yesterday and forever ago, all at the same time.  It was the hardest thing I have ever done for many reasons.  It was extremely emotionally difficult to move thousands of miles away from my family and friends, my childhood home, and all of the specials places that hold a dear place in my heart.  Logistically it was horrendously stressful to pack up all of my belongings and have them shipped across the country.  It took a month for the boxes to arrive, and some were lost or damaged.  I had my car shipped as well.  The lies the company fed us about when they would be delivering it caused Brian and I to be away from his grandfather’s bedside when he passed away the day after we arrived.  The apartment we were supposed to move into when we arrived ended up being completely cockroach-infested, so we were homeless on top of everything else! Luckily we were able to live with Brian’s parents for a few weeks while we waited for our stuff and scrambled to find a different apartment.  I feel like I grew up really fast that month.

Once we were finally settled in, I began exploring so many creative and entrepreneurial career options.  I’d always done graphic design, but what about photography, one of my other skills? LA is the land of actors, models, and generally very vain people, so there had to be a lot of need for that, right? I found this to be absolutely true.  My exploration into the realm of fashion photography proved incredibly interesting.  As I explored the strange world of red carpet fashion photography, I was introduced to fashion blogging as I had never seen it before.  If I had any more growing up left to do after that brutal move, I finished that up while trying to make it in Hollywood.

I had always thought that fashion blogging was a hobby enjoyed by girls with a unique style and a passion for the written word.  I was wrong.  I had no idea that some girls actually made a living taking photos of themselves, typing a couple poorly-written sentences, and then posting it all online.  I had even less idea that even MORE girls did those same narcissistic activities, but PRETENDED to successfully make a living doing it.  Like so many other entertainers in Hollywood, they are simply grasping at fame, willing to step on whoever they need to to get ahead. Aside from these bloggers, the PR companies who work hand-in-hand with us are often just as phony.  They will not invite you to fashion events if you are not pretty or skinny enough, and if you do get invited, the value of your goodie bag is based on the size of your online following.  This industry is constantly telling us that we are not beautiful enough, not popular enough, not good enough.

I don’t know how many LA bloggers or PR firms actually read all the way through my posts, but if they do, I hope they take this to heart.  This post certainly isn’t going to make me any new friends, but that’s fine with me.  Hopefully if you read my posts then it is because you value my blunt honesty.

Let’s empower one another for a change.

xoxo

Emily