Hello Cuties,

Welcome to the new PYM! I decided it was time for a revamp of the look, which inspired me to share my reasoning behind this blog.

Whether you’re a new friend or an old one, you may not really know why I write this blog every week. I don’t make any money, I’m not Insta famous and honestly, I don’t have some overly exciting life. So why?

Well, there are a few factors that inspired me to start a blog in the first place. However, it has grown in many different ways since I first started back in October 2015. Writing has always been a way for me to release my thoughts and express myself. I’ve always been a slightly anxious person, and sometimes my mind gets a little crazy with overthinking. Writing helps me lay it all out and really visualize my feelings.

At first, I just wanted to create a blog because I thought it would be a “cool” way to get out there. It has become so much more than that since it’s inception. When I created my blog I was a college cheerleader in a really low place. I felt bad about myself and I didn’t really have much to offer to the digital world. But, I preceded. The first year of my blog was all over the place. I wrote about really whatever I felt. I strived to be a fashion blog but my more life related posts got the highest engagement.

After quitting cheerleading in December 2015, I hit an all time low point. Interestingly enough, I was not depressed or upset about this period. It was a time of growth for me. I had just walked away from something I had identified myself with for almost 9 years. I felt completely different, and I lost a whole group of friends in the process. During this time, I also was feeling very insecure with myself. The cheerleading team had actually made me feel worthless and overweight because I was not the perfect size to throw around. This made me slip into some bad habits like skipping meals and running everyday to lose weight.

In summer 2016, the following summer, I took a life changing trip to France. I can’t tell you the exact reason why this was so life changing for me because there were a lot of factors. One reason was that the experience was completely freeing for my normal anxious self. Being in a foreign culture where I didn’t feel like I had to impress anyone actually allowed me to care less. I wore little to no make up, I didn’t style my hair (didn’t have the right voltage converter) and I didn’t spend too much time choosing an outfit. I was also more care free in making decisions. It was very different from what I experienced in the U.S.

Aside from this, I was taking new adventures everyday and pushing the boundaries of my comfort zone.  Speaking foreign language and living with a native family taught me about patience and understanding (without words sometimes).

Another part was being in Nice when that tragic terrorist attack happened on Bastille Day. 5 minutes and a detour is what saved my friends and I’s lives. The experience completely changed my perspective on life. It taught me that tomorrow is never promised and you must live every moment to the absolute fullest. I thought it would never happen to me, but it did. Yes, death is scary but seeing it first hand makes you really cherish the moments you are given.

I became less judgmental of others and more understanding that everyone has their own battles to fight, battles we know nothing about. On this trip, I also met so many amazing people that really inspired me. Some of these people being the girls from my university. In the beginning of the trip, I noticed they were not taking many photos of themselves around the country. Then, here I am snapping a million photos for my instagram and blog. (Ugh, so self-absorbed, right?!) A guy on our trip even called me conceited, but in that moment, it was flattering given the journey I was on.

Going from a very insecure girl internally to being conceited was a big stride. By the end of the trip, I had inspired the other girls to take more pictures and we even had a few mini photoshoots! All in all the trip ended up being a very defining moment in my life. It opened my eyes to so much.

Lastly, and probably most important reason for writing this blog, is I found a true calling in inspiring women to love themselves. From my bad cheerleading experience to my time abroad, I learned how tough girls have it in our society. Not only are we taught to compete with one another, but we also live in a digital world that makes feel like we’re never good enough. As soon as we feel slightly confident, some hot model on our instagram feed tells us otherwise. It’s a constant battle of feeling good enough or pretty enough.

I saw a need for more love amongst girls and I was inspired to create that through my writing. I want girls to worry less about meeting society’s standards and more about finding their best self. This blog is written to show all the women out there that they are not alone. I want it to be relatable and real. I never want to make my readers feel like my life is unobtainable or “perfect” because I’ll tell you it’s far from it. I’ve had my own past that has shaped me into the person I am now.

I also saw a need for more real life stuff. Sure, trips across the globe are amazing but not always possible. I want this blog to be one that shows the good days and the bad ones because that’s how life is. Life isn’t a bunch of good days, it’s a mix. That’s why authenticity is an important value for PYM. I have made my anxiety very public through my blog in order to bring awareness to the illness. It’s not easy to be that vulnerable but I know we need more vulnerability in our growing digital world. Everyone struggles through their own things and we must be more compassionate towards one another. That’s the vibe I strive to create on PYM.

So what do you blog about?

This is a question I am constantly asked, and I don’t always know how to put it into words. But, I see my blog as normalizing peoples imperfections and struggles to make people feel less insecure. These are factors we tend to let hold us back the most. PYM is about self-love, confidence and positive vibes. I want my readers to realize that life isn’t so serious and it’s just life. You have the opportunity to live a beautiful life that you can manifest and create, or you can live in fear and under the pressure of the status quo. The choice is yours!

This post may have been a little longer than the usual, but I want my readers to know I am in it for you. As I mentioned, I’m not making any money from this. This is just my way of making others not feel so alone in the world. Every time I sit down to write, I sincerely write from the bottom of my heart. I do not mass produce content to meet standards of the blogging world, I share what I am feeling in that moment.

Thank you for reading PYM! I hope you found this post interesting and informative. See you next time!

xo, Lyss