It has been 10 years since I published my first blog post. It was, of course, a Manicure Monday review where I compared L'Oreal nail polish to Essie polish. The rest is history.
I started Royally Pink after reading Carly's blog, then The College Prepster, and thought 'wow, there is an entire online world here that I didn't know existed. I could do this!' I became obsessed with blogs, obsessed with writing, and obsessed with the idea of making social media my career.
In 2012 I had just ended my sophomore year of college and I had a long summer ahead of me. I needed an internship, I got a job at a yogurt shop in my neighborhood and was missing college and my sorority sisters so much. I needed something to occupy my time with, I needed something to channel my energy into it and I wanted something to help me in the future. I wanted to get serious about my hopeful career in journalism and felt that a blog was a really good way to get noticed, build a portfolio and stand out.
Now, 10 years later, I never once took a break from my blog, I have a career as a social media manager and have learned and grown so much in a decade. I cannot even believe that the thing that has brought me so much joy, the one constant in my life, the one thing I have never given up on is 10 years old. I cannot believe it has been 10 years since I was a sophomore in college since I started thinking about my future and I can't believe how much has changed.
I've grown with this blog so much and it has grown with me. It started out as something a little all over the place; beauty, fashion, career, books, magazine reviews (remember those!), and branded spotlight interviews. It started out very college and sorority-focused and eventually morphed into a career/post-grad corner of the internet.
Today, I classify Royally Pink as a lifestyle blog for millennial women, where we discuss everything and anything so I guess it hasn't changed much. I focus mainly on beauty, books, mental health, and wellness nowadays with a bit of fashion thrown in whenever I can.
Since 2012 I've done a lot of sponsored posts, built a little Instagram following, given away a lot of beauty products, started an email newsletter (many times might I add), joined LikeToKnowIt, and been on, and off with my Youtube channel, and became semi-consistent with TikTok.
I've accomplished a lot for my blog but I would love to achieve even more.
Royally Pink, the name, came about because I love the color pink and I was (and still am) obsessed with the Royal Family... that was very relevant in 2012 since we had just experienced Will and Kate's wedding and were waiting on the announcement of the first royal baby. I was always obsessed with princesses and royalty so I thought the name fit me and what I envisioned for this little space.
Royally Pink has been with me through all the good and bad times: from finding my place in college to being devastated to graduate, my first real struggles with anxiety and depression, navigating the post-graduate world and finding a career... to losing my dad, moving at least 3 times, getting into a new relationship and getting dumped... to being unemployed, losing my aunt and going through a global pandemic.
This blog is a catalog of my life in a way I don't think I ever expected.
All I wanted to do with this blog was write and boy have I done that, with over 2,000 blog posts; when I first started I blogged 7 days a week, then went down to 5, and now 3-4. Life gets busy but I never wanted to give this space up. I always wanted to share the products I try, the books I read, and the things I love with anyone who would listen.
The social media and influencer space has changed so much during the past 10 years. Instagram and TikTok didn't exist, Vine went away, Facebook became irrelevant and Twitter is still causing chaos. Bloggers morphed into influencers who then became content creators.
Some people have abandoned blogs altogether, some have started businesses and some have become major celebrities. It's all so interesting to have been here from the 'beginning' and see how the landscape has changed and become bigger than I think anyone imagined.
To anyone who has ever read a blog post, click on a link, or watch a Youtube video, I don't know how to explain how much you all mean to me. Anyone who has ever liked something I posted, who has read a book I recommended, it means the world to me and allows me to have the confidence to keep going.
I don't really know what I would do without Royally Pink. It has become something so precious to me and I am so happy to celebrate such a tremendous milestone.
As I try to do every year, I wanted to show my appreciation with a giveaway! This one is filled with lots of beauty products, some Stoney Clover, and other goodies. Enter below, I'll choose a winner and contact them via email.
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