Why did I start a blog?

I started a blog for a few different reasons. When I had first announced The Relatable Red on social media, I mentioned that the idea had been weighing on my heart for a while. I didn’t know the medium would be blogging necessarily. I had considered just posting on Instagram or even vlogging. Instagram exclusively wasn’t meaningful enough to me. I could never convey the thoughts I wanted in just a caption. And vlogging, well –I have zero idea how to create or edit videos. Maybe in the future? 

The Relatable Red is for the Kalyns and Ashleys of my Instagram… and the world. I am trying to dream big here y’all! For the girls I am friends with online and ones I have never met that may come across my blog: I want you to read a post and feel just like my best friends do when we are sitting on the couch in our PJ’s, drinking wine and catching up on life. Truthfully, Kalyn and Ashley made me realize just how much I thrive on being a good friend and offering compassionate, but also no nonsense, advice about life.  

So, where did the idea come from?

The first idea to actually start blogging came to me when I started posting about being in the gym (& other fitness related content) on Instagram. All of a sudden, I had girls I went to high school with and girls I only knew through social media asking me questions like, “What is your secret?”, “What plans are you doing?”, etc. I was absolutely flattered. But I felt the NEED to tell them that I had no secrets. I had no magic solution to making fitness a lifestyle. I was just like them.

However, I did have huge lightbulbs and perspectives and adjustments to my way of thinking that made fitness FINALLY click for me (you can read about that here!) and I desperately wanted that for them too. And so, I would respond back with these long-winded IG messages trying to explain briefly (LOL– I don’t do anything brief) how I had made the change and how it wasn’t as hard as they thought. Then when I saw them share a self-deprecating meme a few weeks later, I knew what I said hadn’t stuck. Listen, I am absolutely here for a funny meme. But it hurt my heart to know that I used to share those same memes when I was actually really down on myself. Using humor for a defense mechanism –oh yeah girl I know all about it. 

Yes, fitness was the big aha moment for me.

It is something most women struggle with, at least at some point in their life. But then I got to thinking about the last time I felt like I really needed to share my experience with girls like me. It was immediately following my one big, bad breakup…everyone has one, right? Relationship advice…. that’s a whole blog post on its own. And then it was daily gratitude, and then easy recipes, and so on and so forth. 

Because I am empathetic, because I am understanding, because I am a realist, I felt the pull to help. I felt the pull on my heart to offer a perspective to women that might resonate with them differently. It may not be an entirely new perspective, but it just might be different words or a fiery passion that makes the difference. 

Inspirational quotes on social media just don’t do it for me.

I need more. I need back story, I need passion, and a lot of the time, I need humor. It’s what works for me. Over time, and plenty of wine nights with my girls, I noticed that it’s also what works for them. Maybe it’s bold of me; but if I can tell you about my crappy ex- relationship AND my butt sweat alike, I think I can actually make a difference. Helping women grow, especially through experiences I have already been through, lights my heart on fire. 

It felt important for me to share with you where the idea for “The Relatable Red” came from. And what is on my heart (and my mind) every time I sit down to blog. 

-The Relatable Red