Uncategorized over 12 years ago by Liz Adams

Things I’m Afraid to Tell You

By now, you’ve probably seen the amazing movement originally + unintentionally started by Jess, spread by Ez, and the most recent wave kicked off by Meg. Well yesterday, a few of my favorite bloggers shared the things that they were afraid to tell their readers and it confirmed my desire to do a post like this for my readers. So here it goes…

There are days {and sadly more often than not} that I don’t change out of work out clothes and sit at my desk all day in sweats. 
I am moving in September and I do not have the money to style a home for a magazine, or the patience/time to surround myself with beautiful things. I look forward to the day when my home doesn’t look like a hodge podge from my college days. 
My savings account has less than $500 in it.

I think Pinterest is destroying the blog world and inhibiting original content + creativity. So, I am going to try and make this blog a bit more personal and use more original content and photos moving forward. {I still use and love Pinterest, but as a separate platform.}

My boyfriend is not a professional photographer so outfit posts are not as easy for me to tackle, plus I am very critical of myself. 

I want my readers to know and believe that I am 100% me on my blog and I sometimes fear that they don’t. I also fear that my readers think I am superficial because I talk about material things.

When I was younger I took diet pills. 

There are times when I wish I still lived at home with my parents. I have a difficult time realizing what it takes to be a grown up.
I have gained weight over the past year and refuse to buy a larger size in my jeans, so that’s a problem. 
The idea of instagramming perfectly styled images is exhausting. 
I tend to compare myself to everyone around me, even if our career paths are 100% different.
I hate working from home. I get very easily distracted and it sometimes makes me feel unproductive. 
I am extremely impatient and I think it makes me appear inconsiderate and rude when I am actually very emotional and constantly concerned about everyone around me.
I have a sickening fear of death and feel like I have to protect everyone around me. 
Sometimes, I’m insecure.

————–

So there you have it! I know that these really have nothing to do with running a business or being a stylist, but I wanted to relate to you all on a personal level. Because if I am being honest, there is nothing that separates me from you. If that fact that I run my own business, a fashion blog, and seem to be living an extremely stylish life puts me on a pedestal to you, well let’s just throw that idea out the window. We are all the same. Young women {yes, we are all young} trying to be the best versions of ourselves. I hope that this blog can help you be the best version of you.

Check out the other fabulous bloggers who participated in Things I’m Afraid to Tell You:
Bloggers Who Participated in Wave No.2:

Cassie: Coco + Kelley / Christine: Court & Hudson / Caitlin: Sacramento Street / Roxy: My Cup of Te / Crystal: Blog / Meg: MIMI+MEG / Ashlina: The Decorista / Katie: Modern Eve / Erin: Apartment 34 / Erica: Design Blahg / Victoria: Vmac & Cheese / Christine: Miles to Style / Franki: Life in a Venti Cup  / Sue: The Zhush / Erika: Radiant Republic / Gabrielle: Savvy Home / Monika: The Doctor’s Closet / Naomi: Design Manifest /Tobe: Because It’s Awesome / Becca: {extra}ordinary wonders / Lynzy: Sparkling Footsteps / Hitha: Hitha On The Go / Sarah: Note To Self / Liz: So Much To Smile About / Sarah: Blogstar / Alissa: The Goods Design / Jessie: Style & Pepper / Erika: Small Shop Studio  / AV: Long Distance Loving / Maggie: Maggie Rose Blog / Nicole: The City Girl In Me / Priscilla: The Best Laid Plans / Jen: Concrete Jungle DC / Janelle: Food Fashion Fitness / Natalie: East Coast Chic

Bloggers Who Participated in Wave No.1:

Design for Mankind | Little Brown Pen | Beautiful Hello | Curating Style | Sweet Fine Day | The Jealous Curator | Happy Days | Sage & Berries | Really Handmade | Peck Life | Satsuma Press | Rena Tom | For the Easily Distracted | The Hemborg Wife | Vitamini Handmade | Courtney Khail Stationery and Design | Meg in Progress | Dando Photography Blog | Widdershins22 | Alison Citron | Pink Moon Daily | Just Pretty Things | From China Village | Tea with Me | The Darling Ewe | Not Your Average Ordinary | The Electric Typewriter | Elleby Design | Parsimonia {Secondhand With Style} | Life as an Artistpreneur | Hello Cupcake | Dellie | The A & B Stories | Pretty Little Things | Feistyelle | Nib & Zed | Well and Cheaply | I Ripple. I Dance. | Whitfield Awesome Blog | Foxtrot Press | Dry As Toast | The List of Now | Apple Blue | For the Love of | Four Flights of Fancy | Miss Modish | Snapshots & Secrets | Dirty Laundry | Bubby & Bean | Penelope’s Press | Little Nostalgia | Vale Design | Pikaland | Fleurishing | Print Pretty | Vespa Tales | Hazel & Agnes | Amanda’s Musings | Mo’ Funk Designs | Ordinary Mommy | Camp 1899 | In Honor of Design | Liberty’s Yarn | Love, Life & Pictures | Stacey Winters | Owl in the Rain | Living Life Creatively | Emma Elizabeth Clease | I Live in Vacouver Now | British Cream Tea


{image via Ez}

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  1. I LOVE this!! I have had a lot of fun reading these on blogs over that last few days. It is always nice to know you aren’t the only one who has similar feelings. I work from home too and have a lot of the same issues (both feeling unproductive and changing out of sweats 😉 )

    P.S. I love your blog and how personal it is!!!

  2. Thanks for sharing that with us…it’s very emotional reading what bloggers have written for this. it shows that we are all real and no one is perfect. I feel exactly the same about the material stuff and what my readers may think. That’s really honest my blog friend. Thanks. XO, Desiree

  3. Absolutely love this, Liz, and am doing a post next week or maybe even tomorrow. I feel like I have a lot to get off my chest and so much of what you said resonates with me. It’s nice to know you’re on the same page with even just one other person. xo

  4. Wow Liz, thank you for sharing. I know that’s really hard to do, but I can definitely relate with some of what you are talking about for sure. Maybe after reading all of these powerful posts there are things I should get out there. Thanks for sharing.

  5. I love this movement, and your post is an especially good one. I certainly relate to a lot of it.

    I think, many times, we tend to put bloggers up on a pedestal and forget they have real lives. Yes, fashion bloggers wake up with smeared mascara and lay around the house in sweatpants. Yes, food bloggers have kitchen catastrophes and feel guilt about what they’re eating. Yes, life coaches have break ups and meltdowns and charges for overdrawing their bank account. I think we all need to stop trying to look so perfect! Posts like these are what really resonate with readers. Thanks for sharing. 🙂

  6. Liz, thank you so much for this post. I can’t tell you how much it means to see honesty, and don’t worry, you always come across as 100% you on your blog.. thats why I love it so much!

    xoxo
    eileen

  7. liz, i think it’s so great that you (and so many others) are putting your fears out there! you are definitely not alone- especially regarding the image issues. i think we need to all try to stop comparing ourselves! great post. 🙂

  8. So refreshing to keep learning more about my fellow bloggers who I admire so much! I think you and I share a few of these items above.

  9. you are brave and beautiful and authentically radiant. this is exactly why i am a new-ish follower and my bet is, your blog will grow and grow.

    smiles to you, perfectly imperfect lovely.

    michele

  10. Thank you for sharing, Liz. I can relate to a bunch of these, especially the impatience, comparisons, and fear of death. If I even think about death my heart rate skyrockets and I get incredibly uncomfortable. I felt so sick when my boyfriend and I were in a long-distance relationship from the minute I dropped him off at the airport to the minute he texted me that he landed.

    Anyway, I can confirm that many of us have the same fears. On the outfit posts thing, I am by no means an expert, but I had the same issue as my boyfriend is by no means a professional either and I can hardly wrangle him for 5 minutes to take my photos, but one thing I did that made a HUGE difference was to by a new lens. It wasn’t very expensive, I think only $125, and it makes a massive difference in my photos (still some photos are better than others) but if you could save $25 per month, maybe you could buy a new lens to make you feel more confident in your outfit photos! (I think we have the same camera so let me know if you want some lens recommendations).

  11. thank you for sharing this. i’ve been reading your blog for a while and love seeing your outfit posts, but this is the first time i realized how much we have in common. it feels good to know that there are others who think/do like me, out there!

  12. I LOVED this Liz! Thank you for sharing. I agree on so many levels especially Pinterest and the living at home thing. I visit my parents once a month just to be taken care of care and feel like a child again. And death scares the crap out of me too. Bravo for your honestly. xoxox

  13. I can’t tell you how much I relate, Liz. Of all the Things I’m Afraid to tell you posts that I read yesterday, I identify with yours the most by far. It’s nice to know we’re not alone out there! (ps I also refuse to buy new jeans until I lose weight!)

  14. i’ve read several of these and they all give you a little relief and bring us back to reality. of course no one is perfect! i’ve thought about doing a post myself, but then think “who would even want to read it?” haha, i guess that would be one thing i’m afraid of, often changing blog posts or deleting them b/c i feel like no one will care. oh well!

    your blog is great and has a good balance between the real, the attainable, and the fantasy of the blog world we live in.

  15. Liz,
    You’re genuine through and through and your posts are always my favorite on the blogroll. You’ve got the support from your sistahs’ and I’m confident you will have a wonderful career ahead as a stylist/fashion expert/pro blogger/go-getter/etc. You’ve inspired me to start tapping into my own professional goals and awake the dormant painter in me. Thanks for the inspiration!
    pplm – Lauren

  16. My favorite “things I’m afraid to tell you” post yet! Thank you for being brutally honest. I think we can all relate to some of all of the things you wrote.

  17. I love that this theme is currently going around. I think it is so important for us to all remain human and sometimes share the scary things we like to keep to ourselves. It is very liberating and I find so much more respect for those who are will to be so open! Congratulations on your honesty!

  18. I really love your blog. It is a major inspiration when I think of what I want my blog to be.

    Kailey – forloveorfashion.blogspot.com

  19. Thanks for being so honest! I’m a new reader of yours and this is so refreshing to see. I’m more in the DIY realm of blog land but I wish my outfits would match the style of my home. My home has more style than me! Your blog has been a big help with that. 🙂

  20. I struggle with like 90% of what you do too! Sometimes you feel like you’re the only one who sits around in their sweatpants when you’re supposed to have a “glamorous” blog and life… but honestly, I really have nowhere to go, so why get dressed up? Thanks for this!
    xoxo

  21. Thanks for sharing Liz! I love the honesty of your post (and totally relate) and the others who have participated in this series. It is so important to remember that we should just try to be the be best version of ourselves and quit comparing our lives to others!

  22. So many of your things are exact fears or realities that I face, too. The important this is that it’s okay to be unsure, to live in a little limbo, and to have bigger dreams than what life is right now. You’re young, talented, and full of aspirations – that’s exciting! Thanks for sharing 🙂

  23. I have been reading and enjoying everyone’s and yours is no exception. I totally agree with you on Pinterest and hear ya on the instagram styling. Just so know, I love your style and your blog, so thank you! 🙂

  24. Lady, I loved this! I think this is an amazing example of why you are such a great person! I can attest that you are equal parts what you shared in this post and equal parts all the amazingness that you share on your blog everyday!

    So as someone who knows you, I can say firsthand you are how you come across as on your blog! : )

    Bravo!

  25. I’ve loved reading these all over the blogosphere and boy can we all relate! I’m super impatient and that’s one of the biggest things I have to constantly work on because yes, it can totally come off as rude. x

  26. Liz, out of all the answers in this series so far, I think I love yours most. your answers speak to me, I struggle with a lot of the same things! keep doing what you’re doing. 🙂

  27. First – I love this. I’ve read a few of these now, and I really felt the most connected to your fears; sometimes it’s so hard to remember that all of you successful bloggers out there are just real people!

    But more importantly – I just have to say this because I’ve been meaning to for a while now. I definitely gravitate toward a lot of blogs that have outfit post after outfit post, but as much as I love them, I can honestly say that I appreciate the content you put out day after day even more, and I don’t think you should feel badly about not having that kind of presence.

    Almost none of us have professional photogs as boyfriends (thought we might wish…), and when you really get down to it – having pro-styled shots isn’t the most “normal” way of life. If anyone else out there is like me, your readers appreciate it 🙂

  28. you did a wonderful job with this, Liz!! I resonate with many of these “fears”…i am constantly thinking about death and it makes me worry that i’m not living every moment fully. I also am moving to NYC for grad school in a few weeks and i’m trying to make my old furniture look modern (not an easy task!). keep up your wonderful posts–yours is my favorite blog out there 🙂 no lie.

  29. this was fresh and honest. i really appreciated your candor, and many of your revelations resonated with things i feel or do. great post!

  30. I’ve followed you for a while on Twitter now but this is the first time I’ve really visited your blog, and I’m glad you did. As a style blogger, and someone that grew up working in the fashion industry, I can relate to so many of your honest points, especially the one about worrying people will think I’m superficial. But just remember that there is a lot of dark, sad things in this world and we need some light, even if it is trivial fashion things, to help with all the darkness. In essence, as long as you’re aware that there is suffering in the world, and you do your part to tackle it, however small it is, then it doesn’t matter if in public you talk about handbags and sequins. It’s your personal life that matters to you and the man upstairs, and no one else.

  31. I love this series and so glad you participated! Doesn’t it feel good to just put it out there and get it off your chest?! I used to take diet pills all the time in college and still don’t have the best body image. I also have a crazy fear of death which doesn’t help my anxiety at all. Oh and I’m 30 and have a husband and some days I just want to move back in with my parents because being a grown up sucks sometimes!

  32. i think that blogging (as great as it is!) can give us this false sense of you can do ANYTHING, which is great, but it starts to get ugly when we compare ourselves to other bloggers and their success. i’ve compared myself to you a million times, you always seem to have it all figured out!

  33. hey lady, i’m glad you decided to put this out there. i’ve read many bloggers in the last few weeks who have participated, but yours spoke to me more than most. maybe because i can relate or maybe because i can just feel your honesty, but this was really something. thank you for sharing, liz.

  34. I love this series because we can finally let out all of our imperfections! I did a post in this series too and it felt so good to just let it out doesn’t it? And you’re not alone in the jean comment department so don’t even worry about that one!

    xoxo
    peacelovedecor.com

  35. I feel the same about the superficial side and thinking that my readers could think i am like that when i am not. I came to your blog because i was reading my last’s year notebook and read ‘i love her uniqueness and ideas for great outfits’ Your face and outfits dont give that superficial impression.