Target cardi and sunglasses (similar); ℅ T-shirt.com tee; Lauren Conrad for Kohl’s jeans; F21 boots, old (similar); ℅ Julie Vos necklace (similar.)
I met someone new this weekend, a fellow blogger. (Hey, Maddy!) For the first time in a long time, I felt nervous. You know how you sort of develop a relationship with someone online, through blogging and Instagram and various forms of social media? Through all this I know what you wore a week ago, and what you may have eaten for lunch yesterday, and all these other silly moments we document on a daily basis. Then you go into a meeting sort of understanding who this person is, except it’s on a very basic level. I started to wonder, what if this person follows me as well and then is sort of disappointed by “the real thing?” Is the Meagan in real life the same “Jackie” on my blog? Is she who you thought she was? I’d like to think that I’m presenting all the sides of myself, good, bad and ugly, but what if meeting me in person isn’t what people think it may be? What if my blog self doesn’t live up to the possible hype?
I remember feeling the same way when I went to Lucky Fabb. You have this from afar relationship with other bloggers that makes you feel like you know them, but in the end you really don’t. We all end up seeing such a small part of each person we follow. We see what they want us to see. Just like I don’t necessarily show you how badly I need to clean my bathrooms, or how I sometimes wear the same outfit three days in a row if I don’t see anyone I know.
So blogging is like online dating. We put ourselves out there, presenting the best parts of ourselves and hoping others like us. This shiny, tiny little window of ourselves that may or may not be the whole picture. We build relationships with each other based on certain pretenses and similar outlooks, but rarely can we meet in person and see if who we know is what they are.
Except I have been lucky enough to meet my online friends in person. I can interact by email and Twitter and become friends with those that live far away and feel like it is a connection. A real connection based on a common love of blogging and style shared experiences. These women aren’t just who they portray online. They are better. I’ve yet to meet someone I was disappointed by. I’m always pleasantly surprised that they are more amazing than I ever knew. That’s what makes blogging special, I think. The unexpected, real life connections that make all this worth it.
Tell me, have you met anyone on real life that you met through your blog? Was it what you expected?
