She’s BACK!! 

Um, wow, I missed blogging… like a lot. 

But, did I miss social media? Absolutely not.

However, I’m really happy to be back on both. It was sooo good for my mental health and overall well-being to take a step back from it all,  but it made me realize how much I truly just love interacting with people, connecting with a community and making content. 

As Kylie Jenner once said, “this year is about realizing things.” (that is a joke), but what I’m about to say is sadly not. 

A month without social media, made me realize how much of an addict I was. The first couple of days, I had STRONG withdrawals. I would pick up my phone and mindlessly search for the app, simply because it was just a habit. Once, I realized I deleted Instagram, I kind of panicked. 

Again, this is super embarrassing to say out loud to my friends and family, let alone type it out for the whole world. But, yes I kind of panicked the first few days of not going on social media. Super millennial or Gen Z of me to say… whatever generation Instagram is stereotyped to. 

I digress, but here is why I panicked: 

• I was nervous about what I was going to do with my spare time.
• The idea of not being “in the know” was unsettling at first.
• I’ve been trained to constantly think about the next content I’m going to post… so living in the moment without thinking about posting it, is simply just new for me.
• Letting my followers down
• Again, not being in the know

I channeled all of that fear into other productive activities like:

• Journaling in this happy journal
• Reading encouraging and inspirational blogs (I loved Sivan Ayla’s, Angel Food Fashion, and The Balanced Blonde)
• Reading books (Loved The Husband’s Secret)
• Organizing my car + room
• Yoga, lots of yoga
• Meal Prepping
• Writing blog posts
• Using this planner to help me plan out my weeks and keep me accountable. (It’s only $10!!)

All of these activities not only distracted me from using social media, but they helped me create a new routine during the time I would mindlessly tap the app. Also, I noticed how much more value I receive from blogs than social media during this whole experience. So my blog is my priority. More now than ever before. 

I’ve always thought I’ve been very intentional when I use social media. Meaning, I thought I would just go on it to post and engage with my followers and that would be that. But, after being off of it for a month, I learned I was the complete opposite. It made me realize how unintentional I was about it from having so much more time on my hands… I had spent so much more time than I previously thought, mindlessly scrolling on Instagram.

Scrolling leads to constant comparison, hours and hours of only viewing a whole world of “perfection”…perfect homes, perfect bodies, over-edited photos and ultimately, an unrealistic lifestyle. It can be incredibly dangerous. No wonder why it was taking a toll on me!

This month off gave me time to clear my head and create a strategy for social media that will not only benefit my audience, but also allow me to log off for my mental health. 

It’s time to get real intentional with social media, and I totally suggest you to do the same. 

My experience off it for an entire month, made me happy. I was so happy all of the time. I was soooo in tune with my mind and my body. I was incredibly positive. Most importantly, I learned to live in the moment again, without social media. I quickly stopped caring about not being “in the know.” That became irrelevant to me. 

I actually grew closer to friends and family without social media. Weirdly enough… because they missed me! They realized, too, how much they depend on social media to see what I’m up to. Instead of them just viewing my story to get an update on my life, they had to reach out to me to get the scoop! …And vice versa. We actually had to have conversation to catch up on each other’s lives. What a concept, right?!

If social media is a big part of your life, I highly suggest you taking a month off of it as well. It’s revolutionary. It’s incredible and it is life changing. 

If social media is not a big part of your life, I get it. I truly get it.