02/28/2017

My (Not So) Perfect Life

My Not So Perfect Life

Do you ever pick up a book that is just so perfectly timed to your life and so good you’re sad to see it end? OK, so I feel pretty sad to see most books I read end, but the ones that you just connect with are the hardest to let go. Well that was really the case with Sophie Kinsella’s new book, My (Not So) Perfect Life which I just picked up last week. I’ve been a huge fan of her books for ages, you probably know her from the Shopaholic series. I actually read Can You Keep A Secret? before any of her other books and it is to this day one of my all time favorites and I read it at least once a year. Well of course I knew My (Not So) Perfect Life would be hilarious and amazing because duh, it’s Sophie Kinsella. But I really wasn’t prepared to connect with it on like 5 different levels.

The book is about Katie, a Somerset girl who has moved to London to pursue her dreams in marketing. She cuts her bangs, straightens her hair, goes by Cat not Katie, and lives way too far from her job because London is expensive. She also has a hideous boss, Demeter, who can’t remember anyone’s names and seems like she’s only looking out for herself, but she is gorgeous, goes to all the chicest parties, and lives in a gorgeous house with her gorgeous family. When Katie gets fired from her job, she goes back to Somerset to help her family run their new glamping business. When Demeter shows up with her family, Katie starts to realize that maybe not everything is as perfect as it seems.

Katie also has a huge love of Instagram and scrolling through to see all her friends living fabulous lives in London and New York. She posts her own perfectly filtered pictures of the fabulous life in London even if they aren’t exactly painting a true picture.

A huge thing I’ve been struggling with lately as a blogger is authenticity. It’s partly why I took the first month of 2017 off from blogging. I was just struggling with the connection I’ve always felt to blogging and the reality that so many people are taking advantage of it. It’s really the comparison game, which is a slippery slope that I NEVER let myself go down. I’ve been blogging for about 2 1/2 years and I guess it has never really occurred to me to not write what I think or to post pictures that aren’t true to me or that I didn’t take. While I want to post pictures I think are beautiful, I only post things that are real life. It just so happens I know how to use a camera. But as I learn more about the world of blogging every day, I’m learning that so much of what you see is not real. I know, I know it’s pretty obvious that a lot of what is out there just isn’t real. I mean no one can eat avocado toast every single damn day. 1) That’s wildly expensive and 2) it’s actually pretty unhealthy.

Like Katie in the book, I’ve realized that people do want the real life stuff. I’ve always tried to be honest and open in my posts on social media. I’m more than happy to talk about daily frustrations or how I feel like I’m going insane some days. I don’t want to go into the negatives of how so many people out there aren’t honest with their social media. That’s really not the point of this. The point is that being authentic and genuine is what makes people connect with you and think “yes, I want to be best friends with this person.”

I know it’s easy to look at a blogger’s feed or your cool friend who lives in a cool city and does all the cool things and think “ughhh their life is so perfect.” Just rest assured that no one’s life is totally perfect, but we’re all doing the best we can. While I love to post pretty photos, know that my life definitely isn’t “perfect”, but it really feels kind of perfect to me. I work at least 80 hours a week, but I’m getting better I promise. I am 10 minutes late to everything, I know I’m so sorry. I don’t have a boyfriend, because did you see how much I work? Ain’t nobody got time for that. I have unsuccessfully started BBG 4 times, because working out is hard. And I eat Taco Bell at least once a week which I’ve realized is actually peak perfect life. So ignore that one.

OK, I’ve probably talked long enough. I could really talk about authenticity for days, so I won’t. Just know that being genuine and authentic on social media and more importantly, in life, will get you so much farther than trying to be someone you’re not. Always stay positive and ignore the negative or fake stuff that you just don’t need in your life. Truly ignore the noise and stay your own course and you will find success. Don’t play the comparison game because there are no winners and you need to exactly what is right for YOU.

Have you struggled with staying authentic on your blog or social media? Do you have a hard time deciding what’s real and what’s not on Instagram? I would love to know everyone’s own experiences with staying authentic whether in life or online. Just leave a comment with your experience!

More importantly let me know if you’ve read My (Not So) Perfect Life because I’m dying to talk more about it and how much I loved it!

xo – Tracy

P.S. on the note of being authentic I feel like I should say I know I talk about this book a lot in this post but it is in no way sponsored. I just love reading and mostly Sophie Kinsella and especially this book and wanted to share how I connected with it with all of you! If something is ever sponsored, know that I will be totally upfront about it.

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