Looking Back At My 2018

Its always good to look to back to understand how far you come. Its easy to forget all you have accomplished in a year. I won't lie, at the end of November with the year coming to a close, I was feeling really frustrated. I felt like I did not accomplish or hit as many milestones as I wanted to, in my blogging career, in my media career or in my personal life. In short - I was feeling a bit defeated in every aspect of my life, which was a very negative view of my year. That is why it was really good for me to recap my 2018 in this post. After taking hard look back at my 2008, I realized I am proud and happy with what I had done in the last 12 months. I also think I can be very hard on myself (we are our own worst critics right?). So Let's start at the beginning of 2018 shall we?

WHITNEY GOES SOLO

2018 was all about new beginnings for me! In April of 2018 I launched Whit Wanders and went solo blogging for the first time in 7 years! I started blogging in 2011 and previously ran the blog Britt+Whit with my girlfriend. Going out on my own was scary. I was launching a new brand all by myself. There was no one to bounce ideas off or ask "is this crazy?" But it was also a fun new challenge to have complete control over the direction of my new brand: Whit Wanders.

But Whit Wanders almost did not happen. After leaving my job last year, I wasn't even sure if I wanted to keep blogging. My world had kind of crumbled around me and I was in the process of re-building. I had to take a big step back to figure out what I really loved and valued in my life, vs what really had to go. After a lot of soul searching - I realized I really loved blogging. I love sharing with you and building a community. I love creating the concept for the shoot from the fashions, to the styling, outfits props and shoot locations. Its a totally different world than my media business - the blog gives me that area in my life to have a truly creative outlet. And I love it!

Blogging has also opened me up to a community of creatively daring and driven women that I probably would have never discovered without this outlet. When I first started blogging in 2011, blogging was not a business but now almost 8 years later it has evolved into so much more and its exciting to see where it will go!

Scroll down to see my 2018 outfit round-up and other highlights from this year!

GETTING PERSONAL | WORK SERIES

Almost as long as I have had a full-time job I have run a blog. Its second nature to me to do both. But I have always kept my blogging life a secret from my work. So sometimes it felt like I was living 2 lives: 1.) My corporate no-nonsense media director side and 2.) my fashion loving blogging side. As previously discussed, its hard enough being a women in the corporate world, but a women who loves fashion and runs a blog about fashion - while it may show work ethic and commitment, more often than not, I was judge for running a fashion blog. I was met with the assumption that interest in fashion negates intelligence. Spoiler Alert: It doesn't!

But I realized after working for 10 years in the agency side of media, I had quite a few work lessons, advice and horror stories to share. I want to share everything I learned to help empower women to move up the ladder and own their work environment. So I decided to launch a NEW Work Series on the blog! I shared my own personal stories about being burnt-out and rage quitting my job. Beyond my work war stories, I also shared personal stories about what it was like growing up abroad on a sailboat when I was young and my weight loss journey of losing 25 LBS. Sharing personal experience made me feel incredibly vulnerable and exposed. These are my real-life experiences: some bad, some good and it means the world to me when one of my personal experiences connects with you! Building a community is all about connecting and getting real. That is what I am trying to build with Whit Wanders!

CONSULTING BUSINESS

In the beginning of 2018, in addition to running the blog, I launched my consulting service and started a working with previous clients and different brands on select advertising campaigns and programs. One January 5th of 2019, I will have been running my new company for a full annual year and earning more then when I worked full-time!

One of the best things about my new consulting service is that I work with clients I actually like and the freedom that comes with working remotely. After 10 years in the corporate world, I never pictured myself being a media consultant or freelancer - but here I am and I love it! It also gives me the freedom to work on the blog and build my new brand Whit Wanders. The freedom also allows me to be more selective in the brand partnerships for the blog. I only share or work with brands that I love on the blog. I promise to share more about my consulting business and how I got it up and running in my new Work Series soon!

I wanted to end this 2018 recap with a sincere thank you! Whether you have been with me since Britt+Whit days or just joining me for Whit Wanders launch, I appreciate every minute you spend with me on the blog. I really want to make this a community and platform that inspires and challenges you. So please - tell me what you want to see! Email me! The best part about blogging is connecting with you! Whether its a fun email about my most recent outfit posts or you connecting me on a work horror story - Here is to 2019 and what another year will bring! Let's do this babes!

I want to know your 2018 Best Moments!

Please share any outfits or 2018 favorites below in the comments!