"If you're lucky enough to be different, don't ever change."

I've always been authentic. I've always been myself. Even when I was bullied, I didn't understand why, so I refused to change myself. That's a whole other story, but my point is I've always been myself. Outgoing, energetic, mostly optimistic, always singing and dancing, passionate...all of it. I also know that not everyone will like you. That's something that's taken a long time for me to accept. I'm a notorious people pleaser. I've always wanted to make everyone happy, always wanted to do what was best for them, even if it was a detriment to myself. This is probably why all of this business stuff for me, all this content creation/influencer/self employed stuff, is so hard. I am myself. But I also am working very hard at not taking everything personally. Lately, I've become way too concerned with all the analytics and metrics of social media. I focus way too much on the idea that no one sees my stuff and if they do, they don't care. If it resonates, it resonates. And I just have to keep trucking along. Anyway, the original point of this was to let y'all know that I'm pretty much turning this all into a brand. I am working on setting up a podcast. I am working on planning more blog posts. I have a new Instagram for all of this: @momlifewithcandace I've been researching all sorts of ideas for posts and content and I've been working on my flashcards. It's funny, the last week or so had been super stressful (because my kid has gone on strike for naps, but still needs them, and his frustration level has skyrocketed and I've pretty much sobbed every day for the last four days...) and the thing that's helping me calm down is actually focusing on all of this business stuff. The biggest thing they tell you is that you need to have a niche. That's hard for me. I like to think of myself as a lifestyle type person. I have so many things I want to talk about. I have so many interests. So many stories. I'll probably look into figuring out how to divide up this blog better too. Sports in one section, Motherhood in one, creative endeavors in another, mental health, books in one....I'm thinking that might help a lot. 😂 I changed the banner! I'm pretty excited because it truly feels like a lot of this is coming together. I just have to try to actually reach people! ☺️ I'll be doing some polls on my IG @fancynewcandace to figure where people would like me to go. I have ideas, but I want to turn this into a supportive community, so I'm willing to take ideas from y'all.😘 I truly hope everyone is doing well! Just remember, breathe in. Breathe out. Or, as Rosie Fuentes from Rosie's Rules says: "I need to flop! Breathe in. Breathe out. Wiggle about. Now we can figure this out! Vamos a ver!" (My kid's obsessed! 😉) Sending love always, Candace ❤️