Define Your Own Perception, Part V

Did you know that it was time for the next round of Girl Behind The Blog?
Today I get to share how blogging has changed me and share my "spot".
It happens to be my favorite place to stop and smell the roses.

                                                             

That leads us to my other favorite way to stop and smell the roses.
That's right folks, it's time for Perception Is Everything!


First up, we have Kelly, and I am so incredibly proud to have her opening up to us!
She really took this little project of mine to heart, and allowed herself to show you a side that no one has seen of her. Just another reason why I can't help but love this girl.
GF's for LIFE!

Hi everyone! You might already know me, I’m Kelly & I write a fashion & lifestyle blog called Messy.Dirty.Hair. I am all about embracing the imperfections in life. Of course I wanted to be a part of Janna’s sponsor program because, well you know she’s amazing. It has actually been very hard for me to figure out what to write. I think it’s because I usually don’t get too personal on my blog. Not that I have anything to hide or that I want people to think I live this perfect life, but just because it’s not what my blogs about. However, since I love Janna so much I’m switching it up & getting personal.

I feel like my entire life has been about people thinking I’m something different than who I really am. When Janna says perception is everything, it really is true. For some reason I have always been perceived as this girl who lives this perfect life, with the perfect boyfriend & the perfect clothes. I can’t tell you the amount of times people have said to me – ‘your life is so perfect’ or ‘you’re so lucky to have such a perfect boyfriend’….blah blah. Newsflash people – I do not live the perfect life. I do not have the perfect boyfriend…ok maybe I have the perfect clothes but I’m paying for that…i.e. credit card bills….but that’s besides the point.

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 No one has a perfect life, no matter how hard they may try to come off like they do. My entire life has been far from perfect. To be honest it’s actually been tough. For being only 27 years old I have actually already gone through way too much. However, I’m not going to sit here and list all the bad things that have happened to me throughout my life. I guess that’s because I don’t want anyone feeling bad for me. I don’t need pity. But I do want to show you that just because someone may look like they have it all in reality they probably are going through the exact same stuff you may have gone through.

I was bullied throughout my school years. Starting from kindergarten allllllll the way to the end of high school. I never ever made any sports team. I was always cut. I never won any school elections I went for. I wasn’t homecoming or Prom queen. My high school boyfriend verbally abused me, & then it got into physical abuse for 2 years. Right before college my parents got divorced. My family was splitting up. In college I was partying way too much & started developing an addiction to alcohol. I messed up a lot during that period of my life. I made a lot of mistakes during my alcohol induced haze. Mistakes that cannot be taken back…. It’s crazy I actually graduated with a Bachelor of Arts & Sciences in those 4 years …..& I’m going to stop right there. 
Yes, there is so much more I could tell you but I’m not going too.

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Plus why rehash the past? Yeah I have a pretty intense past but it’s what got me to where I am right now. My life still isn’t perfect by any means. And it never will be. It took me awhile to get over all the things in my past. Especially the f ups I made in college. But I realized if I didn’t go through all that I wouldn’t be where I am now. And I love where I am now….I have never been happier. But of course life will throw more curve balls at me, but this time I’m ready. The one good thing about going through all that crap is it makes you strong. And stuff that might have bothered you in the past doesn’t anymore.

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So I guess what I’m trying to say is looks can be deceiving. Just because it may look like someone has the perfect life, most likely they’re fighting some type of battle too.

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Thanks Janna for this. It actually felt really good to write this...
Oh & one more thing – Embrace the Mess.

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Sarah is my Blog Twin, and has been one of my favorites from the beginning. I think it's amazing that I have never met her, and yet we have made plans for "our" future...We are going to have some good times, I tell ya...Another funny thing, is that I thought she was short, but she is tall, and she thought I was tall, but I am short. I guess pictures don't tell all, after all!



I used to think...that I had to be married by 25.

Now I know... that setting timelines like that for yourself is unrealistic. People change so much in their twenties, and stressing out about getting married by a certain time is just ridiculous. (I just celebrated, yes celebrated, my 1 year of being single….and I'm 25 :) )

People see me as… being mean & intimidating. I kid you not, I can't tell you how many times I've heard that people think I don't like them before we become friends.....I guess I need to work on my facial expressions. ha

But I hope they know... that I'm really not like that. I love meeting new people and if you're not a raging biotch, then I'd love to be your friend :P

I blog because... ahhh there are so many reasons!! I love having a place to voice and share my opinion. I had no idea that you could make friends from blogging, but boy am I glad that you can because I've now got the best group of girlfriends :) Love y'all!! xo

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I know that I keep saying how proud I am of my fellow bloggers, and especially the ladies that have graced my blog this month, but I just can't say it enough. I feel so blessed to be a part of the blog world and all that it entails. As a matter of fact, I don't think I would have had the courage to divulge my biggest secret if all of these ladies hadn't have opened themselves up to us first.

Thank you all for showing us how to rise above and learn from our circumstances instead of letting them define us. Every one of you has touched my heart more than you know, and I will be forever grateful. You have outdone yourselves ladies, and more importantly, you have made this month my proudest month in blogging. I will never forget...

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As this month is rounding out, I am ready to introduce some new faces 'round these parts, so let me know if you are interested in participating! You can comment, email me directly, or visit here for more info. Everyone has a story, and you can be heard by sharing it here!