This isn’t my first time blogging. When I started blogging a few years ago, I paid someone to design it and someone else to install it. I did a few random posts, and it left me feeling very blah. To be honest, it gave me a lot of anxiety! If you think blogging is easy, it’s not. I was not organized, and I felt some pressure to blog about fitness and nutrition because that’s how most people found me on Instagram. While I don’t mind sharing my workouts and what I eat, (I’m not a trainer or nutritionist) I didn’t want the blog to be just about that. Without a real sense of direction for the blog, I abandoned it. Sigh.

Don’t get me wrong. For years, I’ve wanted to get the blog up and running, but I wanted to make sure I’d be authentic, discuss topics that matter to me, and have a deeper understanding of how my blog would work. I thought about the things I wanted to write about, but I wasn’t sure if anyone would be interested. Again, Instagram would be the place where I’d find inspiration from Valencia’s Instagram post. Valencia is an author, English teacher and Critical Theory professor in Baltimore, Maryland.

Valencia was reading Leave Your Mark by Aliza Licht and wanted to gift the book to someone. I promptly slid into her DMs and told her I wanted to create a blog based on wellness and healthy living. I wasn’t expecting to get the book because I figured hundreds of other people were asking her for it, and out of all the people who asked, she sweetly sent me the book! So, I just wanted to say thank you to Valencia for inspiring me to start. Again. With more purpose.

Last year, www.liveloveblu.com was reborn, and I am grateful for everyone who reads this blog because it’s truly a labor of love. I truly love sharing part of my life, even the embarrassing parts.

They say the habits you build in your 30s follow you into your 50s and beyond. I want to grow older and wiser and healthier. So, I start today, the first of the month. As I better myself, I know I am bettering my world. That is important to me. – Valencia Clay

If you’ve ever had something in your heart that you wanted to do, do it. Sometimes it won’t be easy, but you’ll figure it out along the way! Plus, there are people out there who are rooting for you. If it’s been simmering deep down in your heart, then you owe it to yourself to at least try.

So, who’s inspired you lately?

Please check out Valencia’s blog here and follow her on Instagram here.

Photography by Essence

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