Kiki & Bug

Hi lovelies! Long time, no talk! It’s been a whirlwind these past two weeks being back at work for the first time since March! It’s madness. For those of you who may be new here, I’m a PreK teacher and yesterday marked my first day of virtual learning with all my new kiddos! To say it’s been interesting would be the understatement of the year, but in true 2020 fashion, we’re making it work the best we can.

Anyway, I wanted to write this post partly for my followers to get to know me a little bit better and my inspiration behind creating this blog but also to help me get re-inspired to continue on in this journey! Balancing my two worlds has been much trickier to navigate than I anticipated and I wanted to take a moment to return to the beginning and remember the reasons behind why I started doing this in the first place.

When I first decided to start a blog I thought a lot about what I wanted it to look like, the content I wanted to share, and the overall purpose of why I was pursuing it. I was an English major in college and always dreamed of being a writer. I realized how hard this dream would be to put into motion once I graduated from school. Like many new grads, I experienced a lot of rejection. It can be difficult to stay motivated when you’re constantly feeling like the door is being slammed in your face. So ultimately, I decided to find a different career path. This shift in mindset led me to teaching! The world of education allows me to be creative and resourceful but I still felt I was missing that writing component I needed.

My boyfriend suggested that I start a blog! He had been telling me this for months but I always ignored it and chalked it up to not having enough time in my schedule to keep up with a blog. Then Covid-19 came into our lives and suddenly I was at home with all of this extra free time! It felt like the perfect “let’s make lemonade” situation. If I’m going to be stuck at home, I might as well take advantage of this newfound time I have and do something meaningful with it, hence Kiki & Bug was born.

Deciding what I wanted the blog’s purpose or niche to be wasn’t really difficult to conjure up. I’ve always wanted to create a positive space for women to feel valued, heard and understood. As a young woman I never felt like there were really other girls like me out there, rather these impossible versions of women that seemed perfect. I want Kiki & Bug to show the imperfections that lie within all of us because at the end of the day we’re all humans just trying our best. I made the choice that if I was going to do this I was going to be transparent and honest even if it felt uncomfortable to me at times. The only way to grow is to be vulnerable and raw and that’s what I’ve done. I’ve shared things about my relationship, my struggles with anxiety and even my thoughts on current events.

Kiki & Bug is meant to uplift women and show them that not every influencer on Instagram has to be or look a certain way to be significant. Instead, I want this blog to be a forum that celebrates sharing one’s personal struggles and shines a light on how strong and courageous that bravery is. I want to encourage other women to walk that journey with me and help them not to be fearful of any repercussions if they do.

“When you get to a place where you understand that love and belonging, your worthiness, is a birthright and not something you have to earn, anything is possible.” – Brene Brown

I spent a great deal of my life, too long I’m sure, caring about what others think about me. If I’m being honest I haven’t completely rid myself of those worries and outside perceptions, but I can say that I care a whole lot less. Each year that passes as I get older, I grow more and more comfortable and confident with myself and the woman I am. I embrace myself piece by piece and have learned to love and accept myself in a way that my fifteen year old self wouldn’t believe. Every person deserves that sense of self-acceptance and self-love. There is so much power in that and I want this blog to be a constant reminder to anyone out there that it’s a road they don’t have to walk alone. Seems silly that self-acceptance would have to be a “goal” or something we have to “achieve” but the reality is for so many of us it doesn’t come easily. However you can get there is up to you, but you’ll feel so much more empowered when you do. I hope this blog offers all of you a space to grow the way it has for me.

As always, thank you for listening. Be kind to yourselves and have a wonderful week!

xoxo- Kristen Jean