BREAKFAST THOUGHTS: CHOOSING TO START MY CREATIVE JOURNEY AGAIN

I’m dedicating today’s post to write about starting my creative journey again. About three years have passed since my last post of breakfast thoughts, and as the name implies, it is a space where I share my unfiltered thoughts over breakfast. I’ve been thinking a lot about my creative pursuits lately and questioning the slow pace at which I have published content or worked on my creative pursuits in the last three years. I would start by saying I have no regrets as to where my life has led me, but there are moments when I think of what I had to forgo to achieve all of this.

In 2017, I moved to the U.S to pursue a new life for myself. At that time I had a growing community as a creator, a business, I was extroverted, and outgoing and just saw life in colors. Not long after moving, it became hard to sustain everything I have mentioned above. At the top of my head I can think of a few things I had to forgo (I became introverted, slowed down on creating, and spoke less because I had to juggle between school and finding a job), which has led me to starting again.

Starting Again: Practicing Consistency After a 5 Year Creative Hiatus

Ordinarily, this would be a video on some other medium where I let out my thoughts, which the internet these days calls yapping. But I am not quite there yet, where I am comfortable enough to sit in front of a camera to do so. For now my writing will suffice.

I now consider myself an introvert…who is starting over in her creative journey. To be in a space where I’ve practiced my skills long enough to be a veteran but displaced enough to be considered a novice is challenging. As someone who once considered herself an extrovert—a trait that helped me create without pause or the hesitation that is often times associated with an introverted nature. The newfound feeling has not been without cause. Once upon a time, it was easy to write, speak, and create without prompt but moving to a new country changed all of that.

Moving to a new country meant there was less time to indulge in the luxury of having a hobby. I found myself struggling to do even the mundane things that I really enjoyed especially writing ✍️ for my blog and designing my footwear line. At first, I told myself pausing was important to focus on grad school and settle in my new country, and while that was true, I didn’t imagine how much toll it would take on my creativity to the point of quitting altogether.

At first, I posted periodically, like twice a week, then it became once a month, and then posting became sporadic. And in the years that I’ve waned so has my ability to create cohesively and with the right tools to reach a broader audience.

In 2024, I was inspired to start again.

Why I Have Loved Starting Over

Sometimes it’s easy to be in denial that things have changed but it didn’t take me long to accept it. I have since settled into the emotions (sadness, anxiety, and uncertainty) of starting again and gradually getting into the brighter side of creating. For example, I’m learning new ways and mediums to show up online… I am practicing consistency like writing for blog and posting videos on YouTube every two weeks.

But more importantly, I am excited about the ways starting over has pushed me creatively. I am picking up new tools, trying out new ways of telling my story and building from a baseline. Since creativity is loosely and technically tied to technology, you learn quickly that at any time you snooze, you lose. And coming back into the space to catch up has felt like learning to walk in old age.

One of the biggest struggles right now with starting over is finding ways to talk about things I love and why I love them. But again, the joy of starting over is betting on yourself, setting new goals, trying new things, and using a new platform to re-introduce myself, and these days to a new audience (TikTok and YouTube). Sometimes, it is dusting off an old medium (Instagram, blog, and newsletter) and sticking to familiar practices (like posting fashion content) to get into my zone again. I for one have been excited about blogging and rekindling old series like this one, which was a readers’ favorite.

What’s for Breakfast

For breakfast I’m having two slices of bread with cream cheese, layered with honey and fried egg. My bread was left to toast in the oven for 5 min on 350 degrees— in my early 20s, I ate at least 4-5 slices of bread for breakfast and still managed to be a size 0. With 2 slices of bread in my 30s, I am struggling to keep my weight together. However, I am excited that spring is here, I’ve got my nails done and spent more time outdoors in the last week than I did for most of February. The warmer months allow me to explore more outdoor exercise activities like running.

I am interested in what y’all are up to this spring, any travel plans? How has spring opened you up, especially in your creative pursuits?