Recently, I have been doing a lot of personal inventory of my life. I have reached 30, I am single, with no kids and no 9-5 job, and I’m okay with that, but yet, I still feel like I haven’t reached my fullest potential. I just want different things than what my peers have, or what society has raised me into thinking that I want. This blog has helped me reach that potential, and seeing other females do the same is a big boost.
Dr. Alisha Reed, success coach @flywithalishareed, and Rachel Bernhard @thechicpsyche, are doing what feels right to them. Both women have successful blogs, but more importantly, they do it for themselves, and in turn, built a loyal following over time. Their content is not solely for likes! Which is what I “like” 😉 about them!
FLY into the best version of yourself
I met Alisha a few year back working at Saks. The Canal Place mall was doing Instagram takeovers and the marketing manager asked me to show Alisha around while she shopped for her favorite Mardi Gras style finds over their Insta. I love seeing her posts on Instagram about self-care. Back when we met, she was @iamnolabougie and she promoted local events around town while also promoting self-care and female empowerment.
Tragically, her husband passed away of a sudden heart attack just this year, and her passion to keep going for her toddler son, and for other women out there, inspires me daily. She says it isn’t easy, but totally worth it to do what feels right.
“I always had a passion for writing and sharing my life,” said Reed. “It started with Facebook and then in 2017 I decided to launch my actual blog.”
Reed, a pharmacist by day, started on Instagram as @nolabougie, and through the journey of her husband’s passing, she has found her true calling of success coaching. The single mom does it all, and she is a boss!
“It was actually a name given to me by my late husband. He would say that I was Bougie but still had the local New Orleans ‘swag.'”
Moving her brand away from events and what’s “bougie” in NOLA has helped her change perspective on her priorities. Inspiring other women has helped her keep her own fire lit inside.
“It was about wanting the best for yourself. Not necessarily in terms of material things, but in terms of life,” Reed said. “I wanted to inspire women to live their best lives while becoming the best versions of themselves. Self care and self love were my pillars.”
Everyone always has an opinion and when you put yourself out there, publicly on Instagram, you’re opening the door for people to share their feelings on your content, both positive and negative. Reed deals with that by taking it for a grain of salt.
“Of course, I’ve struggled with some of my followers not understanding my lifestyle. I tend to do a lot of things on my own and that sometimes comes across as arrogant and unapproachable,” Reed said. “I think that it’s hard to really know someone through pictures. Once my followers interact with me outside of the platform, they see that I am authentic and genuine.”
Follow along with Reed @flywithalishareed 💥💕
Digging into the chic psyche
Rachel Bernhard is a former coworker of mine from Saks. We worked together in the Contemporary department and saw a lot of people come and go! We are also both graduates of Ursuline Academy. The two of us are 5 years apart, and I never knew her while in high school, but the sisterhood bond from Ursuline goes a long way. Her blog @thechicpsyche was started during the COVID-19 pandemic. She had so much free time, she figured why not start doing something productive to connect her two passions of fashion and psychology.
Her and her (then) fiance, Michael, decided to get married in a small but elegant micro-wedding, and with all of that content, mixed with the passion and free time, all the stars aligned and The Chic Psyche was born! She is currently a student studying psychology. Living the married life in Washington D.C., it became the right place and time to begin creating original content. Bernhard combined her student lifestyle and passion for fashion.
“My biggest motivation to start a blog was my love for learning, sharing and talking about fashion and psychology,” Bernhard said. “I have been studying psychology for a year now and have missed fashion being in my life. I wanted to combine the two subjects, since I have an interest in both, while also using social media.”
Like Bernhard, I too have a passion for fashion, style, writing, news gathering and learning. Her desire to take things at her own pace inspires me to continue doing the same. The downtime of quarantine allowed me to start digging more into my passions and learn more about things I thought I “knew” about. I may not be in school anymore, but I still love learning. Bernhard mentioned to me The Chic Psyche is her safe space to learn more about what drives people to get dressed in the morning. Through that research, she began learning a lot about what makes her get dressed for the day.
“I did not know much about the relationship between emotions and clothes, and now when I’m picking what to wear, I think about what I have written,” Bernhard said. “I love learning more information each day that I may not have spent the time to research if I wasn’t writing a blog.“
The term “self-care” has blow up over the past couple of years, and the beauty industry has really capitalized on the term as a lifestyle. I try to think of it more in terms of becoming more in-tune with your soul, and knowing what makes you happy. If it doesn’t feel right, you should know right away. Bernhard knew instantly this blog was the right thing for her to do by the feedback she received from old friends, and new virtual connections she made. All of that joy shows through her work.
“It is never boring and I am always captivated [by] what I am writing,” said Bernhard. “I believe that this makes the blog enjoyable, and when I feel good, therefore confident, about what I’m writing, my audience enjoys it that much more.”
Follow along with Rachel @thechicpsyche
Writing has always been a safe creative outlet for me. I’ve started blogs time and time again, since I was 15 and using Xanga!! Anyone else remember Xanga 😂 But they never stuck to the wall. Being young and in my twenties, I just didn’t have my priorities in order like I do now. When I started High End Thrift last year, I knew it was for real. My job is long hours and consuming but it was in my heart to finally start creating and sharing. It just felt “right.” And I knew I could do it on my own schedule. To me, it’s always about quality over quantity. I may not post everyday, but when I do it means I’ve put strong effort into the work.
Stay safe and take care of yourself
xoxo
The Highend 