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Oh hey there…it’s been a hot minute, hasn’t it? Where do I even begin?

As I type out this initial blog post on a blank Word Document and I watch the empty page fill with words, I am still not certain that this blog post will ever reach your curious eyes. If it has, I suppose I’ll have finally come up with a domain name, a hosting service, a theme, and idea of what direction I wish to take this space going forward. I'm learning that there is a lot that goes into a successful blog. So to all of you successful lifestyle bloggers out there, I salute you.

It’s currently Friday at 2:57PM, and I've had an epiphany. I suppose that the idea has been lingering in the back of my mind for some time. Before we get into that, let's take a quick journey together...

Mid-2009

I’m sixteen years old. I’ve convinced my parents to buy a fancy-schmancy new MacBook Pro, they’ve got little knowledge of technology. I’ve told them that a MacBook will be faster, less riddled with viruses, and will surely last longer than the desktop we’ve got sitting in the basement that has taken me through a solid 4 years of Habbo Hotel, MSN, and Nexopia. If I’m being honest, I’d become hooked on YouTube with the inception of the online beauty community, and I really just wanted a built-in webcam and the iMovie program so I could begin my own journey into the online world of YouTube. 

February 2^nd, 2010

I post my first video to YouTube, titled, “Get To Know Me.” I'd filmed some awkward short clips on my grainy built-in webcam, inserted some generic copyright free music included in the iMovie program. Good to go. Upload.

Fast Forward >>>

Summer 2011

I’m 18 now, still awkward as hell. I’d long since begun talking in my videos. I'd begun to share awkward hair tutorials (oh man, were they ever awkward). I'd been sent my first products to promote. Anyone remember that Coastal Scents eyeshadow palette that every other 2010/2011-era YouTuber promoted? Yeah, nobody needs 88 glittering rainbow eyeshadows – but that didn’t stop me from posting several blurry, awkward webcam tutorials featuring the bad boy. I became a YouTube partner that summer. The partner program was still in its early stages, and this new development allowed me to finally customize my own thumbnails and post longer videos (that’s right ya’ll, it used to be a privilege to use the features many now take for granted). A couple of months later, my first YouTube paycheque rolled in and I drove that thing straight to the bank.

Fast Forward >>>

Early-2013

I’m filming on an SLR camera now. My editing has improved. I’m being sent more products to promote, and I start to receive sponsorship offers. Wait, you mean I get the product for free AND I get paid to share it with the world?! Sign me up! There were, of course, bad products. I never shared the bad products. Oh man, were they ever bad. My channel is growing steadily now, and I welcome the new subscribers to my little online community with open arms.

Mid-2014

A break up. A move. A new university. I’ve lost inspiration. I'm focused on school and I've lost the motivation to film, edit, and upload while fostering an online community. Let’s be honest, I’m no makeup artist and I style my hair the same way day in and day out. The self-proclaimed generation of “DIY YouTubers” emerges, and I partially follow suit. But I am not consistent. And these videos require a lot of work, with little reward at times. I lose momentum. I’m focusing on my personal life, which is changing rapidly before my eyes.

2015/2016

I’m finished university now. I keep promising, more videos coming soon! Moving house again, brb. I just need to go to Bali for a month, brb. I just started my career, brb. And just like that it’s April 2017 and I’m posting my first video in 4 months, a haul video. I’m promising my comeback, again. It’s the last video I’ll post to my YouTube channel, which has lost traction with 42, 000 subscribers still hanging on.

July, 2018

These days, I’m often caught daydreaming about how I miss creating content. I enjoy taking photos for Instagram, which still remains the only platform that I've maintained a consistent presence on. So much has changed!

I’ve begun my career, and I'm so blessed to be able to say that I love my job.

I’ve moved, not just within my small suburban city this time – I’ve moved three hours from my family and friends, and started over in the yyc.

I’ve begun a life here, with my cat and a Scottish man I love dearly.

I’ve travelled! Oh man have I travelled. This past year I've had the privilege to visit 9 different countries! There is still so much of the world that I am longing to see. I constantly crave new adventures.

All the while, I’ve thought of how I might put myself back out there, into the digital world.

I certainly don’t shop like I used to. I feel accomplished if I’ve put together an outfit that doesn’t simply consist of work clothes or athleisure wear. Hell, sometimes I leave the house without even brushing my hair – so don’t even get me started on hair tutorials.

These days; my life is broken into three domains. Work, relationships, and personal interests.

I’m inclined to bring some of these personal interests into the blogosphere.

Travel. Books. Wellness (both mental, and physical). Food. Yoga.

Oh, and true crime.

And whatever else flows my way, and allows this space to grow.

So there you have it. A condensed, yet lengthy, overview of what has been and what is to come.

I hope that you’ll stay tuned. If you’re here from my YouTube, I welcome you back. This may be a different platform, but this is my life in this moment. Will I return to the YouTube world? Perhaps. But for the time being, you can find me here.

~ Courtney Lee