2024 Word of the Year: LOUD!

Dec 27

photo of woman standing against a plain white wall. She is posed with her sweater pulled halfway up her arms, leaving her shoulders exposed. She has one hand touching the opposite elbow, and the other rested on her temple. Her hair is up in a clip.

As an introvert, an enneagram 9, an empath, and a chronic people pleaser, never have I ever aspired to be loud. The idea of taking up space, being “too much” for people, or god forbid being annoying are all things I tend to subconsciously avoid. So why am I now, at 27 years old, wanting to do a 180 on my own programming?

Let’s chat a bit about 2023. This year was rough. That even feels like an understatement. I experienced depression, burnout, creative block, and the slowest business I’ve had since I began in 2017. I know I’m not alone in many or all of those things, and then some. (And this of course goes without saying, but I’m coming from an absolute place of privilege, my struggles don’t even compare to what others were/are experiencing in other places around the world.) But in ‘23 I also got time to experiment, create with mediums I hadn’t used since college, and do a lot of self reflection. I thought about how I want to be growing as a person, to better myself for me and for those around me. I considered my strengths and weaknesses, and what I might do to improve things I had the power to change.

Something I noticed about myself throughout 2023 was how I had been so quiet. Quiet in my business, in my manifestations and intentions, in my relationships, in my personal struggles, and in my boundaries. Since this personal discovery, I’ve been slowly testing the waters to see what happens when I speak up. To find out how people react when I say no. So far, so good. I have a habit of thinking about things in a very permanent way. For example, if my saying no to something clearly makes the other person upset/sad/bummed/angry, my brain tells me that they will never recover from that. As if people cannot experience a feeling and then move on? 😂 I have no idea why I operate this way, but it’s definitely contributed to the people pleasing, even to my own detriment. It’s something I have to actively remind myself is not true, and I’m working so hard on being my own advocate.

I’m finally feeling refreshed, and my creative juices are flowing again! I’m so excited to bring new things to Bloom Boudoir, to serve more Muses than ever. And I’m ready to be loud. I don’t want to sit on the sidelines of my life or my business anymore. I want to be unafraid to show people how much this work means to me. I want to set boundaries and keep them. I’m ready to speak up, even if I cry.

Side note: Does anyone else just cry about everything? No matter the emotion I’m probably crying. Crybabies unite.

Are you reflecting on yourself right now? I feel like winter is just the natural time to slow down, shed some old layers and get a little uncomfy in order to come into a new, better version of ourselves. I’m definitely going to be uncomfortable, but I’m going to be changing my life while I’m there. And I’d rather be uncomfortable and growing than comfortable and static.

Thanks for being here and reading along. This feels a little like a diary entry, but I’m learning that I like being vulnerable with you all here. Isn’t vulnerability the whole theme here anyway? 😉

photo of a woman wearing a white sweater partially unbuttoned down the front. She poses for a boudoir self portrait against a plain white wall. — Let’s get creative

*TOGETHER*

Speaking of getting uncomfortable and maybe in light of trying new things — if you’re considering a boudoir session in 2024, I’d love to be the one to link arms with you and invite you on that journey. Knowing you have someone in your corner the entire time makes it a little less scary. Let’s chat about your dream session and how we can bring that to life.

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