Same Passion, New Project

I sit at Panera Bread because I don't have internet at my apartment (long story). I actually like sitting here listening to Latino elevator music and watching various people walk by. It's inspiring - the chatter, the music, the clanking of silverware.

It has taken me half the summer to get enough gumption to begin... again. BeautyGirl was my pet project for over two years. I worked on it countless hours after I worked my day job. It wasn't work, it was passion. Then it crashed due to hackers during several tremendous changes in my life.

These past eight months, I have taken a position teaching twelfth-grade English and theater. I went back to teaching after working in marketing for two years. My four-year relationship ended. I moved to an apartment and am more independent than ever. The changes have been challenging at times, but for the most part, peaceful.

To my surprise, I have faced them head on with more enthusiasm than I knew I had. At the age of twenty-seven (and a half), I know myself quite better than I did four years ago. I know what I want in a career, and I know more of what I want in a relationship.

More than ever, I know what I don't know, and I am very excited to learn, grow, and possibly go on a few adventures where fear once held me back.

Even though BeautyGirl gained much success in a short time, I have decided to approach it differently - with a new name and new layout. Just as I have had a new start in life, I am approaching the magazine in the same way. I will look at the hacking as a blessing.

I am renaming the magazine after my great-grandmother. This act is intentional; I mean it to serve as a reminder to us all that our role models should be those strong, independent women we see every day, and not those we only know through the television screen. I am also going 100% digital. You'll be able to flip through the pages!

There's so much more to come... it may take a while, but it will be worth it. A blog that began as a hobby has uncovered a passion that I can't seem to let go. And I won't.

To new beginnings!