The Internet Knew an Old Version of Me

When I started Brands by RISE (back then, RISE Creative Co.) in 2015, my life looked completely different from what it does now.

I had just left corporate fashion in NYC, was single, and moving all over the country trying to find my home.

My life consisted of aesthetic coffee shops, airport terminals, fashion trends, networking events, and figuring out what flight I was booking next.

Everything felt fast-paced.

Exciting.

Uncertain.

But honestly… very curated.

Back then, showing up online felt easy because my life naturally fit the type of content people wanted to see.

And in a lot of ways, that version of me became tied to my brand.

But over the last 11 years, my life has changed so much.

I got married.

Became a mom.

Settled down in the South, (who would’ve thought?)

Started craving slower mornings over constant movement.

My days now look a lot less aesthetic…

and a lot more messy.

There are toys all over my house.

I work during nap times, and pre-school.

I’m balancing business ownership with motherhood, healing, marriage, school, exhaustion, purpose, growth, and trying to figure out who I’m becoming in this season too.

And if I’m being honest, I think part of why I’ve struggled to consistently show up online lately is because my presence hasn’t matched where I actually am in life.

I’ve been trying to show up as the person I was 11 years ago.

And she’s just not here anymore.

Not because I lost myself.

But because I evolved.

And I think a lot of women quietly struggle with this.

Especially women who leave corporate careers.

Women who become moms.

Women who start businesses.

Women who are healing while simultaneously trying to build something meaningful.

At some point, the version of you that started the journey no longer fully reflects the version of you living it now.

But instead of allowing ourselves to evolve publicly, we try to maintain the old image because it feels safer.

More polished.

More recognizable.

More “on brand.”

I know I have.

But the more I share the raw and messy parts of:

motherhood

entrepreneurship

healing

slowing down

identity shifts

and evolving…

The more I connect with other women who just get it.

Women who are also trying to figure out how to hold onto themselves while becoming someone new at the same time.

And honestly, the older I get, the more important it’s become for me to be a long-term support system for women navigating all of those transitions too.

Not just through branding and business.

But through the human side of becoming.

And in order to do that, I have to stop trying to perform an older version of myself online.

I have to show up messy sometimes.

Vulnerable sometimes.

Authentic always.

So if you notice a shift in my content lately…

That’s why.

It’s my way of showing other women that stepping into your calling in the middle of your mess is possible.

You don’t have to have everything perfectly figured out first.

You don’t have to look the way you used to.

You don’t have to fit the version of success you once imagined for yourself.

You’re allowed to evolve.

And maybe the women we become along the way are actually far more aligned with who we were always meant to be.

Thank you for being here.

And thank you for evolving right alongside me.