I'm taking a small break from my Blogmas posting because I decided to participate in the Lolita Blog Carnival from this week! The subject was very interesting to me and I thought I had a lot to share about it so here we go. :3
Things You Have Learned About Yourself While In The Fashion This Year!
Firstly, I thought it would be useful to make a little preface before getting into the main subject...
In 2013 or 2014, I kind of decided to leave Lolita communities all together. I stopped going to Lolita meetups in my province, I stopped participating to forums or communities online and I even unfriended most of the Lolitas I had on my Facebook. I did this because I thought that the Lolita communities in general were doing me more harm than good. I really did felt like the ugly duckling whenever I went to meetups or when I posted online... It left me feeling sad and bitter about it. I knew it wasn't the fashion itself, but the people I shared it with. So I decided to leave the Lolita communities... Until this year.
This year, I learned I could host a panel on Lolita fashion at a local geek convention!
In July I hosted my very first panel ever at a convention and it was a panel about Lolita Fashion 101. I was way too stressed as it was the first time ever I putted together an explanatory panel about the fashion and I was doubting about myself a lot. Despite being in the fashion for so long, I did left the communities a while ago and I didn't really kept up to date with the trends as they were less interesting to me... But I was very proud of myself for doing it at all! ~ In the end, I only really wished to share my knowledge and so people in my city could understand the fashion a little bit better, but I got a few people interested in the fashion, which was a lot more than what I hoped for! ^w^
This year, I learned I could host meetups with Lolitas in my own city!
It's closely related to the previous one, but it really felt surreal to me at first! ^^'' I felt like I could never meet other Lolitas until I traveled for several hours away in bigger cities. But after giving my panel on Lolita fashion, it felt right to start hosting Lolita meetups with the few Lolitas from my city even if we aren't a big group and even if some of them are beginners. The people in my local community are truly kind, polite, welcoming and we are a generally drama-free community for now. It changed my perception of Lolita communities a lot, as it was the first time I felt truly happy and safe during Lolita meetups. For once I felt like I belonged somewhere... There was no elitism, no judging, no gossips... Only frillies enjoying their clothes and doing activities together. :3
This year, I learned I could be a good Lolita blogger!
Of course, my experience with my panel and my local Lolita community did gave me a huge confidence boost with that! I decided to take my blogging more seriously, by posting more regularly and being more organized, like a true blogger! ^w^ I also gathered the confidence to join the Lolita Blog Carnival community this year which I am very thankful for! I love putting my heart and soul into everything I do, and this blog is the proof that I don't do it for nothing as it leave me with a powerful feeling of accomplishment and I am very proud about it. :3
This year, I learned to love and embrace the social aspects of Lolita fashion again!
It's pretty self-explanatory. :3 It was a year of change for me in general, in my personal life, as I learned a lot about my limits... But I also learned about my capacities; what I could do and more importantly what I liked to do. Sometimes, life puts you in situations you don't like and that doesn't feel right... But when you stop and think about what you truly enjoy and what can bring you happiness and positive vibes and you move towards that as your goal, it gets so much better. ^w^
Please, take a look at other blogs that have participated in this Lolita Blog Carnival and go give them some love! :3
Until next time my pretty pearly kitty ornaments! ^w^
That's so cool that you were able to get others interested in the fashion with the panel! And I bet the others really appreciated having someone take the initiative to host, especially someone who values community support over gossip and drama. It doesn't have to be big or super experienced, just supportive!
ReplyDeleteYes, indeed! ^^ I am very grateful for that. ~
DeleteIt's great that you rediscovered the fun of being part of a Lolita community. I get what you meant by feeling like the ugly duckling, kind of running behind the group of pretty swans, but not *really* a part of it, because I have felt like this myself sometimes (in and outside of Lolita). Luckily, I grew to realise that most of the times that has happened to me was my own inferiority complex and insecurities taking over, not the other people and their actions towards me (and when it was, I promptly ditched them), so I went through a long journey of growing in self-confidence and self-worth and now if I feel a pang of that inferiority creeping up on me again, I will either smack it down hard or analyse why I'm feeling like this and what could I do to improve myself and feel like I am on par. But being in good company is half the journey, so now you can all enjoy the fashion together and hopefully do more fun things in 2018 whilst growing as a tight-knit, welcoming community. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to know that I am not alone feeling this way! ~ Thank you for your kind comment. :3
DeleteYou made such a huge comeback when it comes to being into a community again. I have no idea how stressful it must have been to host your own pannel and start a community from scratch again. You can be very proud of yourself. My local community is nearly dead but I'm trying to get it back together with a bigger meeting in February next year, we have 9 attendees which is a lot for us. Though most of us still need to travel quite a while to get there.
ReplyDeleteAlso yay for being a productive blogger! I'm so happy to see that blogging is getting more populair again especially with the Lolita Blog Carnival. I really like reading all the posts and commenting to get in contact with the writer through their blogs. It really adds so much more to the fashion for me.
I wish you luck for bringing back your comm together! ^w^ Here we are about 8 people with an actual Lolita outfit but we got a few newbies who are interested but don't have any outfits yet. ~
DeleteIt's also a new things for me to be a blogger through a community and I'm slowly getting used to it haha! I like it a lot so far! :3