One of the worst problems about blogging and social media is that everything can start feeling “perfect.” Too perfect. Actually, it drives me crazy personally because I find myself comparing my life to what I assume to be these perfect lives I follow on Instagram or Twitter… and then I remember that my own life may seem perfect from social media. LOL, it’s not. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I have a great life! But I tend to definitely share the highlight reel.
So.
Taking a cue from Glamour, I thought it would be fun to share some of the footage that landed on the cutting room floor. No highlight reel here.
Hey, it’s okay…
to eat pizza five nights in a row
to buy a week’s worth of underwear to avoid laundry
to grocery “shop” at Duane Reade
to crack your phone’s screen and then shatter the replacement three days later
to use any and every excuse to browse Barnes & Noble
to change your outfit seven twelve times before meeting your boyfriend’s mom
to sleep in accidentally the day this post went live (#theirony)
to tip the delivery guy with a huge handful of quarters because I didn’t have cash
to ignore literally all but three people who texted me this week (sorry y’all)
to watch the first episode of House of Cards twice and read the plot summary before getting hooked
… and on that note, to use every spare moment watching Orange Is the New Black
to contemplate buying a printer and forwarding every PDF ever to your boyfriend instead
to waste an hour of your life watching unexpected friendship videos of animals (a lamb & a husky!? I cried.)
to trip and fall while wearing sandals– flat sandals. Don’t even know.
to chase your morning dark-roast coffee down with an iced coffee
to use your puppy as a personal vacuum cleaner
to spend $15 trying to get the perfect photostrip and looking dumb in every photo
to only order appetizers (and demand to know why they took the best one off the menu) for dinner
Has anything happened in your life recently that didn’t make the “highlight reel”?
xoxo
Carly this is so great! I feel like Instagram comparison often stresses me out. Do you!
http://www.thepdxprepster.com
I always love posts like this! The things that haven't made my highlight real are eating rice for weeks straight– I seriously wouldn't eat anything else, I just craved rice–nearly knocking over a mannequin at the mall, almost every time I go, sending the wrong email to the wrong person, and loads of other funny embarrassing stories haha. Its always nice to know everybody goes through the same things!
Hunter
Prep on a Budget
Ughhh…my whole life?! I get so tired of seeing people's perfectly curated instagram feeds/social lives..it's okay to wear the same sweats for weeks on end and watch Frasier while you surf the internet & work on your blog. It's okay to enjoy the hell out of that alone time. That's my piece! <3
xo, grace
patternedposies.blogspot.com
So much yes to using your dog as a personal vacuum.
My own would be… It's OK to post your dog on your Instagram constantly. No, really, like constantly.
— Alex at Cashmere Kangaroo
This post is so inspirational!
http://fashion-soup.com/
This post is great! Love your honesty!
Uh, love this! 🙂 For me…
…to accidently sleep in.
…to consciously eat the food that makes me feel terrible (it's not ok, but oh well)
…to ignore my email.
Long time reader, first time commenter. Loved this post! Mine would be- Hey! It's ok to eat a really unbalanced week of meals when you're trying to save money by emptying the pantry and freezer. I'v had some combination of perogies, onions and red potatoes for the past 3 meals.
I can totally relate to this post! For me…
– to accidentally break the zipper on the back of your dress (that you decided on after 5 outfit changes and are already late for work)
– to put too much fabric softener in your laundry and have to spend an extra $2 getting all the extra soap out
– to eat cereal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner
– to hit snooze and not go to that 6:30am spin class after all
oh well, c'est la vie! Thanks for this post Carly!
oh carly, i love this post. for me, it's okay to live off of random snacks instead of going out to dinner with friends because you're just so tired and drained by your life lately. keep on rocking your beautiful realness 🙂
Love this post! And the last one is so on point. I only every order appetizers because a) portion sizes are huge most of the time, and b) I want room for dessert. And don't forget about eating cereal for dinner, because your too lazy to make/order anything
-Katherine
http://thegreenbows.blogspot.ca
This is great!! And all of them are totally ok because I have probably done all of them at least once:)
xo, Taylor
With the time it probably took to you to go and buy new underwear, you could've done a load of laundry. silly!
Love this list! (insert the praise hands emoji here! ;)) Mine would probably be something like Hey it's okay to order pizza and do takeout instead of doing some much needed grocery shopping!
xo Kylie
http://www.dressinsparkles.com
Mine would be it's okay if you have had the song Problem by Ariana Grande and Iggy Azalea on repeat for the past week.
I adore this list. I'm a major takeout person. I'm terrible at getting dinner cooked at all let alone at a decent hour. Or it's okay to take a shower in the middle of the day because your puppy managed to knock your coffee off the side table and onto your head while you were cleaning up the salad he had previously knocked over. Because that's how my day went.
Mana
Fashion and Happy Things
This is probably one of my favorite posts, Carly!
I feel as if social media only shows what people want to be seen as, along with what they want to be remembered for.
Your honesty is very much inspiring (and relatable)!
I've been eating fish and pasta for three days straight…no shame!
xo, Julissa
Haha! This post put such a smile on my face! I feel like only 5% of my life would be considered highlight reel worthy…
Some of this week's "bloopers" include:
– rewashing my windshield of my jeep three times because I missed so many spots.
– sitting in my backyard in a too-tight seersucker dress for the "perfect" instagram picture.
– digging through piles of clean clothes to get dressed because the disaster area of my post-college closet is too intimidating to deal with.
– eating popcorn for lunch (three days in a row).
– crying because no one's entering the giveaway on my blog.
Sydney
Toodlebelle's Blog
Ahh I love posts that reflect real girls. Having fun, living life, and just doing you. Life goal- don't compare. I want to life my life as fully as I can without worring what could be better or worse! Hope all ya'll ladies are doing you!
Great post! I love how real you are and I am totally with you on so many of these its a bit ridiculous!
hahaha some days i feel like my entire life is the anti-sizzle-reel. #murphyslaw
Its okay…to be a little late to work because you had to grab Starbucks. (Hey, you're doing work a favor, how else are you going to perform well in the morning?) =D
This is great! I always love these things! Mine would be "Hey, it's okay…to tell yourself you can only have Starbucks once a week…but then proceed to get it every single day…" oops 😉
I believe you missed the whole point of the Glamour articles Carly, which was to go out of the way to make women in general feel better about embarrassing habits. You took the article as a way to humble brag about your life, and make sure everybody knows you have a boyfriend.
Love this!!! On a whim, I posted a photo of myself on instagram (@traceyodowd) makeup-less, in glasses, nose strip on, hair soaking wet….the whole nine yards! It was liberating, because, Hey! It's okay! Not everything is glamorous, nor should it be 🙂
This was an adorable post! I think its important that we never forget that everyone has their down moments but that is totally okay and its what makes life so wonderful and unexpected:)
Annie
A College Confession
This is great! One thing I learned is it's okay to not know what you're doing and just go with the flow.
Aissa || Aissa Carmela
One of the realest posts I've seen yet. This really hit home for me.
love this post! in fact you inspire me to write one too! you can check it here http://coffeebeansandhighheels.weebly.com/for-yourself/its-ok
i linked back your post!
xo
Orly
coffeebeansandhighheels.weebly.com
Love this post! Makes the rest of us feel better about ourselves.