The Classic Brunette

You may have read my last post all about how I'm trying to love Instagram again, so with that and the start of September I thought an Instagram roundup was in order. I'm sharing everything from the month of August, but if you want to be the first to see these photos you can go ahead and follow me on Insta if you'd like! Let's get started, because it's going to be a long one! P.S. Sorry some of these photos are blurry, I took them straight from Instagram and they don't always translate to the blog well!

Y'all it's been a ROUGH few months with Instagram. I don't even have to just call out the bloggers with this opinion, since it seems like everyone is frustrated with the app in one way or another. I'm not going to lie, I've loathed using the app since around July after my optimism of the new changes officially ran out. I was only using it because it's necessary as a blogger. I would open the app, passively engage with others, publish my post and then toss my phone to the side. I don't think I've enjoyed scrolling down my feed since May, and because of that I haven't wanted to engage with people in the way that Instagram was originally made for. Sure, I've replied to comments (sparingly, and I'm trying to change that!) and I've interacted with some accounts and hashtags to try and make use of the new algorithm, but I haven't enjoyed much of it. I'm tired of hating Instagram though, and have decided to make my use of the app less about what I can get from it and more about how I can enjoy it again. I want to use Instagram the way I used it in the beginning. It was a way to build connections with others, view inspirational photos, and interact in a genuine way. I'm slowly starting to take steps in this direction, and thought I would share what I'm doing in case any of you are feeling the same way!

As a blogger I try to make myself look as put together and stylish as possible. It's our job as bloggers to look like we have effortless lives where we never so much as have a hair out of place, however that is SO not how our lives work. For every post that I'll actually be featured in (mostly outfit posts) on average I'll take 50 or so photos with maybe 7-10 ones that I look good in. Most are not flattering or don't portray the look I was going for, but on occasion there will be a few great pics that make me double over laughing. Sometimes these photos are a little more common than normal because I'm by no means a professional model! Although I've definitely gotten better, my blooper skills are still pretty strong, haha.

These photos are all from within the last year and a half, so they're pretty recent. I love to laugh at myself, and honestly most of the time I'll show these bloopers to friends and family because I think I'm just hilarious. I hope you find these as funny as I do, because some of these are pretty embarrassing! 😂  But I'm giving you full permission to laugh at all of these, so enjoy them!

Although I'm officially out of college, I can't help but get in that back to school mindset that always pops up in late August. I like to pride myself on how prepared I was my last few years of college, however I remember just how unprepared I was during my freshman year. I thought I had everything together that I needed. In some ways I overpacked, in other ways I completely forgot some aspects of normal living (I literally forgot silverware! How useless is that? Not everything is finger food, Sami!) Last year I wrote my ultimate college packing list that covers the majority of college essentials, however after giving myself some extra time and being introduced to some new products/brands, I've come to realize that the list of college necessities can always be improved.