Happy 1st Birthday Heygorjess!!!

So today is the OFFICIAL 1 Year Anniversary of Heygorjess.com!! Ahhhh! Can you believe it!? I can't! Lol I literally remember the exact moment of the launch a year ago. I was soo nervous! Wondering, will people even like it? Will they read it? Will they care about what I have to say? But it really surpassed my expectations. I have gotten sooo much support from all of you! My heart literally overflows with love from the encouragement and support you guys give me. I truly couldn't have been succuessful without you, and I mean that. I read every single comment and email you send me. A lot of you always tell me that I inspire you, but what you don't realize is that you guys are really the ones who inspire me. I couldn't have done it without you, so THANK YOU! Also a huge thank you to all the people who have featured on my blog for feature fridays, and featured me on their blogs! All of your contributions helped bring Heygorjess to where it is today! And of course, the greatest thank you goes to Jesus Christ. He has opened up so many doors for me and has truly ordered my steps. I couldn't thank him enough.So I want to share with you all the Top 5 Things I've learned from Heygorjess.com:1. To have my own voiceThis blog has truly helped me to find myself. If you read some of my blogs from when I first started, you can probably see the difference in my writing and everything. I have learned how to be my own person and say what I want and feel without worry about what other people think. And I think that is what people really want to see anyway. They want authenticity. Not someone trying to be like everyone else. It is easy to get caught up in that-- looking at everyone else's blogs and youtube channels and trying to "keep up". But I have learned to just be myself and love who I am.2. My passionI am still discovering it a little bit, but Heygorjess has definitely helped me to solidify my passion. And believe it or not-- it isn't really just hair, even though it might seem that way. But I just truly love inspiring people in any way possible. So whether its by giving advice on their hair and beauty, or encouraging people with my faith-- I love it! I also just love people. I enjoy meeting new people through my blog and culitvating relationships with them. So with that said, I really hope that I will be able to use Heygorjess as a platform to continue to inspire and to weave that into my career in some form. I would love for it to continue to grow for a very long time and travel all over the world meeting people through my blog (because traveling is also a passion of mine). So we'll see where it will take me. (Literally).3. Hard workWith that being said, I used to think following your passion and dreams would be pretty easy. "I'm doing what I love-- so I'll never truly be working, it'll be fun!" Lol wrong-- that's not exactly true all the time. Don't get me wrong, it definitely is a whole lot of fun most of the time-- but it is also extremely hard, dedicated work. There are some days I go to work for 7 hours, go to class, do my homework, and then I come home and work on my blog or a YouTube video until 1 in the morning. I am exhausted sometimes, and even today I almost didn't feel like writing this blog because I am just truly exhausted lol. BUT, it has taught me that the more work you put in, the greater the reward. That is what makes it worth it, and it becomes more than just fun. It is an indescribable feeling to see your hard work pay off and it inspires me to work even harder.4. Everyone isn't going to like youThis is a hugeee lesson, and I am so thankful for it. I haven't ever received hate mail, or rude comments or anything like that. But I can definitely tell who truly supports me and who doesn't. It's little things I notice that makes it very clear-- but I've learned that it's okay. Trying to get everyone to love you is what makes you lose yourself because you start changing who you are to please others. But the more I realize this-- the more it helps me to stay true to who I am, post what I want, say how I feel, and just be me.5. Last but not least, surrounding myself with wonderful people who truly support meI saved this for last because it is soo important to me! I am extremely grateful for the people who have supported Heygorjess.com. I have so many great friends who continue to encourage, push, and inspire me. Especially those who are close to me and on my team who sees everything behind the scenes, thank you. You all lift me up and make Heygorjess successful. I would list every single one of you, but that would take forever and I'm sure you guys would just stop reading my post after the 20th person lol. But you all know who you are and I appreciate you so much. Heygorjess.com wouldn't have come this far without you! <3So as most of you know by now, I am celebrating Heygorjess.com's One Year Anniversary this Sunday, February 16th from 3-6pm! There will be desserts, giveaways, a panel, and best of allll I get to meet you guys!! I really can't wait to celebrate with you all! It is going to be so much fun. So I hope to see you there!!