Just a 10th Bloggerversary Post
Photos shot by Tye Moores | @photyegraphy
Picture this:
It’s New Year’s Eve in 2011, and I’m spending it in an old friend’s upstairs bedroom, getting the final touches put on my brand new Blogspot site that would be released at midnight on January 1st, 2012.
At 17, I decided that I would be a blogger because I loved writing and sharing my opinion on anything + I was getting my feet wet as a hip-hop blogger who would interview local Chicago artists and entrepreneurs. No one I knew at the time was doing what I was doing but with the encouragement of the old friend, I launched the “Kween K Interviews” and the “All Hail The Kween” blogs and most importantly, the pseudonym “Kween K”. I have to give public thanks to that old friend, ya’ll might know him as “DJ Hustlenomics” but if it were not for his support, his investments, and his encouragement, I don’t think 17-year-old me would have had the courage to start.
Memory lane is always so funny to go down, because it feels like I have lived multiple lifetimes with plenty of full-circle moments. When I went by “Kween K”, I was hungry, ambitious, and bold. I didn’t know much but in 2012, but I thought I knew everything and I had loyal supporters right behind me. I don’t think any Chicago kid between 2010-2014 knew what the fuck we were doing. All we knew is that we had dreams, and we were determined to get them out.
And getting those dreams out was exactly what we did.
Chicago kids spearheaded a cultural renaissance and the eyes of the entire world were on us, particularly those who made music.
Being “Kween K” was fun. It was eye-opening, it was— indescribable, honestly. At 18, I wasn’t aware of how much power I had. I wasn’t aware of how much I would go on to inspire others. I wasn’t aware of what I would eventually evolve into, but that is the beauty of the journey. You start and if you’re lucky enough, you evolve into things that expand beyond your own imagination. Perhaps, my own imagination was too small to really understand all who I was and all I would become. I felt unstoppable back then, and I basked in it greatly.
As one of my Twitter faves recently put it, Kween K was an era. You just HAD to be there, but for now, you can subscribe to my Youtube channel and watch old videos. As a person who keeps all their old stuff, I’m grateful I never deleted these videos. Like all eras and good things in general, Kween K came to an end.
And I was sad about it, but not sad enough to not go through with it. I didn’t realize it back then, but choosing to stop blogging about music and interviewing people was preparing me to do what I was always meant to do: pivot.
The Pivot
And then came Kia Smith Writes.
I was getting older and my outlets and means of expressing myself started to change. I was balancing my work as a budding journalist and a blogger, thinking that I had to choose between the two. I wish I knew then what I know now: I can still do both. One does not diminish the other.
I also realized that I was interested in doing more than just blogging. Between 2014-2020, I:
Tried starting a magazine
Had my own podcast
Started planning and curating my own events
Graduated college
Became a freelance journalist for a major publication
Worked in Corporate America on the Communications and Social Media Side
Became a self-published author
Released merchandise
Turned this blog into a business
I always knew that I would do more than what I started out doing, I just have always been confused about which path to take. So naturally, I felt like I fumbled a lot. Some of the fumbles were straight up my fault, others were that whatever opportunity I was presented, simply did not align with my path. And that’s okay! The art of pivoting gracefully is knowing when certain things are for you and when certain things aren’t.
Another way to pivot gracefully is to have almost an unrealistic amount of confidence in yourself and your abilities. Like most people, believing in myself wavered from time to time but then I developed the muscle to do things even when I was scared and unsure because I knew I would learn along the way. Plus, I am terribly afraid of living a life where I don’t fulfill at least some of my dreams and then I die unhappy and unsatisfied. People settle a lot in life. I refuse to be one of them.
Of course, it has not been easy to carve out the life that I want, but that same hunger and ambition I had as a teen has only intensified since I became an adult. I remind myself often that I am capable and that I can do this. It doesn’t matter how long it takes, time is made up anyway.
My biggest flex is that I do everything I say I’m gonna do, but of course not without learning some lessons along the way.
The Last 10 Years…..
….. Have truly been remarkable. I read recently that the number 10 symbolizes leadership, confidence, determination, and independence. In addition to those qualities, I’ve also picked up fearlessness, learned how to accept that I am multifaceted, and truly learned (still learning) how to be comfortable in popping my shit. I may not blog as much anymore, but writing is still my first love.
I had no idea that my teenage self would evolve into this successful, grown woman but I wouldn’t lie to you and say that I never saw it coming.
Cheers to the women who do what they want no matter their age, stay consistent and pivot greater into their purpose. Stay tuned for my next post, on 10 lessons I’ve learned over the past 10 years.
