Hello! It's been a hot minute since I jumped on here and wow have things changed. The last time I updated this blog I was in the process of organizing my trip to California, filled with excitement and a few snuffles from a head cold but completely unaware of what the next two weeks would bring. Nothing could have prepared me for how incredible, scary and hectic my trip ended up being but I wouldn't change it for the world.
I'll be writing more about my experiences and the wild things and people that I encountered during my time in the States, but for now, I thought I'd address the elephant in the room. Since leaving for America 15 days ago the world around me has completely changed. Covid-19 has created challenges left, right and centre for pretty much everyone in the world. I don't think a single person could say that they haven't felt the impact of the virus in some way. It's so scary and huge, and it can be hard to know what to do with constant information being thrown at us from every direction. I am by no means an expert and I'm still super fortunate to be in the position I'm in, where the virus hasn't completely changed my way of life. But, I'd love for this blog and all my platforms to be a safe space, where I can share positivity and creativity during these crazy times.
Due to the rapidly evolving situation, I was forced to return to New Zealand several days earlier than I'd planned. This decision was mostly made by my parents who were (rightly so) pretty concerned about me being on the other side of the world while this was all going down. So, I reluctantly packed my bags early and thank god for my flexible flights, made it home safe. I'm so lucky that my parents made that decision when they did as every day that goes by Kiwis returning home face more and more challenges. But, I'm home, I'm safe, I'm in self-isolation for 14 days, and in the grand scheme of things, that's not a big deal.
So, as I begin my self-isolation I've started to brainstorm how I can best make use of my time. As someone who's struggled with mental health issues, staying at home for more than a day can affect me hugely. Too much time stuck in my own head is never good, especially at a time like this. I really don't wanna let myself get to that point, so it's super important for me to stay busy. Luckily, I have plenty of creative projects that I want to get started on and a whole lot of content to start posting from my trip.
As I come to the end of my second day in isolation, I can say that I'm doing well. First off, I'm physically healthy, which is the most important thing right now. But, mentally I'm doing much better than I had expected. Obviously, it sucks not being able to see Ben for another two weeks and my family has had to split up too, in order to self-isolate. So, it's just me and Dad (and Jock the dog) at home right now, which is a little different to what I'm used to. My Mum and Brother are staying somewhere else for the 14 days, which is a challenge for all of us, but nothing we can't overcome.
But I'm determined to make this period of my life productive, so here is my game plan! After doing a poll over on my Instagram and speaking to a few of you directly, I've decided to continue with my Depop store as normal. This was a decision that I mulled over for quite a while, uploading clothing drops and talking about fashion doesn't really feel 'right' at the moment. But, I've come to the conclusion that there is no right or wrong, this is all new and nobody really knows how to deal with it. I'm staying informed by watching the news several times a day and making sure that I'm getting the latest information, but at the same time I want to try my hardest to live life as I normally would. Everything is different and we're making so many compromises right now, I want to cling onto some of the things that make me most happy in this world. And one of those is my store!
So, please understand that I'm in no way ignoring or being insensitive to the current state of the world, I'm just doing what's right for me. On the plus side, that means fresh new clothing drops for all of you and I have some really funky pieces coming your way in the next couple of week. Your next question will probably be, how the hell are you planning on shipping items in quarantine? The answer to that is I have no clue. Either I give the pieces to my Mum who isn't in isolation and she can ship them or I simply wait for the 14 day period to be over. Either way, your order will arrive with a bonus gift to make it worth your while in these crazy times! Here are some groovy new pieces you can expect to see on the store in the next few weeks...
I also have grand plans to finally start a Youtube channel! One thing that kept me grounded whilst in America was binge-watching Devyn Crimson's videos. If you don't know her she's an absolute babe from Chicago who has the coolest retro-inspired style. Her videos focus on fashion, makeup, music and all things 60s/70s, which I'm obviously very into (see Devyn here). But this did make me think that I'd love to start making videos myself. Videos where I'm actually talking and showing you all behind the scenes, the clothes I found in LA, chatting about my experiences and I guess giving you all a bit more of my personality? This is something a lot of you seemed really keen for so I'm going to sit down and (attempt) to film my first video tomorrow. It might not be pretty and I'll probably make a fool of myself but what else am I gonna do for 14 days?!
Other than that I plan to take long (solitary) walks, watch plenty of Netflix (just started Bloodline with Dad, it's so good!) I want to read more, write more, take photos and maybe even paint a little, something I haven't done since the start of last year. I'm really trying to see this self-isolation period as an opportunity to learn new things and challenge myself creatively while I have time. We also found out that we're moving house in June (more on that later), so I'll be keeping busy with selling furniture and picking up pieces (online) for my new space!
During this uncertain time, my DM's are always open if you want to talk, I know that for a lot of people life has changed dramatically and it's hard to imagine feeling normal anytime soon. But I strongly believe that we will get through this, as humans we're pretty resilient and I don't think Covid-19 is going to be the end of us. With that being said it's so important right now to practice social distancing, stay home if you can and try to see this as an opportunity to better yourself in a world full of awful, scary things.
Stay safe everyone and watch this space for exciting things to come!
Bella 🌼
