The blend of the Parisian sun & breeze blew across my hair as I arrived at the Bateaux Parisiens.

“This city is so beautiful”, I thought to myself. It was 24 degrees today, and after coffee, croissants and hours of strolls, I was ready for lunch.

Today, I’d be having lunch on a boat cruise on the Seine River. It was slighly surreal as I’ve never actually dined on a boat before, but what’s even more poetic about this experience is that it was in Paris, and would involve seeing all the beauty landmarks in Paris whilst sipping on French champagne and red wine. Oh, la la, how grateful I was.

We were sitting by the window table, 2 bottles of champagne were placed in an ice bucket, and a starter of bread and olives and a glass of rose were placed on the table as aperitifs. For the duration of the trip, I can remember smiling so hard, soaking up the atmosphere and just simply wanting this birthday week to never end.

I remember this time last year, I wouldn’t exactly have imagined myself vacationing in Paris and having a 4 course meal on a boat. I’d say I was at a place where I was still finding my purpose and trying to navigate my way through life and my career.

I was actually working for a digital marketing agency, a miniature job I accidentally got through university, which taught me a lot of things. Although it was a great experience, I started to realise that an office job doing repetitive tasks wasn’t exactly for me. It is of course, a great experience as a student, one that’s crucial to having a feel of what the ‘industry’ can be like, but thankfully being fired from it was the best thing that ever happened to me.

I pushed myself to my full potential to focused on harnessing all the knowledge I’d learnt from university (where I study marketing), and all of my past fashion jobs (spanning from 2015 onwards) into my blog. I started shooting with photographers frequently, posting blogposts consistently, mastered SEO and took my blog to new heights. Things were looking up, and during the same year in 2021, I founded 2 more blogs relating to fashion.

With consistency and passion, I practically transformed my life and turned blogging into my full time job and it has taken me to heights I never even imagined I could achieve. Plus, it pays for my university fees. (Take this, if you wish, as the ultimate cue to start your own side hustle, especially if you’re a student – I promise you won’t regret it)

Looking at the progress I’ve made so far, I know it’s only just the beginning and I am extremely grateful to God and all the support. I am also truly grateful to be in Paris with my entire family and 2 of my closest friends, celebrating my birthday week. This city has inherently stolen my heart, and a city I will endeavour to visit more frequently.