This year I was bless to attend the 22nd Annual Essence Festival for the second year and with each year I find that my expectations change. When I attended on last year I had just really taken my role as an International Lifestyle Blogger seriously and in my mind I was on the chase. Yes! If I can be honest it was a chase. I found that my first years experience was amazing yet tiring. I was working as a Blogger Ambassador for Colgate, Social Media Consultant for Stepsevents and Full Time Chaser/Editor-In-Chief for Naturalbabydol.com. I know that it sounds crazy but its the truth. I frantically applied for press credentials for the Essence Festival only to be rejected or told that it was full which left me basically without any exclusivity for my site which meant that daily the grind was on to capture the perfect picture from the outside looking in.
My days were great yet long. I was working the Colgate Booth daily then hustling to the Le Meridien Nola to work with Stepsevents and afterwards running to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome to attend the concerts in the dome and super lounges all to capture that perfect photo to provide for my readers. Yes that was my weekend life! Hey I was in learning mode and although my site isn’t a mega site like many I treat it just like it is because its my baby and I only want the best for my brand.
Fast forward to this years Essence Festival and my expectations have changed. I applied for my media credentials and was approved which provided me the access that I needed to get the photos that I sought on last year but the thrill was suddenly gone. I had accomplished my goal. I’m a planner so I found myself daydreaming and thinking about what my 23rd Annual Essence Festival experience will look like and the fact that I don’t want to just be media/press. I want to be on of the journalist who works for Essence Magazine covering the Festival and/or hosting my own sponsored events during the Festival. I wrote this post because many times perceptions are not as they appear. Trust me the media world is a hard yet constant grind and there’s always a back story behind everything. I love what I do because it has afforded me some amazing opportunities, opened many doors and allowed me to have my own journalist space amongst the Best of The Best.
~Turkesha