Jannel and the Importance of Staying True To Yourself
StreetStyleTeller/Jannel Therese
Writer's Notes: It's crazy how time flies. Last week, I talked to Frank about his future endeavors and his willing to change the world through his words and his creativity. While he expresses his creativity through the use of photographs and other multi-media platforms, this week, I talked to Jannel about her creativity and what's she's really #Baonanas for.
Recently being nominated as H&M x Bloglovin's 2016 Breakthrough Fashion Blogger of the Year, I wanted to know what Jannel is #Baonanas for. Though it is obvious she is passionate for fashion and lifestyle blogging, after creating a name for herself, I wanted to learn the heart of it all. What keeps Jannel #Baonanas for doing what she loves?
Check out below!
Since you blog, would you consider that what you’re Baonanas for? Or is there something you're really Baonanas about?
J: I guess that’s part of it. I am very passionate with StreetStyleTeller.com. At the same time, I’m passionate about keeping it true and honest to my viewers because I realize as my readership grows, they would expect me to continue to be me and not let the growth influence me and my blog in a bad way.
You know, let’s say, a brand asks me to collaborate with them and it’s not necessarily the type of things that I would normally post and it’s obvious that I just got paid to post that thing. I feel like my readership and my readers would know that it’s not an honest and true me and that's something I don’t want to do for SST.
Walk me through a day in the life of Jannel Therese/StreetStyleTeller.
J: Social Media is so deceiving. Let me just say that. I choose to show the fun things in my life but honestly not all fun/glamour. So a day in my life is waking up at 4:30 a.m., catching the PATH train before it leave at 5:25 a.m. And then taking a cab, as soon as you get to 9th St. PATH. Open a coffee shop, before 6 a.m. and then, serve tons of New Yorkers coffee, bagels, doughnuts.
Hopefully, you could clock out at three but sometimes it’s not the case. So let’s say I leave by four and then meet up with my photographer friend and shoot with them for maybe an hour or two and then try to start a new blog post. Sometimes I get writer’s block and I sit there and try to think of what to write. And then, I go home and start over. Yeah!
Do you even get sleep?
J: Three hours of sleep is good? Right?
So when and what triggered you to be more honest with your brand?
J: Well I guess it’s always a learning process. I noticed the blogging industry is over saturated. But at the same time, it’s easy to pick at the ones that are genuine and that are authentic.
Before Street Style Teller, obviously I was also inspired by other bloggers. But I’ve seen, what I said before, the growth influence, a bad change and I don’t want that for myself and I always look back or I always use those examples to kinda not fall in the same path as other bloggers I guess.
How do you come up with the content for yourself?
J: What inspires most of my blog posts are my life experiences and [events] on the daily basis. Take a 3D backpack for example. I am inspired by the idea of dimension so I wrote something along the lines of having substance and depth as a blogger.
I understand that besides blogging, you also have another job, right? So do you find the right balance doing both?
J: Yeah, I feel like you have to know [how to] prioritize things. I also work at coffee shops so I would work six to three every morning, but sometimes four days a week, sometimes it’s five and I use the rest of the other days in time devoting myself to my blog and its content and I feel like you just need to prioritize things when you need to.
Do you think you find yourself doing this on the long run?
J: I honestly, when I started two years ago, I didn’t. I was just doing it as a hobby because I thought it was something that was growing, [...] not something that everyone else is doing. I saw blogging as a growing platform.
It could possibly be a career for me. I’m not gonna put [it] down as a career because it is a possibility and yeah, I’m just open to anything.
What was the “Oh my God, this is actually happening” turning point in your blogging career that woke you up?
J: One of the main, "What is Life?" moments that made me realize that it could possibly be a career [...] is when I got nominated for an award as the Breakthrough Fashion Blogger of the Year. That was something that I entered just because I thought, “Hey, what am I going to lose? I could just enter for this contest and maybe they'll like my blog.” But I stood out and then, the next thing, I got an email saying I won the nominee. So anything is possible!
So since then, has anything changed? Based on the same old Jannel.
J: I’m still the same old Jannel. Well, I guess that anything different [now] i, the amount of exposure that is happening but I still try to keep it real.
Be honest to yourself?
J: Yeah, keep it true to myself.
What message do you want your followers, or even people who are about to follow you leave with the content that you come out with?
J: I hope that my readers can somehow relate to my story. And think of a moment in their life where it kinda reminds them of the same lessons and experiences and just [know] they are not alone, we’re all going through the same thing. [...] Just I hope that they could relate.
Last question, what’s your favorite Baonanas flavor?
J: Oh my god! I like the original or the cookies and cream! Or you guys have the bacon one - the French toast. THEY’RE SO GOOD!
Make sure to cast in your vote for Jannel Therese/Street Style Teller EVERYDAY until the end of August on bloglovin!
Connect with Jannel on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and, of course, StreetStyleTeller!
On behalf of Team #Baonanas, congrats on the nomination, Jannel!