Allow me to Reintroduce Myself & a Linkup

ALLOW ME TO REINTRODUCE MYSELF

Well, here we are. I’m reintroducing myself. Hi, I’m Monica and I like long walks on the beach. No, I’m just kidding. I actually don’t like long walks on the beach and try to avoid the beach since I’m as pale as a vampire and don’t want to burn in the Florida sun even with the highest SPF. I do enjoy walks in my neighborhood with my daughter though if that counts. I’ll be honest, I never know how to introduce myself with things I enjoy doing or things I’m loving at the moment besides being a mom and wife. Those are two things I truly enjoy in my life. Hobbies that I love would have to be this blog and my YouTube channel. I used to have way more interests, and I still have those same interests but I have different priorities now so they’ve kind of been put on the back burner. Anyway, I don’t want this to be super long winded but I wanted to get into my old and new blog name because of the significance behind them. 

Jacket: Zara (gifted from my mom) // Top: Hot Topic // Pants: Hot Topic // Boots: Betsey Johnson (old similar here)

THE STORY BEHIND JERSEY GIRL, TEXAN HEART

If you’re new here, my blog name used to be Jersey Girl, Texan Heart. For around eight’ish years that’s what my blog name and social media handles were. This blog was originally started in 2010, but then I had to stop and started back up again in 2013. At the time I had been using my previous blog name but it didn’t fit me or who I was. When I was 24 years old, I packed up my life into the back of my VW Jetta and decided to move from the only home I knew in NJ to Texas. I had been wanting to live to Texas for a few years and I knew that I had to at least experience Texas even if I came back to NJ. Well, I was in Texas for less than a year before I decided to move back. Texas will always have a piece of my heart because it was an experience and part of my life that taught me just how strong I was. That’s why I came up with the name Jersey Girl, Texan Heart. It felt right at the time, and it felt right up until a few years ago. 

My now husband and I decided we wanted to move from NJ to Florida back in 2018 and didn’t make the actual move until February of 2019. By that point I had already established myself as Jersey Girl, Texan Heart and I didn’t want to let go of the name since it was such a huge part of who I was as a blogger. Ever since we moved I haven’t been as active on this blog, but I still come here to share my thoughts because it’s kind of like my diary in a way but it doesn’t really have any secrets.

In late September of 2019, I decided to upload a video on YouTube after taking almost two years off. The video was about my experience in MLMs (multi level marketing) and I didn’t think anyone would see it. At the time of writing this, that video has garnered over 33,000 views. Which I know that isn’t a lot compared to bigger YouTube channels, but I really thought it would only be seen by maybe 10 people, if I was even THAT lucky. That video is when I realized how passionate I was about the topic so I continued. Here we are three years later, and I’ve learned so much and created so much content. I’m definitely not where I would have hoped I would be with my channel but, I’m very lucky with how far I’ve gotten. After my husband and I got married, I decided to change my channel name to Monica Hayworth. 

Jacket: Zara (gifted from my mom) // Top: Hot Topic // Pants: Hot Topic // Boots: Betsey Johnson (old similar here)

WHY I CHANGED MY NAME TO MONICA HAYWORTH

As I just stated, in 2020 is when I changed my YouTube name to Monica Hayworth. No, that’s not my real last name. I pulled an old Hollywood trick and actually chose Rita Hayworth’s last name. What I mean by old Hollywood trick is how Marilyn Monroe was really Norma Jean Mortensen, Rita Hayworth was actually Margarita Carmen Cansino, and how Judy Garland was really Frances Ethel Gumm. The only difference is I wasn’t changing my name to sound more Hollywood’esque, but more for privacy reasons. There is a reason why I chose Hayworth and it does have to do with Rita Hayworth, but that’s more of a personal thing that I would like to keep to myself. 

But Monica, why are you going on about your YouTube channel when you’re supposed to be talking about your blog?

It’s because the two are connected. I haven’t felt like Jersey Girl, Texan Heart was me for a few years. In fact, I was toying with the idea of changing it to Monica Hayworth for quite some time, so that it would all be cohesive. At the point of my life that I’m at with content creation, I just feel like Monica Hayworth fits me best. And that’s why I decided to change my blog name. It just felt right. It’s also much easier for people who search me to just have the name be the same everywhere. 

Jacket: Zara (gifted from my mom) // Top: Hot Topic // Pants: Hot Topic // Boots: Betsey Johnson (old similar here)

WHERE I WANT TO GO IN THE FUTURE

I want to keep this blog a hobby. I’m not looking to go back to making this a part time job where I’m actually making a part time income. This is due to not wanting to stress or play the comparison game. While I was being really creative with brand deals and things of that nature, it was very stressful and I always compared myself. I was comparing myself to other bloggers and creators in this space and I started stressing myself out. 

Why am I not doing as well as they are?

Am I just not that interesting?

Should I stop if I’m not growing?

As soon as I switched my blog to go back to just being a hobby, all of that stress and worry went away. It makes me feel better about not being as consistent as I once was. In addition, I’ve rediscovered my love for this blog that I’ve been working on for the past 8+ years. If you’ve been here for a bit, you’ve seen me become who I am today. Y’all have seen me meet my now husband, you’ve seen me share my trips to Poland, along with moving, starting a business, getting married, and having a baby. 

Who knows, maybe in the future I’ll go back to this being more of a job than just a hobby, but for now, I like where this blog is heading. Even though my analytics are nowhere where they used to be, I like this better. The content will most likely stay the same, and I do personally love the layout I chose last year.  I’m just really loving my blog as it is right now.

Jacket: Zara (gifted from my mom) // Top: Hot Topic // Pants: Hot Topic // Boots: Betsey Johnson (old similar here)

OH, BY THE WAY, I WAS ON DR. PHIL!

If you don’t follow me on social media you may not have seen my announcement, but your girl was on Dr. Phil! It all happened very fast. My husband and I kept joking that we spent our two year wedding anniversary with Dr. Phil. Even bèbè went to the studio. I was a guest on the show and because I signed an NDA I can’t give out any information besides the episode will be discussing cult culture. At this point in time I don’t have an air date, but as soon as I do I’ll update y’all! I’m so excited because it’s going to be such a great episode!

Jacket: Zara (gifted from my mom) // Top: Hot Topic // Pants: Hot Topic // Boots: Betsey Johnson (old similar here)

LET’S MOVE ON TO THE LINKUP

With all of that said, let’s move on to the linkup!  Well, before the linkup, I’m going to add some Youtube videos that I haven’t uploaded here yet.  I’m taking this week off from videos, but will be back at it again next week!