Hello everyone!

Today, Eco Chic Cayman turns 4.

A huge thank you to everyone who has supported me on this journey.  I am so very grateful to all my readers.  Thank you to all of my contributors, both photographers and guest writers.  It has been such a pleasure working with you.  I look forward to many more collaborations and thank you for inspiring me.

Some Lessons Learned Along The Way…

I started this blog when I was still living in Toronto.  I am grateful to this day for my friends encouraging me to start a blog, simply because I loved writing.  It took me a while to decide what I would write about.  I eventually chose to write about something I was passionate about— the environment.  I started blogging because it allowed me to write about topics I was interested in and passionate about.  But, it was more than that. Ultimately, I began this blog with the hope that I could make a difference.  I thought writing about environmental issues and wildlife would allow me to contribute in some way to help raise awareness.  From the start it has been a learning experience, and it continues to be.  I hope I never stop learning.  One of the first major challenges I had was developing my “voice.”  I found over time I developed that, the more I wrote.  I do believe one of the best things you can do for your blog is to be authentic.

I admit, I wished I had put a bit more time and effort into planning out content and developing the vision I had of my blog from the very start.  I just sort of dived into the world of blogging and figured it out as I went along.  Starting out, many days it felt like sink or swim.  I am glad I stuck with it.  I have met so many wonderful people along the way, through writing my articles and following this dream.  This being said, the blog has continued to evolve over the years and will continue to do so.  My hope is that it will continue to grow.  I am happy where it is now, and thankful for the journey.  Now, I am in a place where I am taking more time to plan content, do my best to maintain high quality images, and build a brand so to speak.  Which brings me to another lesson I have learned along the way, quality over quantity.  I wish I could say I posted an article everyday.  I do strive to reach that level or at least close.  But for now, I continue to produce the best content that I can, even if that means posts are sporadic. I think it is far better to have a few quality posts a week than to write a post just for the sake of writing.  Sometimes, life just happens.

Finally, the best lesson I have learned in life and through blogging, is don’t compete, instead collaborate.  Collaboration is such a wonderful thing!  There are so many incredible blogs out there! Many of my favorite blogs inspire and encourage me to continue to keep writing and blogging.  I believe that there is room for all of us.  The beautiful thing about having so many blogs to read from is the diversity in content, writing styles and thoughts.  Everyone has something to contribute and in their own way inspire others.  I am very thankful to have wonderful friends to collaborate with on various projects whether it is writing an article, making a featurette, a photoshoot or even helping them with their blog.  It has been such a humbling experience.  There is so much we can learn from each other, and by sharing our experiences to help others.  Together so much can be accomplished and sometimes things are even better than you could have imagined simply by collaborating with others.

Thank you to everyone who inspires and encourages me.  Special thanks to my readers and to all of you supporting my blog.

with love, xoxo