The Cost Of Being An Honest Influencer
Influencer: a person who flits about on Instagram taking cute photos, receives excessive amounts of free products, and lives their best life 24/7.
Not true.
Although this may be right for some, it’s not for me. I’m an honest and passionate person who’s personal Instagram turned into a thing. I’ve now woken up and realised the intensive cost of being an ‘influencer’ and how this has affected my entire wellbeing…
I don’t think I was ever meant to be an ‘influencer’ or blogger. You know how everyone has their one greatest fear in life? For some its dishonesty, for others it’s disloyalty, for me… it’s being misunderstood.
I am misunderstood on a daily basis, and it hurts.
(Disclaimer, this is not a pity party, this is insight into the life of Kate.)
If my words are slightly out of order, my view points aren’t the same as others, my photos include something someone doesn’t want to see; I am misunderstood. If I share a short message without a 40 page document explaining ALL I believe on the topic, I am misunderstood- people twist my words into what they want to hear, and disregard the background that I’m coming from. Often the people want a battle, they want an argument, and it seems they WANT to misunderstand me.
Photo by Nectar Photography.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, and I love when someone doesn’t agree with me. That’s how my mind grows, and my thoughts develop. It’s also what makes us human. BUT it’s simply the trolls in the world, the bored scrollers who don’t know how to agree to disagree, who get to me. I shouldn’t give them my energy or my sleepless hours. But I do. I’m human, and when you attack the most deep values of my soul, I will cry over it.
You see, I don’t owe it to anyone to share what organic tea I’m drinking, what natural deodorant I love most, or where they can find eco friendly coasters. But I do. I share because I want people to change. I share because I think it’s how we should be living, it’s how we MUST be living (in order for us to continue existing on this planet), but it comes at a huge cost to my personal life, my emotional state, and my general daily living.
It takes guts to be an honest influencer, and sometimes I think it’s less guts, more stupidity! Sharing my viewpoints on controversial topics, supporting products 100%… it all makes me very very vulnerable. Being vulnerable all the time is exhausting.
Don’t get me wrong, I know I’ve never been the victim of the dark hate messages and violent situations that can happen on social media (I feel very grateful for that!), and what I’m referring to is probably nothing in the scheme of things, but it’s still a big deal for me, and I want you to know that.
It’s quite hilarious that I’m what some would call an ‘Instagram Influencer’. I’ve always been the one roughing it in the wild, rather than posting selfies and sucking in my cheeks. You’d be hard pressed to find a picture of me NOT poking my tongue out in family pictures or ‘serious’ photos as a kid, and I’d much rather eat my meal than take a photo of it.
Maybe that’s why I’m an influencer, because it happened by total accident, and it was never meant to be.
Photo by Nectar Photography
And maybe, at the end of the day, this is why you’re reading this, why you ‘follow’ me (is that you in the bushes, hah), and why you trust what I say. You know that I’m not here to sell you anything, waste your money, or convert you to any type of lifestyle that you don’t want to live.
You understand I’m here to tell you the facts about our current environment and social situations, present you with options for your own daily lifestyle choices, and help you to live life to the full, without disrespecting people or the planet.
The price of being an honest influencer is high, but I’m slowly getting into the habit of shrugging negativity off and sticking to what I know to be true. The rewards of being an honest influencer are greater than the price, and that’s why I keep on keeping on. For you.
The community we’ve built together, the discussions we have, the change I see happening in the world… it’s why I will happily spend several hours of my week replying to Instagram messages, emails, engaging with everyone I can, and researching for you. I love it.
From all I’ve mentioned above, I hope you take away this:
An ‘influencer’ deserves your opinion; in a constructive way. An ‘influencer’ deserves respect and patience. An ‘influencer’ doesn’t owe you anything, and if they do help, please thank them for it. Please realise they’re going out of their way to put their heart on the table for your benefit.
