[Chelsae Anne | Photography]

TOP: (c/o) Storets/SKIRT: Similar here/BOOTS: (c/o) Cole Haan/BAG: (c/o) Neiman Marcus

At 15, I left high school at 1PM every day to take ballet classes (yes, it was approved). At 17, I got accepted into my dream school – dream scholarship included. Weeks before moving into my dorm room, I told my parents I wasn’t going to college. Instead, I wanted to be a professional dancer (even though I was told it was impossible to do). At 19, I did it. I accepted a job with a small ballet company and moved to West Palm Beach. At 21, I got burnt out, quit dancing, traveled and went back to school. At 24, I got a job in public relations. Hated it. At 25, I started a blog – petrified at the thought of putting myself out there on a daily basis (I’m quite shy at heart). At 26, I left my PR job. Freelanced. Made some mistakes. At 27, I declared I would make “The Style Bungalow” my full-time job by the end of the year. Which I did… in April.

Yes, this is what I do now. It’s not a steady 9-5 job. So what? I’m unconventional.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always had to justify what I do to others. I get it. My choices haven’t exactly been “safe.” I put college on hold to be a starving artist. I haven’t bought a house yet. I don’t have a five-year plan. And I have absolutely no clue what the future holds.

I’m not interested in taking the conventional route. Whatever that means. I guess I’m not that kind of girl. I have a mind of my own. I’m not a follower. And I hold myself to a different set of standards. The kind of standards that do not include conventional things like “stable job, cute house, dog, pool boy, etc.” Those things are nice, don’t get me wrong (especially the pool boy dog part). Just not for me… right now, at least. I like to push boundaries. My boundaries. And when someone tells me I can’t do something (which was the case with dancing professionally, PR, blogging), I like to tell them watch me.

I’ll credit my dad who growing up always questioned my decisions. In dating, work, life, you name it. He put bugs in my ear. And gave me the confidence to take risks and embrace uncertainty. Which allowed me to pursue dance, fail, start over, fail some more, blog, fail again and lots more. I can’t say it’s been easy. Truth be told, I like plans. Who doesn’t? But through the years, I’ve learned to be OK with not knowing what tomorrow will bring. Why? Because as you can see every plan I’ve had, has dramatically changed. Some of the most beautiful parts of my life were… unplanned.

I think it’s okay to not have it all figured out. At 17… at 21… at 26.

But if there’s one thing I know, it’s that I’m passionate about life. The arts, learning, writing, fashion… the list goes on and on. And I never lost sight of that.

Sure, there are things I wish I had right now. But I don’t regret a thing. Taking an unconventional route has shaped me to become the person I am today. And despite the many wrong turns, heartbreaks, tough lessons I’ve endured throughout my “twenties,” I’m grateful for them all.

So with that said, I’ll leave you with this small tidbit of advice tonight: be who you want, not who everyone else wants you to be. Because you never know where it will lead you…

Share your journey in the comment section. Thanks for stopping by!

Xo, Stephanie

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