If I’m being honest, being a full-time blogger was never my plan. I did not think this would be my story.

If you would have told me years ago that at this point in my life I would be doing anything other than climbing the corporate ladder, I would probably be really disappointed. For the longest time, I took so much pride in my goal to make it to Wall Street one day. Sure, I loved clothes and fashion, but not in a way that I thought would turn into a full-time blogging career. I had a very Elle-Woods-takes-Wall-Street mentality.

I always really looked up to my dad, who is a real-estate developer, and my mom, a retired lawyer. I admired their work and knew I wanted a career of my own some day. In a way, thanks to the opportunity BTD has given me, now I do! I am so grateful to be doing what I do today—it just looks very different from what I had always imagined my life to be.

BTD was born in December of 2011 shortly after my mom—Dee Keller—launched her Italian shoe line. It was such an exciting time, and I wanted her new line to be successful. One of my friends told me about style bloggers and how they influence the fashion world. At the time, I didn’t even know fashion blogging was a thing! I reached out to several of the big name bloggers, but I didn’t hear anything back. I thought starting my own blog might be a good way to spread the word and would be a fun hobby for me to get into, too.

I had the desire to help my mom, but I also had some nerdy ambitions of my own when it came to the idea of blogging. I had an interest and knack for coding, so I thought building a website would be a fun challenge for me to tackle. Coding had always been something that I’d hoped to integrate into my future career. I was very close to choosing Management Information Systems as my major in college at UT-Austin and was very involved with the MIS department even when I chose another route. Basically, I’m really into computers.

Lastly, I love to create fashion content that I love and that I think will be valuable to other people, too. I love clothes, I love to shop, and I love to get dressed up. I love all of these things because I think that owning sense of style is one of the things that we can do as women to boost our confidence and make us feel empowered. I believe that clothes can change a woman’s mood, outlook, and productivity for the better, and I want to share all of the tips and tricks I have up my sleeve about how to make it happen!

So, Brighton the Day took off in a way that I never expected. When I figured out how to monetize it, I found myself pouring more and more of my time and effort into it until I finally made the decision to quit my job and make BTD my full-time gig. Even though I didn’t end up on Wall Street or at the top of corporate America, I give BTD just as much hustle and effort as I would had I landed one of those jobs. I am so grateful for a TEAM-BTD—all of my followers and readers who make Brighton the Day what it has become—for giving me the chance to live out this dream that I didn’t even know I had.