It was truly the week of conferences. Last Saturday, I had the pleasure of attending the 3rd annual Her Campus Intercollegiate National Conference.
This was my second time attending the conference and I was hesitant to attend. I didn't know if because I was no longer a college student, would it be worth it for me? I was also skeptical because I knew I'd be exhausted from the SGG Conference and didn't want to waste the day.
Once the schedule was released, I knew I had to go. The main selling point for me was the blogging panel, featuring ALL my favorite bloggers: Hallie from Corals and Cognacs, Jessica from Bows and Sequins, Mackenzie Horan from Design Darling and my number one, Carly from The College Prepster.
I wanted needed to go just to see them, hear their advice and be in their super blogging presence. I also really wanted a goodie bag, meet some of my blogging besties and be around that inspiration. I couldn't deny the feeling anymore.
I bought my ticket a week before the conference and was super happy with my decision. Saturday morning I got up, dressed up in Lilly and hopped in my car to drive to Manhattan for the very first time.
This year the conference was held at Colombia University, located across the street from Morningside Park and my goodness, it was beautiful. The conference was three floors and one floor totally dedicated to the awesome sponsors such as Luna, Intel and Amtrak. It was so cool!
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| Peek at the fab swag bags |
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| Windsor in all her glory |
When I got there, I grabbed some breakfast, peeked in my goodie bag and then listened to the welcome from the lovely Windsor Western, co-founder and President of Her Campus. Windsor is always bubbly, sweet and full of inspiration and fun!
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| #official |
After Windsor's awesome welcome, we listened to Carley Roney, the founder of the XO Group, which is the umbrella company for The Knot, The Bump, and The Nest. We listened to her story and her advice and it was so real and heartfelt. She was also hysterical; I always appreciate a funny, inspirational speaker.
Here are some of my favorite pieces of advice from her:
Focus in who you are and who you want to be and all that other stuff will follow
It's too fun to have it all but you never really have it all
Perfection is ultimately completely impossible and imperfect is where it's at
It's not a straight line to anywhere awesome
My only regret in all of it is that I stressed all the way
If you try it and it doesn't work, don't have an ego about it
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| All Lilly-ed out during the panels |
After the keynote, I headed to the first panel of the day entitled "Does the Devil Really Wear Prada" which was all about the lives of magazine editorial assistants. I attended this panel last year and the girls speaking seemed so much older than me. Now, these girls were my age and it was pretty cool to hear their stories and advice.
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| The line to get into the panel |
The panel that was center stage for me was next and that was "How to Make your Blog a Powerhouse". I jetted out of the first panel and by the time I got to the room for the blogging panel, there was already a line. I was terrified that I wouldn't find a spot but I did, next to one of my fav blogging friends, Caroline from The Caro Diaries.
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| Carly and Mackenzie #cuefreakout |
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| All the fab bloggers #OMG |
We were both FREAKING OUT when the lovely bloggers walked into the room. We kept saying that this isn't normal, why are we so nervous, they're just people like us.
Seeing four of your idols/role models in person was surreal. These are women that I know so much about just from reading their blog everyday and it was kind of strange but so exciting to see them in the flesh.
They were fabulous, as usual, dressed in adorable dresses and ready to shell out their best advice.
Here are some golden nuggets of wisdom from this dynamic blogging foursome:
Be self motivated with blogging-Jessica
Have specific ideas for when pitching to other bloggers-Carly
Take a look at your social media platforms and see which ones work best so you're not spread too thin-Hallie
Give readers content you won't find anywhere else-Mackenzie
When you live your life it'll only inspire your life-Hallie
Don't get caught up in the excitement of it all-Hallie
You are your own brand-Hallie
Make the right choices for you, don't say yes because it's an opportunity-Carly
If you wait for the right moment you'll be waiting your whole life-Mackenzie
After the panel was over, all the girls rushed to the bloggers to talk and network a little. I spoke to both Carly and Hallie and it was truly incredible. Hallie is one of the funniest people ever but she was so sweet, welcoming and so down to earth. She was so real.
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| #dreamcometrue |
Carly is the sole reason I started this blog back in 2012 so being able to speak to her was a dream come true #inspiration.
Then we had lunch and I left the conference; I had to get home for other reasons but it really was a rewarding experience, as always.
Aside from sitting with Caroline at the blogging panel, I also met one of my favs, Ashleigh from DarlingDaily.
My goodie bag was also jam packed with lots of fun stuff! My favorite part had to be the Bobble water bottle, the Milani beauty pack, and the Essie polish. Hello gorgeous :)
Once again, the Her Campus Conference did not disappoint.
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