Ashlee Nicole: Journey Through Life

We are all on this journey called life. Too often, we focus on the destination and forget about the journey itself.  If we have healthy boundaries on this journey, life can become interesting.

Food, faith, finance, and family involve people, culture, and how they mingle and create something very robust and dynamic.

Ashlee Nicole is on a journey and she writes about it. She is real and vulnerable and I interview her about her journey.

Ashlee Nicole Explained is your journey through life. What motivated you to start this blog? Who is your audience? How has the response been so far?

I saw an ad on Facebook back in February, and it was for an e-Course of 5 days to create a blog. I thought about it for a couple of days and conversed with my boyfriend. As a result, we decided that as long as I knew what I was going to write about and was going to put forth the effort; then I could make a blog. I believe the audience to my blog is very mixed because some are travelers, some are moms, and I even have some mental health friends. I consider all my readers my friends, due to the fact that I interact with each one and vice versa. In other words, I feel I’m doing great. I am up to 1,000 followers on Instagram, 300 on Pinterest, and 1,000 on Twitter. On my website, I get 75 views a day and I have worked very hard on getting there.

You realize that you have put the wrong people on the back burner. How did you come to this realization? What did you learn from this situation?

My boyfriend and I moved in together about 8 months ago and I got to hang out with some friends and family whom I have not seen in years. Due to the friendship, I was in for years prior I had no car, so I wasn’t able to go and do as most young people do. I learned that I was very naive and vulnerable to letting people get over me. I am still learning myself, who I am, and who I can be.

How do you know when you have the right people in your life?

I suppose the best answer for this would be, something I have learned in all my real estate studies. You want to always know what is your Return on Investment. Not saying it rudely, but let me explain it a little. Ask yourself that what you’re putting into the friendship, is worth what you’re receiving? Plus, you can never truly know who is right to have in your life.

Tell me something challenging you have been through and how you overcame it?

My relationship with my Dad has always been hard and rocky. I have been overcoming this for years now since I was about 16 (when it started the most). It’s hard because he never calls or puts forth the effort to contact me, whereas I always have to call and plan events. So how is that supposed to make me feel? (Like I’m not loved enough for the effort). My brother is away at college, and he calls him every day, the same time. I suppose it’s not something that I have overcome, but it is something that is a challenge that I am trying to overcome.

We need to learn from our mistakes and not repeat them. Please comment…?

The friendship I was in for years that I had mentioned, is definitely a mistake I have learned from. I didn’t know how blind I was at that moment.  I didn’t have any friends besides her. I basically wasn’t allowed because it would take time away from her. I don’t want to repeat that. I enjoy having friends and places to go and have fun. There is this saying I have that goes, “The past is in the past and there is nothing we can do about it.”. That’s why God made us walk forward so we can see the future!

There is positive and negative peer pressure. How has that influenced your life?

When I was in my early 20s, I did many things that weren’t great. However, I learned from the mistakes I made. Negative pressure was the drinking and drugs I got into, and the positive has been me overcoming all of those bad habits I formed.

How has blogging helped you? How has the response been so far?

Blogging has been a wonderful help to me and what I’ve been through. I was never good at grammar (which I’m sure I’m not any better lol), but it is a great feeling to express and get these emotions out of your head and heart. The relief and relaxation you feel when you’re finished putting that pen to paper or fingers to keyboard in this matter is such a relief.

Let’s talk about your guilty pleasures and how does it resonate with your faith?

I guess honestly (it’s no excuse) I am human. Life is hard, and I think you just put these things in place to cope with life. I used to have many other things that I got rid of to come closer to God, and now I am working on the other guilty pleasures that I have put in place. It’s hard to just quit cold turkey with everything at once.

Your blog is a mix of your life, makeup, recipes, and real estate. How did you come up with these various and different topics?

I chose to write about all these topics because it’s what I like to do and it’s who I am. I love putting my makeup on, my life writings have made me feel more and more stress-free, and my real estate is what I have become very interested in making my career. My recipes are just a little spice added because a few people asked me how I make a few things, so I just added them to the blog!

I want you to give yourself advice at 15 and 25?

At the age of 15, I would have said “Finish school and don’t become self-absorbed. Life is hard making smarter choices now, not later.”

At the age of 25, I would have said “Wake up! Drugs are not what you need to make friends or money!”