It has always been my wish to simplify my life, especially in a complex world like ours. We’ve always been told to just focus on our priorities and what truly matters to us, like our family, our hobbies and our careers. Sounds simple enough, but as long as people and feelings are involved, complexities are bound to set in.

Life is never just made up of two clearly defined shades of white and black. There are 50 shades of grey (nope, no sexual stuff here), or perhaps more.

Different people have different perceptions and expectations of the same situation, and this is usually shaped by the life experiences that each individual has gone through as well as the level of maturity and situational awareness that each individual possesses.

A case of misunderstanding recently has led me to deeply realize how our actions are closely intertwined with our perceptions. Misunderstandings occur when the same action is perceived differently by two people. For instance, you may perceive your own actions as just acts of friendliness, but others could have a different take and mistake your actions for something more than that. And if you lack situational awareness, your actions will continue to perpetuate the misunderstanding and it all becomes a vicious cycle.

I guess it’s the same with blogging.

I blog because I love writing and photography (I usually take photos without me in them. Those with me in them are taken by JW). The focus of my blog is on fashion (sometimes beauty too), food and travel because these are areas that family and friends usually ask me about and I’m passionate about these things. I think these are also topics that people can generally relate to on a daily basis.

When I share my clothes, bags, shopping hauls and travels on such a public platform, there are bound to be detractors who feel that it is distasteful or attention-seeking to do so. I can’t stop people from thinking the way that they want to because again, their perceptions are molded by their life experiences and upbringing. Perceptions can only be changed, be it for the better or worse, when you truly get to know a person on a deeper, more intimate level, but that is not possible with blogs as blogs only portray one dimension of the person. If my actions perpetuate any misunderstanding that you have of me, I’m sorry but there’s little I can do. I don’t aim to please anyone, except myself and the people I care about. 🙂

On a lighter and entirely separate note, my outfit in this post is largely sponsored by my two lovely girlfriends, Karen and Sushi. Karen lent me her coat (which goes with just about anything!) and Sushi gave me a pair of Liz Lisa shorts as a gift. I absolutely adore the pearls and lace on the shorts. Love these 2 girls!!

Before I end off, I thought I’ll just share this meaningful quote with everyone:

“Live life to express, not impress. Don’t strive to make your presence noticed, just make your absence felt.”

That’s the easiest way to feel happy, isn’t it? 😉