Happy Birthday to The Mod Little Melanin!

A year ago, I started The Mod Little Melanin! When I first started this blog, I had no idea if anyone would read it, other than my mom or my best friend. To those who have known me for years, fashion (and medicine) have been my passion for years. In college, I was always dressing out of the ordinary, trying to stay ahead of the fashion trends, and spent much of my time styling my friends for their events and outings. The Mod Little Melanin had been in the works for years in my mind, but being a pre med student, who barely had time to sleep 😅 I had to put off planning my blog until my gap year.

The Mod Little Melanin has grown so much over the past year! I started with an average of 15 views a day, mostly Facebook friends, and somehow skyrocketed to receiving nearly 100 views a day this summer when I posted daily and began to gain features on prominent clothing store's social media accounts and website blogs, including Charlotte Russe and Shop Hope's. I went from showing people my styling services through Styled by Mod, to styling my friends to build my portfolio, to now offering a styling service that can be arranged with a small fee!

Once I started graduate school this past Autumn, I began to post on a schedule, usually every Monday, Wednesday and Friday and gained praise from some of my favorite fashion bloggers, and even was asked to style a few local photo shoots (most of which are still in the works). I attend a small school and hope to be able to reach more readers, both men and women as I continue to expand The Mod Little Melanin, by getting involved with campus organizations.

As I write this, 8556 people have viewed my blog. In the past few months, I have averaged about 1,000 page views a month, and expect that number to grow over the year as I continue to expand my brand to reach a larger audience.

My main point of this post? Don't be afraid to get out there and achieve your goals! When I started this blog, I received a ton of hate from college peers, and I easily could have succumbed to their negative talk and forgot all about The Mod Little Melanin. Many people didn't understand why I would start a blog, or why I thought someone would care to see my fashion posts. I was called self-centered, self-absorbed, amongst other belittling titles. I knew that through The Mod Little Melanin that I could inspire others to chase their dreams. To write that book. To get in the studio and rap. To put pen to paper and reach their goals. Don't let other people tell you what you can and can't do. Don't let them limit you. Don't let them put you in a box and have them show you what you are supposed to do. Show the world what you are destined to do. God has a plan for everyone in their life, and whether we know it or not our purpose is greater than anything we can imagine. I've had readers tell me they love my blog because it shows them ways to style their outfits, or because my style is different than what is considered the norm. And if I can inspire one person to achieve their dream, I've done my job with The Mod Little Melanin.

Stay tuned to The Mod Little Melanin throughout 2017 to see all of the surprises I have in store for readers!

- Chelsea Nicole, The Mod Little Melanin 💋