September 2025
Reflections on summer, the courage to leave comfort zones, and the quiet work of beginning.
Wow. My first blog post at Flora Studios. I have never written a blog before, and I certainly never thought I would have the courage to do what I am currently doing – putting myself out there. I still don’t feel ready. I still feel like a beginner (to be fair, I am one). I still feel like an imposter. I still feel like a loser. But I guess you gotta start somewhere. I’m trying to create space for myself in the digital creative world, and as someone who learns as they go and plays it by ear, here I am.
Since I plan to post these blogs on the first of the month, I want to share information from the month I have just completed, as well as my hopes, goals, and expectations for the coming month. As I am sure you can expect, as someone building a creative brand from scratch, ur gurl has been stressed. The technical stuff, like building this website, has been HARD. If you are reading this in 2025, you are likely seeing version 1.0 of this website. My goal is to improve it after I have settled into this chapter and no longer feel so overwhelmed by the process of beginning.
But there is a quote I see often, used for when new tasks are daunting: “Just make it. You can make it good later.” That is absolutely my current mindset, cause every aspect of this project feels intimidating, but I can no longer be paralyzed by fear and perfectionism. So, I have spent much of the month of August sitting at my desk, overwhelmed by this project. And often by my side is my beloved golden retriever Fry, who is always ready for the work day to be done.
That is not to say that I haven’t had some time for some fun things this summer. I did some weekend hikes and visited parts of the state I hadn’t seen before, such as Manchester State Park and Port Townsend, all of which were really beautiful, and Fry had a great time. I also attended the Washington State Renaissance Faire for the first time this summer! Got to spend the day trying medieval foods, drinking ciders, and looking at medieval vendors selling their art and trinkets.
My sister and I also have a tradition of attending a Mariners game every summer! I always look forward to getting our seats wayyy near the back so we can be comfortable, and again, sip on some ciders.
One thing I did this month that was absolutely out of my comfort zone was attend Camp Social, a women’s summer camp all the way out in Pennsylvania. It was a long weekend of lake time, archery, arts & crafts, and more. It was the full girlhood camp experience. As someone who has been hurt by friendships in the past and has become increasingly introverted as I have gotten older, making new girlfriends is almost a sore spot for me now; it’s something I sometimes even wonder if I am capable of.
I believe this aspect of my life is what has drawn me to create Flora Studios. I want to build connections with other women who are also looking for fulfillment, building something, and want to leave their mark on the world. I am very happy to report that the girls from my cabin and I have a strong group chat going, and I hope to see them all again. If not, it was very special to have had this loving, fleeting moment in time with women I would have otherwise not met, and to have had the great opportunity to laugh and explore with them.
So now I am finishing up the month of August. I had a little time to get out of the house and spend some time at the botanical gardens before retiring to my computer and talking myself into really launching this project on September 1st. My goals for September are to follow through with this goal and allow myself to not do it perfectly. I want to post daily graphics and reels, and find ways to connect with any person who joins my audience. I am grateful to have you here. I also have my birthday in September (shout out to all my September Virgos!) and will be having a fancy dinner with my family, as well as spending a few days in Vegas with my sister.
I am excited to see how I feel in a month when I sit down to write a blog, after completing my first month of this project, and preparing for October. Here’s to a new chapter of putting myself out there and trusting I will figure it out as I go.
Rooted and Rising,
Katie
flora-studios.com 