Life and Work with Annette Kim

Today we’d like to introduce you to Annette Kim.

Annette, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I started this blog in eighth grade (when I was around fourteen). I was one of those kids that always wanted to do something. I wanted to create something that was my own. And being an eighth-grader when technology and social media were as prominent as ever, I decided to create a fashion blog. I called it “The Annettie Spaghetti Blog” (pretty suitable for a fourteen-year-old, I would say).”

As the years went on and as I got older (and more aware of the world around me), I decided writing only on fashion and the outfits I wore during the weekend weren’t cutting it for me. Alongside fashion and outfit posts, I also wanted to write about social issues, reactionary pieces, high school advice, personal writings, posts with more substance. Thus, I officially changed “The Annettie Spaghetti Blog” to “Misfits & Roses:” a site where I could fully express myself.

Has it been a smooth road?
The main struggle on my journey was focusing on what matters to me. I believe that the most important aspect is to have a goal you want to accomplish through your blog. Mine is to inspire and educate young women through my writing, and photography. I think sticking to that goal is one of the hardest challenges that I face, and I think that’s what a lot of people face as well, whether they’re bloggers or not.

However, in this industry, it’s all too easy to be swept in with the others. I compared myself a lot to the other people in this niche (and I still have trouble with that). When I was younger, that fact made me stray from what I truly wanted to write about and express through my blog. Even though I still struggle with that today, I think the most important thing is to be conscious of it and do your best to focus on yourself and your own personal development and growth.

Along with that, it’s also very easy to fall into the numbers: how many followers you have, how many likes you get. Obviously, engagement matters. That’s how you grow your audience. However, if you only want to do this for the sole purpose of getting followers, I don’t think this is the right interest for you.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Misfits & Roses – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Misfits & Roses is a fashion and lifestyle blog whose goal is to inspire and educate. It’s a site made for the “misfits,” or those who feel as if they don’t belong.

My site is a place where one can get advice whether that be for fashion or for anything else. A place where I encourage and promote confidence and free expression through creativity and writing.

I would like to add an excerpt from my “Story” section of my site as I believe it truly encapsulates what I strive to accomplish:
“I want this site to be an escape- an escape for the misfits and the people who don’t fit in. For the people who are too intense and emotional. For the people who are not afraid to speak their mind. For the people who are too afraid to speak their mind but they have so many thoughts in their heads, they don’t know what to do about it.

I would like to say welcome to everyone – welcome to the bookworms, the nerds, the jocks, the socially awkward, the social butterflies, the introverts, the extroverts, the troublemakers, the geeks, the rule breakers, and to all the people who feel like they don’t belong. WELCOME AND HAVE FUN!”

There’s a wealth of academic research that suggests that a lack of mentors and networking opportunities for women has materially affected the number of women in leadership roles. Smart organizations and industry leaders are working to change this, but in the meantime, do you have any advice for finding a mentor and building a network?
Social media is the best tool for networking, especially if you’re just starting out. At the beginning of my blogging career, I reached out to many people through Instagram: asking questions, asking for advice, etc., and a lot of them answered and were super helpful and nice.

My advice is simple: don’t be scared of reaching it out to others. Be friendly, of course, and it will only give you benefits.

I’m also a part of Facebook groups who are in the same niche as me, and we give each other advice on all aspects of blogging, such as growth and brand partnerships.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://misfitsandroses.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @misfitsandroses

Image Credit:
Chloe Kim

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