Blogger Inspiration: Kristine Roces (Real Asian Beauty)

Photo from her blog

I first stumbled upon her work in Youtube through my toddler. She was watching Hello Kitty videos and Kristine's Hello Kitty-themed birthday sparty popped up. What got me interested was her sense of style. I used to wear my hair like her, and dress like her in pink and pastels and skirts and dresses. My style's a little subdued and safe, and hers a bit more Barbie-like and statement-y, but she reminded me so much of how I used to dress up. I saw her again when Preview or Cosmo featured her Fake Divisoria Makeup Review on facebook. It was only in that video that I noticed that she has problematic skin like me. So I did a bit of googling to see how she deals with it (I'm desperate!) and discovered her blog. I read a couple and then some more and now I'm a fan.

I used to keep a personal blog which featured my daily life in college. You know, typical teenage-early 20s stuff: out-of-town trips, food, relationships, family life, dreams and goals. And then adulting happened and I just couldn't write anymore. Buuut this is a different blog post altogether, I'm saving this for when I'm inspired to give my thoughts justice. I interviewed Kristine Roces via email and her responses reminded me so much of my blogging days.

She's very kind and humble. I think that's something that is often unappreciated. Kindness is something we should put back up on a pedestal. I read about other bloggers/fake accounts ganging up on her, commenting the meanest things about her looks, and she always has the nicest responses. When I interviewed her, she didn't disappoint. Her answers were genuine and sincere. If you want to read more about her, here's her blog: Real Asian Beauty

The Interview

1. How did you first get into blogging? 

I started blogging in 2009.

2. What inspires you to keep blogging? 

My readers, viewers and followers inspire me to keep going. Whenever I get messages from them, they inspire me to do even better and improve my craft.

3. What were the challenges you faced during your first year and what kept you going?

It was getting my name out in the blogging world and gaining traffic to my blog. At that time, only my friends and family members read my blog. Hehe

4. What is your blogging routine? How often do you write? How do you overcome writer's block?

I usually don't have blogging routine as I tend to follow my YouTube posting schedule more. As you know, editing a video is not easy. So I want to allot more time making videos. :)

5. What do you think are the five skills that bloggers need to succeed? How would you define blogging success?

   1. Passion    2. Talent    3. Sincerely    4. Good communication and writing skills   5. Honesty

6. What strategy worked well for you to get more traffic to your blog?
It was to write about things that matter, things that more people would be able to relate to and write about trending topics. 

7. What areas would you like to improve in?
I would like to improve in posting regularly. :)

8. What was your greatest blogging failure and what did you learn from it?
Everything comes with the risk of failing. But if you truly love what you do, bad things that come would just be considered trials but not failures. These are just stepping stones to the final destination. I think bloggers and aspiring bloggers should never consider anything as their "FAILURE". Always be positive. :)

9. Who do you look up to in the blogging world?
XiaXue and Cheeserland. I read their blogs often. Camille Co is also a good local blogger. I also used to read a lot of Saab Magalona and Divine Lee posts. 

10. What advice would you like to give to aspiring/newbie bloggers?

Always be passionate, honest and humble. I think these three things will always matter, no matter how small and big of a blogger you are. And last thing, blog for the right reasons. Don't start a blog because you want to be famous, you want to get sponsors or you want to earn money. Those 3 things were honestly never my goal when I started my blog. I think it pays to always be honest and humble. Because when you are, your readers will see those traits beaming from your blog straight out of their screens. Hehe To the aspiring bloggers, always do what you are passionate about. Never mind money, never mind popularity and never mind competition. :)

She recently wrote about something I've been thinking about lately. I initially got back to blogging because I needed to finance my schooling. I didn't want to go back to the call center industry because I wanted to stay at home and take care of my child. So I thought I'd do something I've always loved to do which was to write about my experiences, and entertain and inspire people through blogging. It's perfect because I'd earn enough to survive school while at the same time be with my child. But post after post after post, I started to lose interest in writing. I was drowning in self-doubt and insecurities, I told myself, heck this isn't a decent way to make a living. So I decided to take an actual job which required me to be away from my child often. My interview with Kristine made me realize how making money out of something that gives you joy and a sense of purpose isn't always a good idea. Heh. Now I won't be quitting my day job any time soon, but I'm committing myself to improving my blog and going back to my reasons for why I even write in the first place.

To Real Asian Beauty,

Hi, girl! Thank you for taking the time to reply despite your schedule. It's really nice to get to meet someone *famous* (whether you admit it or not! Haha). I would like to let you know that you are an inspiration. I know you'll make it even bigger someday soon. Hugs.

XX