You Can Sit With Me If You Want To

I'm very sorry, this post is very long.  

-Management

You know what I stand for? Kindness, friendship and acceptance. I like to think that I have a personality that meshes with tons of different groups of people. The friends I made over the years are vastly different and I treasure every one of them. I am blissfully happy when I'm surrounded by friends, and am a firm believer you can never have too many. So it may come as no surprise that I'm very against the concept of "you can't sit with us." 

My hatred, no that's too harsh, we will say disapproval, of anyone that uses and/or whose actions portray the phrase "you can't sit with us" stems from two specific times in my life: high school and my first two years in Dallas. I attended the cliquiest of cliquey high schools. There were distinct groups, and I didn't belong to a single one of them. Certainly not the popular kids, not the jocks, not the drama people, not the smart people, I didn't fit in anywhere. That messes with a kid when you don't have a group to associate yourself with. I had a long-term boyfriend, and pretty much just put all my eggs in that basket. 

I had deemed myself a guy's girl, until I moved to another state for college, joined a sorority and my whole life changed. People can hate on the greek system all they want,  I will always come to its rescue. The girl that never felt part of a group, never felt like she was a part of anything or felt important to any of her peers, immediately, and I do mean immediately felt accepted, wanted, welcomed and appreciated in Pi Beta Phi. Heck, even people who weren't part of our sorority were embraced with open arms, and dubbed honorary Pi Phis. Everyone totally got that sorority life wasn't for everyone, but meaningful, important friendships were. We accepted and befriended anyone who we enjoyed being around, and who enjoyed being around us, greek or non-greek. It was simple, it was lovely, it was shockingly mature. I'm still proud to have my name associated with this organization. 

This three paragraph rant is leading up to something not totally unrelated, but unrelated. I was having a difficult time writing this post without the backstory of why I'm so irritated. Ok pretend you read those first three paragraphs in yesterday's post. Let's start fresh. *you're killing me over here, Sarah* I know, I know I'm sorry. 

I have 3 specific issues with this Reward Style, Like To Know It, and their conference. Reward Style is an affiliate link system for fashion bloggers to make money off items they recommend to their readers. The Reward Style Conference is taking place right now, just a few blocks from my hood, in Downtown Dallas. You can follow on insta using #RSthecon. 

Issue #1- The reason for my first three paragraphs, is the insane level of "You Can't Sit With Us" associated with this conference. I'm not talking about the girls in attendance, but rather the conference specifically. Please tell me why anyone that has been approved for Reward Style, and wants to pay for it, can't attend? I'm trying to think of another blogger conference out there that accepts/rejects bloggers from attending, and I can't think of one. A conference is to improve your craft, by learning from peers that have been successful. Who better to attend a fashion blogging conference, than an eager, smaller fashion blogger, looking to grow?

If they only accept the top 200 earners, and please correct me if I'm wrong which I very well could be misinformed, what do the best of the best get out of a conference, exactly? 

Why can't anyone attend? I have deep seeded issues with a You Can't Sit With Us vibe, and I do not like it at all. 

Issue #2- Like To Know It. 

        Issue #2 Part A: When I "like to know it" on an image, with hopes of learning where I can purchase the one glaringly obvious item that is the focal point of the image. But then I get the email and said item isn't included. 

That would be like me posting this picture, and not linking to my boots in the email!!

        Issue #2 Part B: When you ask a question about where someone got something and you get an answer back about signing up for like to know it. Now I will say, I don't do this. I just watch and observe.

Maybe it's just me, but "don't bite the hand that feeds you" comes into my mind here.

        Issue #2 Part C: Suggested items for people on a budget. Helene brought this up to me this morning and I couldn't agree more. I will gladly follow my friends who have like to know it, and will like their image if they are linking to things I can afford. But when someone deems something as "suitable for those on a budget", I click like and it turns out to be a $150 top, I get angry all over again.

        Issue #2 Part D: It's rare that stuff I can afford is showcased, because that doesn't bring in the money.

Issue #3- First, why do lifestyle bloggers get berated for doing sponsored posts and trying to make a buck? I put more effort into some of my sponsored posts, and even have more fun writing them than I do regular posts, yet I still find myself feeling like I'm doing something wrong. Secondly, why do I have to disclose at the very tippy top, before I can even say hello, that this post is sponsored by X company, and then include in every social share the word #ad?

How come Reward Style doesn't require disclosure on every post, and the word #ad in every social share? That honestly bothers me.

It bothers me because every time I insta something that requires the hashtag #ad, I feel like a giant sellout. But I shouldn't, you know why? Because the MLB campaign, I just got to do, for example, was THE BOMB. I couldn't get over how perfect that campaign opportunity was for my blog. I was beyond excited about it, then found myself feeling sheepish as I typed #ad into my Instagram caption, and mentally calculated the readers I lost as I put a disclosure at the very top of my post.

I love clothes, like I love them, and I very much support the fashion blogger. I just don't support the way Reward Style goes about doing things, particularly this conference, and I wanted to get it all off my chest.  I'm not always right, and sometimes I let my issues from my past interfere with my feelings on certain topics, so I also want to open a discussion, for those that disagree or agree with me. If you feel I'm way off, educate me, seeing as I'm not a fashion blogger! This is officially an open forum!

And for those that do have RS, but weren't invited to the conference, you have an open invitation to come party with me in Deep Ellum. It's way more fun than Downtown Dallas, and that I know is for certain.