iPersonal Shop and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
My outfit in this post was gifted by Romwe.com. I picked it out, and all opinions are 100% my own.
With so much happening in my life since February began, I know that I'm long overdue in keeping you up to speed with what's been going on. Especially the details to the question I've been asked the most; What happened to my Instagram account?! I'll start with the good, and then get to the bad (hence the title). I'm forewarning you that you're in for a pretty long post! However, depending on your perspective, this story does have a happy ending.
The Good...
Yay, me! I'm In School! You probably saw from my Instagram Stories and my blog post in January (HERE) that The Mister and I began searching for a second home in the Summerlin community of Las Vegas. After much consideration, we decided to go about this next major life purchase the same way that we have purchased most of our properties here in Virginia. I enrolled in Nevada real estate school to get my license to find and purchase our home for ourselves. School has been very enjoyable and informative. I look forward to my class each day. My classes are via video online, and it's so much like I'm in the classroom. I really like my teacher, Robin. She is super witty, and definitely knows her stuff! My school is based in Las Vegas, so Robin often makes reference to real time happenings in the area like taxes, community improvements, and other city specific issues. I have learned so much more about being a Nevada resident. I can't wait to get back to Vegas to meet Robin in person and thank her.
The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad...
Just shortly after starting school, my two year Instagram account disappeared! Wait...What?!?! Yes! With school going greAt, finally making big strides in my blogger space, networking on Instagram with other Vegas businesses and just coming off of a fun filled weekend spent with my Besties for an early Galentine's...The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day happened.
I woke up the morning of February 5 and found myself logged out of my Instagram account (IG). Odd, I thought, because I'm never logged out. No worries, I told myself. I'll log in. But after trying, I couldn't log in...I kept receiving the message that my account has been "Disabled". My heart dropped, and I was starting to feel anxious and panicky. I said a prayer to calm myself. I thanked God that I woke up earlier than usual on this day, giving myself time to work out this issue. So I got dressed and headed to my office as I always do. With a little anxiety, but still lots of optimism, I figured I'd have time to get in contact with IG and have this simple issue resolved by the afternoon.
Fast forward at least four hours later and no way to contact Instagram. I found a phone number for them on Google, and the message with it said "Don't expect anyone to answer". The e-mail address was just as bad. It sent an auto-reply back to me saying that this mailbox was no longer a working one. At this point, I was feeling like I was out there all alone, trying to find "my baby" (my IG account) that was taken from me like a thief in the night. This baby that I had cultivated and nurtured day and night for the past two years. I also felt a little ashamed for being so emotionally overwhelmed about a social media account. I didn't want to bother anyone with my trivial (at least I thought) issue. I really do have a very supportive family and group of friends that are always expressively proud of my accomplishments. But somehow I convinced myself that they would think, "Boo hoo...You can't access your social media account. Would you like some cheese with that wine?" (Side note: I was wrong and insecure. I later found them to be very supportive just as they always are ;-)
In reality, this was more than just losing a social media account. My online presence has become a part time job, and has opened so many new doors and new opportunities. I have become a social media marketer and I am often sponsored to create my own authentic posts about things that I already love and would willingly share. Losing my IG account was like getting fired on my day off! (inserting a little humor here from the movie, "Friday" to lighten the mood ;-) I had worked night and day for the past two years curating my favorites in stories and styles to share with you, my viewers in the most creative ways; and I felt like this was all lost in one night.
12 hours, and still not able to log in. I turned to one of the best online resources: You Tube! This turned out to be a ray of light. I found out that I wasn't alone. I watched several bloggers and influencers like myself, along with some teens, moms and others in between that had experienced the same "Disabled" account issue. Most of them "woke up like this", just like me! The e-mail replies they received from Instagram were the same unclear ones that I received. Their accounts were also disabled without any explanation except to read the IG terms of use. They, like me were like "Uh...What terms of use could I have violated, Instagram?!?!
To shorten what was for me a serious saga, the YouTubers I watched thankfully helped me to contact Instagram via a hidden message place in the IG app (see this YouTuber's how to HERE). Among the YouTube videos I watched, some of their IG accounts were restored within 24 hours, others in eight weeks, some in eight months, and some not at all. Each story paralleled mine with an abrupt interruption of their account with no explanation. A few reported later receiving an apology letter from Instagram, while most everyone else received no response at all (insert the big eyed emoji face here). Everyone e-mailed IG over and over and over again, as this was the common theme of "how to (possibly)" get your account back. But really, no one had a sure proof method because IG doesn't reply with why or how this happens in the first place! Almost everyone that had their account enabled again found out on their own via a Hail Mary, fingers crossed log-in attempt. Not a response from Instagram.
About four days later and two ambiguous responses from IG that offered no help, just for me to reply and detail my issue, I began to break. On my drive home after work, I found myself suddenly sobbing. I was surprisingly overwhelmed with melancholy, and I thought, I have to make a choice. I am a creator, always have been. Instagram allowed me to make connections with people by means of what I honestly love to do. I can either stop and no longer share what I love do so freely and naturally. Or I can keep on keeping on, no matter what the presented circumstances. I decided to move on the latter.
My creativity is infinite and not determined by my social media account. I couldn't allow myself to be stifled by a change in scenery or space. Not even hindered by a new IG account that I'd have to create. I know more than what I did two years ago when I started on this path. I have more networks and new connections than two years ago, and above all, my creativity belongs to me!
The Not So Bad, after all...
Change can be uncomfortable. I struggled with the thought of starting over, although I found that it wasn't as bad as I had feared. I had some really supportive blogger friends that shared my new account on their Instagram Stories, and I am thankful for their support. I'm also thankful for rewardStyle, the company that owns the LIKEtoKNOW.it app that you always see me mention at the bottom of my Instagram captions. As an influencer on the LIKEtoKNOW.it platform, I am able to easily access ALL of my previous IG posts with captions and links! Another app that I use allowed me to still see my followers from my original account, saving me tons of time in knowing who to reconnect with on my new IG page. It was a blessing to have access to almost all of my data and my pictures through these supporting apps. All I had to do was re-post my saved images to my new page, and reconnect to my people. I am very thankful for the support of YOU, my readers and viewers! So much that I cried tears of joy upon reconnecting with each of you ;-)
Sometimes we have to be sat down to receive greater gains. I don't just mean greater gains on Instagram or with followers on social media. I mean in all around life. That weekend I happened to catch Joel Osteen's Sunday morning program. His message that day really resonated with me as he spoke about "Seasons of Silence" (HERE). How God can hide us for a time to prepare us for a time of reveal that is so much GreAter than we can imagine!
"Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it."
~Malachi 3:10
Fast forward three weeks after my Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day; and I now see that it was actually a blessing in disguise! Yes, really! My resilience was tested, and I made it through. I passed; and so did the discomfort, just like He said it always will. His plans are always beyond what we could ever imagine. I saw this day as 'The End'. It turned out to be a better Beginning. My new IG page has exceeded the number of viewers from my previous account, my audience is actually more engaged, I receive at least 3 times the amount of comments and likes than I did previously. And the cherry on top was receiving the IG verification for having an "authentic following" from the accredited influencer agency, FOHRcard (read more about Verified Authentic Followings HERE). After only 2 weeks, my new IG account was officially "FOHRverified". You can see this badge of honor posted to my IG Highlights HERE. This is an honor I never received on my old page even after two years!
I had confidence that I could make it past this. Although it was really disappointing, and to be honest it really hurt. Aside from this situation, The Mister had adopted the phrase "Change your environment" as our resolution this year. I never thought this mantra would apply to my Instagram. But if IG has become a part of my life, why wouldn't it apply here, too?! And what about my original IG account? I've not heard another word from Instagram about it. The happy ending is that I'm completely over it. I've moved on, and I've changed my environment! Oh...And in the continuous spirit of "count your blessings", it's probably important to note that no one (that I watched) on YouTube reported this "Instagram disappearing act" happening to them more than once!
P.S. Don't forget to follow my new Instagram page @iPersonalShop1 (HERE)
Shout Out! to the YouTubers that bravely shared their unfortunate stories.
They definitely helped me in my time of disappointment.
You can click on any of the titles below to watch their videos.
Sharing My Style:
For my sweatsuit, order a size up. I am wearing a Small, and it's much tighter than I'd prefer it to be.
Sweatshirt & Pants| Leopard Tank Top| Pearl Slide Sandals| Bling Clear Lens Glasses| Black Cat Eye Clear Lens Glasses| African Wood Earrings| Gold Band Ring| Chunky Bangle| Necklace| similar Laptop Bag| "Elements of Style" Book| "Styled" Book| "Space Works" Book| "Get Your Sh*t Together" Book|
