I graduated from Ithaca College in 2010 with a degree in Television Production and a minor in Writing with dreams of moving to Los Angeles or NYC to work in the entertainment industry.

The problem: I had zero dollars in savings, making it hard for me to realistically move, and the entertainment industry did not exist near my hometown, a suburb of Boston, MA.

After eight months of job searching and interning, I began my first entry-level job in Boston where I sat in a cubicle instant messaging my co-workers asking what they needed help with all day. It was far from the career goal I set for myself at age 9 when I used to develop TV shows in my head and write scripts for them in composition notebooks. Bored and in desperate need of a ‘creative outlet,’ I started my own blog called Forever Twenty Somethings.

At first, the website was my own personal diary where I wrote about my thoughts, feelings, obsession with shopping, and party girl lifestyle. But after sharing articles on social media, the website started to grow a following and twentysomethings from all over the country started reaching out to me asking to contribute.

From there, it grew into the online magazine it is today where both writers and readers benefit. Writers sharpen their writing skills, get exposure, and have an outlet that helps them figure out what their post-college interests are. Readers stay entertained while feeling less alone through this whole ‘growing up’ thing. The best part: Writers and readers join an amazing community of twentysomethings who make each other smile, laugh, and feel successful, no matter where they are in their lives.

ForeverTwentySomethings.com receives an average of 227,000 pageviews and 88,600 unique visitors each month and has approximately 14,000 followers on social media. With the help of a few interns and editors, I run the day-to-day responsibilities of the website. I oversee editorial operations, manage the social media accounts, and run the ‘business side of things.’ And while FTS has turned into a little company, I still try to write for the site as much as I can because, well, I love writing and making people laugh. I would be nothing without those two things.

FTS has totally changed my life and has shaped me into the person I am today. It led me on my current career path – I left the video production world in 2013 to work in digital media for the editorial world (although video is totally part of that now AKA my two passions have collided!). It gave me exposure – I’ve been published in Cosmopolitan, Seventeen, The Huffington Post, and more. It helped me connect with and meet a ton of amazing people. And it gave me the voice I so badly needed to realize that I am creative and talented, and I should never be afraid to share my ideas because I’ve got some good ones, despite what my 18-year-old self once though. Now, I am using my passions to help other twentysomethings gain confidence in their creativity, become better at writing, learn more about digital media and the editorial world, and find out what their passions are, so they can have successful careers too.

My child blog has been featured on New England Cable News, The Boston Globe, Forbes, Boston.com, and Bostinno.com. It’s kind of cool. Check it out and see for yourself!