REFLECTION APR 21, 2026

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It’s now six months since launching this platform. To celebrate my growth over the last six months, I wanted to share the six things that I have learned and implemented that have made a difference in maintaining this creative website.

1. The Vision Will Evolve

The biggest lesson I have leaned into is that the vision will evolve. When I first released this website, I wondered what the road ahead would look like. Would it just be something that gets released, people say is cool, and then it just fades in the background? I didn't want that. I wanted a constant presence, and as a result my vision kept evolving. I analyzed my Google Analytics, paying attention to what drew people in. I noticed that many people gravitated towards my editorial section (then blog) and my portfolio, so I came up with fresh ideas to present my work and other creatives' journey.

This led to the idea I had about recreating the portrait of the spotlighted artist through a digital drawing. I really enjoy making it and it feels good when the spotlighted artist responds well to the drawing! I then revisted my portfolio page and wanted to make it more sleek at first glance. One day, I accidentally clicked on my artwork for too long and realized I could change my artwork into iPhone stickers. I decided to display the main subject of each of my pieces as stickers, and when the user clicks on the subject they get to see the full piece including the background. It was my way of paying attention to the user experience and trying to elevate that.

2. Consistency Builds More Than Just Talent

Another thing I've learned is consistency builds more than just talent. While I don't doubt that I am a talented individual, I think it's hard to rely on me just saying that. It's better to consistently show people that the talent is there, not necessarily for the validation, but as evidence that hey let's not forget that there is talent behind this platform haha.

The best way to showcase that is to constantly put myself on stage, almost in a talent show way. I've done a few talent shows in my youth and consistently posting about my platform is similar in a way, as I'm essentially using social media to host a talent show. If you don't consistently remind people that you are great at something and believe it, it's hard for them to believe you.

3. Done Will Always Beat Perfect

This brings me to the next thing I've learned: done will always beat perfect. I've had moments throughout the past six months where my perfectionist tendencies wanted to slip out. In some ways that can stall me taking action on what I need to get done, but I have made more progress by just taking the action first and then getting in my head about it later. This way by the time I start overthinking something, I at least have something tangible that I can reference instead of just the idea I had in my head that I am overthinking and wanting to perfect.

4. Only You Can Advocate for You

The fourth lesson I have learned is that you have to advocate for your own work! In the age of social media, it can get easy to get in your feelings of, "Man I put a lot of effort into this post, why aren't people responding how I anticipated?" but I've learned that it's not necessarily folks' job to advocate for you in the way that you need to advocate for yourself. Also, focus on supporting the people that support you. At the end of the day, you have to allow people to see that you can consistently carry out your vision, and maybe folks will jump on the bandwagon later, but even if they don't you still gotta believe in what you are creating!

5. Don't Underestimate Your Reach

When I started my "Artist Spotlight" series, I wasn't sure how to go about it. I thought it was just going to be interviews here and there, but then after the double feature I released alongside the launch of my website, I ended up securing interviews for the first six months. That was exciting, but also nervewrecking! It made me realize that my platform can reach people I didn't expect.

I've had people from Birmingham, AL to the Phillippines visit my website as a result of these collaborations, and it's always surreal that my platform is making such waves. When I have the conversation with the spotlighted artist, I always want to present them in the best light because they have loved ones that will be potentially reading the feature, and when feedback is given from folks I wouldn't have expected to visit my platform otherwise, I am just grateful!

6. Be Confident In All The Versions of You that Exist

Last but certainly not least, I've learned to be confident in all the versions of me that exist! Growing up, I used to lead with my academics and my athleticism (maybe because those were the areas I was most rewarded). As a result, I didn't really showcase myself as a creative as much as I could have. It was only when I got to college that I got more confident revealing my dancing to others, teaching people how to dance, and sharing my artwork. Even then, I didn't really lead with that side of me, because like I said I didn't see the value of that side of me at the time.

These last six months have taught me not to downplay this creative side of me, even if folks may not deem it as "rewarding" or having "incentives". I created this platform purely off the fact that I wanted an outlet to showcase my creativity. I didn't imagine it would've evolved to be what it is today, but I wouldn't have ever seen that if I didn't take it seriously. I'm just glad I started leading with the phrase "I'm an artist too" in conversation, because it has really allowed me to connect with some phenomenal people and allowed me to reconnect with myself.

-Léonella

Curator & Founder