A lot of the time, I'm asked, 'Who inspires you and why?' and I always struggle to think of just one person or just one reason. I think if we're all honest, a small army of people inspire us, whether it be in career, love or in general.
As much as I have men in my life who inspire me (My Dad is the coolest. Even at 30 years old I can still say he's like Superman), I wanted to talk about Inspirational Women because there are so many who inspire me.
Today, I'm talking about Louise Pentland.
ABOUT LOUISE
Louise (Or Sprinkle Of Glitter as a lof of you know her) is a thirty something year old influencer who over the years has been a real inspiration to me.
Louise started out as a Blogger in 2009 on her blog Sprinkle Of Glitter. As time and her following grew, she decided to 'try' Youtube and as you all know, has grown to be one of the most prolific 'influencers' to date. With many accomplishments under her belt, including a bestselling book (Wilde Like Me), meeting the Pope, a Simply Be plus size clothing range and perhaps her biggest accomplishments to date - her beautiful daughter, Darcy and Baby Pentland (Louise is currently pregnant), it's exciting to see what she has planned next!
HOW I 'MET' LOUISE
I haven't actually 'met' Louise! I came across her blog, 'Sprinkle Of Glitter', back in 2011 when I started my own blog. At that time, there weren't many digital influencers kicking about to my knowledge, and certainly not with the popularity we see today. Because there was a relatively small community of us, I kind of felt like in a way, I knew Louise, like all of us bloggers were some sort of dysfuntional Family who had never met each other. I chatted to Louise a few times in the comments of her blog and youtube channel in the 'early' days when this was all just a hobby. Obviously, I still comment on her content, but as you'll understand Louise is pretty busy and can't reply to every comment she receives.
WHY IS LOUISE AN INSPIRATION?
As you all know, I'm plus size. When I first started out Blogging (and singing on Youtube prior to that - ALL video's of me singing have since been deleted haha!) I was too ashamed to take photo's of myself because I was worried I'd just give bullies another reason to bully, but seeing Louise being proudly plus size and making no apologies for it really encouraged me to do the same. I spent years of my life hiding, but seeing how beautiful Louise is, really opened my eyes to the realization that curvy is beautiful, we all are beautiful.
Another thing that inspires me about Louise is her openness. It's not easy putting yourself out there for the world to see and it's incredibly hard when you're going through something that you're not really dealing with too well. I admired how open she was in terms of her divorce and how dignified she was in dealing with it in the public eye despite. I was so blown away with how honest she was about her feelings of her Mother's passing when she was a child. I lost someone close to me as a child in really tragic, life changing circumstances, and as an adult, struggled to deal with it, but seeing how incredibly real Louise was about her pain, made me come to terms with mine.
A lot of people expect you to say 'She inspires me because she is so successful' and whilst that is true, there's so much more to a person than their career or accomplishments.
MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
When I first thought of the concept of the 'Inspirational Women' series, I messaged Louise and one other person to tell them about it and to ask if I could interview them for the piece. I didn't receive a reply from either people.
I sat and pondered why and asked myself 'Why are you doing the piece?' the answer was 'To selflessly let those who inspire me know, to make their day and to pay it forward'. I then went and watched a recent video of Louise's where she talked about the love of a greater being who loves you without asking for anything in return.
In that moment, I realised that while I had selfless intentions, my actions were selfish. If I truly wanted to do something and pay it forward, I shouldn't ask for something in return. I genuinely learned so much from the video and realised that I didn't deserve a response from either person. The fact that I took away a vital life lesson made me realize why this feature is so important - people who give to you and who educate you, deserve to be appreciated.
DEAR LOUISE,
I admire your honesty, beauty, openness, the love you have for your daughter, your ability to find humor in even the hardest of times, your grace in times of grief, your love for life and the people you share it with, your ability to find the good in people, your talent, your beliefs.
I know you hate the idea of being a role model, but I just want you to know that regardless of what you do in life, you'll always have a place in my heart as a role model. You've taught me things I hope to teach others someday.
Thanks Louise, you truly are an inspirational Woman.
To buy Louise's book, Wilde Like Me, click here.
Find Louise:
Sprinkle Of Glitter Youtube
Sprinkle Of Chatter Youtube
Blog
Twitter - https://twitter.com/LouisePentland
FaceBook - https://www.facebook.com/louisepentland/
Snapchat - LouisePentland
Insta- Louise Pentland
Robin Wilde - http://louisepentlandnovel.com/
H x
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