🍂 Ready for your next chapter? Curate your days with Bloom — the ultimate life dashboard
🍂 Ready for your next chapter? Curate your days with Bloom — the ultimate life dashboard
I never set out to build a brand; I set out to build a life worth remembering — one slow, beautiful moment at a time. This is my creative sanctuary — the home of my ever-evolving story, stitched together over a decade of becoming. This space isn’t just a collection of content; it’s a living testament to growth, reinvention, and finding purpose through the beautiful chaos. Most of all, it’s a window into my journey — raw, real, and unfolding one soft, courageous step at a time.
It started with doubt, like most dreams do.
In 2012, at twenty-one years old, I posted my very first photo on Instagram — unknowingly lighting a spark that would grow into a journey spanning more than a decade.
Back then, I didn’t think of myself as a creative — just a girl, capturing glimpses of her life without any grand plan.
In 2014, Maureen, a friend who ran her own blog, nudged me gently:
“Go for it. You’ll love it.”
It was a simple statement, but it stuck.
Another friend, Liv, pointed out that my Instagram captions were basically blog posts waiting to happen.
“If you ever started a blog, I’d read it,” she said, smiling — a casual comment that felt bigger than she realized. At the time, Liv had her own cozy cooking blog that I loved reading.
Her encouragement — small as it seemed — cracked open a door I hadn’t even known was waiting.
Still, the idea of starting a blog terrified me.
What if no one cared?
What if my voice didn’t matter?
Who would even want to read my words?
Fear clung tightly — but not tightly enough to win.
I decided to try anyway, pouring myself into my first posts about fashion and style. And for the first time, I felt something shift — like unlocking a part of myself I hadn’t yet met. My creative voice had been there all along, quietly waiting for me to trust it.
In late 2015, I was buried deep in my master’s dissertation when a casual comment planted a seed that would quietly change everything. Ama, a friend and fellow dreamer, said lightly: “Why not add fitness to your content? It’ll make you stand out.”
Fitness? Me? At first, the idea felt laughable.
How could I possibly blend fashion, style, and fitness into one narrative? They felt like worlds apart — clashing energies, not complementary ones.
But Ama’s suggestion lingered, nudging me from the inside out.
It whispered at the edges of my certainty, urging me to imagine a fuller, truer version of my story.
Over time, I began to see it differently: fitness wasn’t just another topic to add. It was a way to connect the dots of my life — to tell a story that was already unfolding within me, even if I hadn’t yet named it.
It wasn’t just about building more content.
It was about being more honest with the narrative I was already living.
So, with hesitation and curiosity as my unlikely companions, I stepped into uncharted territory.
A new niche unlocked itself — one that blurred the lines between old and new, fashion and fitness, self-expression and self-discipline.
It wasn’t perfect.
It wasn’t seamless.
But it was mine.
By mid-2016, life slowed down in ways I hadn’t planned for.
I had finished university in Nairobi and returned home to Tanzania, where the sharp reality of unemployment hit harder than expected.
Even with two degrees, the job offers didn’t roll in.
The unexpected gap year forced me to sit with myself in ways I had never done before.
There were no distractions. No assignments. No next steps neatly mapped out.
Just me — and the uncomfortable, unrushed process of becoming.
And in that stillness, a bigger dream began to take root.
What if I started a YouTube channel?
The idea both thrilled and terrified me.
I was captivated by women like Shirley Eniang, with her soft elegance; Lydia Millen, with her polished storytelling; and Carly Christman, whose everyday charm made the ordinary feel cinematic.
Watching them made me believe — maybe, just maybe — my story was worth sharing too.
But every time I inched closer to the idea, fear pulled me back.
You’re not good enough.
No one will care.
And if I’m honest, it wasn’t just fear.
It was shame.
Content creation wasn’t “normal” where I came from.
It wasn’t seen as serious work. – It wasn’t something you saw girls doing openly, proudly, boldly.
It meant exposing yourself — your dreams, your flaws, your messy middles — not just to strangers online, but to the people who knew you in real life.
The ones whose judgment would cut the deepest — friends, family, former classmates — watching me stumble my way through.
What would they think?
Would they laugh?
Would they roll their eyes?
So, like so many of us do when we’re afraid, I stalled.
So, I stalled.
And stalled again.
And again.
For two long years, I played tug-of-war with the dream — one part of me desperate to begin, the other terrified of what beginning would demand.
Finally, in 2017, something shifted.
I can’t tell you exactly what changed — maybe it was exhaustion from holding myself back.
Maybe it was simply time.
But I decided to stop overthinking.
To stop hiding.
To start doing.
That year, I hit “upload” on my very first YouTube video: Healthy Morning Routine.
It was cringey.
It was awkward.
It was raw.
But it was mine.
I had no fancy equipment, no polished script — just a phone camera, a quiet determination, and a dream I could no longer keep tucked away.
That video didn’t just mark the beginning of my YouTube journey.
It marked the beginning of me learning to bet on myself.
It wasn’t perfect — but it didn’t need to be.
That messy, imperfect first step taught me something I now carry everywhere:
Starting messy is still starting. And sometimes, that’s all you need to begin.
Looking back, I realize that first video planted the seeds of what would eventually become Kymmiee Lately.
It wasn’t just about creating content.
It was about proving to myself that I could.
It was about silencing the doubts, leaning into the discomfort, and showing up anyway — not polished, not fearless, but honest.
The biggest lesson I carry from that season?
“Don’t wait for the fear to disappear — it won’t.
Don’t wait for the perfect moment — it rarely comes.
Start messy. Start scared. Start unsure.
Just start.”
Because every journey — no matter how extraordinary — begins with a single, imperfect step.
In 2018, I said goodbye to “MissKymmiee” — and welcomed “Kymmiee Lately.”
It wasn’t just a name change.
It was a declaration.
It was about reclaiming my voice, standing in my truth, and saying:
This is who I am.
This is where I’m going.
For years, I had been creating from a space that reflected a version of me — but not the whole me.
“MissKymmiee” represented where I started: a young woman testing her creative voice, dipping her toes into possibility, trying to find her place in a world that didn’t always make room for dreams.
But as I grew, so did my story.
And “Lately”… Lately became something bigger.
It became permission.
Permission to change.
Permission to grow.
Permission to show up even when I didn’t have it all figured out.
The rebrand wasn’t an overnight decision. It happened slowly, seeded by long conversations — particularly with Leslie, a friend, a partner, the photographer behind so many of my captured moments.
It came after years of feeling out of sync with the version of myself I was projecting online.
Something didn’t feel right anymore.
I wasn’t creating to connect.
I was creating to keep up.
And that realization hit hard.
I didn’t want to keep chasing.
I wanted to come home — to myself, to my story, to something real again.
I wanted my platform to feel like home —
a space that reflected who I was becoming, not just who I used to be.
I wanted my story to feel raw.
Authentic.
Unapologetically mine.
It was vulnerable — terrifying, even.
Rebranding felt like peeling back layers of armor I didn’t know I was wearing, and letting people see what lived underneath.
But Lately gave me the language for that vulnerability.
It wasn’t polished.
It wasn’t perfect.
It was becoming.
This rebrand wasn’t about chasing perfection. It was about reclaiming purpose. For the first time, I stopped creating to meet expectations — and started creating to meet myself.
Kymmiee Lately became my permission slip to be exactly who I was in that moment: imperfect, evolving, but always moving forward. It became a way to own my story, fully —
and to connect with others who were navigating their own version of lately too.
Here’s what I’ve learned about growth:
Rebranding taught me that I didn’t need all the answers to start again. I just needed faith — that the process of becoming, no matter how unpolished, was worth it.
Lately isn’t just a name. It’s a mindset. It’s about leaning into the uncertainty,
embracing the beauty of not having it all figured out, and giving yourself the grace to grow.
That’s what Kymmiee Lately is — a celebration of evolution, a home for authenticity, and a living reminder that who you are right now is enough.
Because sometimes, the boldest thing you can do is stand in the middle of your own story,
and say: “This is me. This is my journey. And I’m not afraid to take the next step.”
For years, content creation was my secret world — the one I nurtured in stolen moments between deadlines and meetings.
Late-night blog posts, awkwardly edited videos, Instagram captions that felt like mini diary entries.
By day, I was someone else — wearing the professional mask, chasing stability, fitting into boxes I didn’t quite belong to. By night, I was a creator, quietly building a space that felt like home.
But here’s the truth:
I was afraid.
Afraid to let go of the structure.
Afraid to let go of the paycheck.
Afraid to leave behind the comforting predictability of a 9-to-5.
Afraid to claim my dream out loud because what if it didn’t work? What if I failed? What if I wasn’t enough?
So, I stayed on the edge. I kept my foot on both sides — the safe, familiar ground, and the unknown that was calling me forward. I never fully dared to cross it. I kept toeing the line between safety and possibility, telling myself, “Maybe one day.”
But deep down, I knew: One day wasn’t coming unless I chose to step forward into it.
I was standing at the edge of my own freedom, holding my breath, waiting for the perfect moment that never arrived.
Fast forward to 2022. There’s something transformative about being behind the curtain, watching ideas take shape and evolve into something extraordinary.
My time as a Studio Director at a production and marketing agency was exactly that — a front-row seat to the alchemy of creativity and strategy. Being part of the executive team and leading a group of creatives taught me the intricacies of collaboration. It was a delicate dance — balancing vision with freedom, control with space for others’ ideas to flourish.
We argued.
We brainstormed.
We celebrated small wins like they were Oscars.
And in the middle of that chaos, I discovered something profound: Magic happens when passion meets purpose.
It wasn’t always glamorous.
Late nights, stress, looming deadlines, and moments of doubt were part of the process. But it was in those raw, unpolished hours that I truly fell in love with the art of creation.
The way a single story could transform from scribbled notes on a whiteboard to a campaign that sparked conversations. The way a brand’s message could transcend product and become something deeper — something that made people feel seen, understood, connected.
But it wasn’t just about the brands we worked with or the campaigns we launched. It was personal. Every lesson I learned as a director reshaped me, refining the way I approached my own content.
I began to see that creating wasn’t just about filling space on a feed or uploading a video.
It was about connection.
It was about saying:
This is worth sharing because someone, somewhere, might see themselves in it.
Storytelling, I realized, is what makes us human.
It’s the thread that ties us to one another, the way we say:
“I’ve been there too. You’re not alone.”
That time in the studio wasn’t just a chapter in my career. It was a masterclass in life. It taught me to trust my instincts, to lean into the moments that feel uncomfortable, and to always ask: “What’s the story here?”
For that, I’ll always be grateful. Because at the end of the day, whether I’m behind a camera, in front of it, or writing words like these, I know this to be true:
The most powerful thing we can do is share our stories.
Not the polished, perfect ones — but the ones with cracks and edges and heart. And that’s what I carry with me into everything I create today. Every video. Every post. Every conversation. It all comes back to the power of connection — to creating something that makes someone, somewhere, feel a little less alone and a lot more seen.
In July 2023, I posted my very first audio podcast episode.
Leaping into something I thought would feel like second nature.
Talking’s easy, right? I’ve been doing it my whole life. But creating a podcast? That was an entirely different beast.
The idea of podcasting wasn’t new to me.
I’d been toying with it for months, and I had my video skills to fall back on. But every time I thought about starting, self-doubt crept in.
I’d stop and ask myself:
“What do I even have to say?”
Turns out, I had plenty. But podcasting wasn’t just about talking. It was about saying something that mattered.
It wasn’t enough to ramble into a mic and hope it stuck.
I had to dig deeper — to find the heart of the conversation, the why behind every episode.
And let me tell you, it wasn’t easy.
The first few episodes felt clunky, like I was fumbling through a language I hadn’t yet learned. The words didn’t flow the way I imagined.
I started questioning everything.
Am I even good enough for this? Is anyone even listening?
I was frustrated. So, I took a step back — not just from the mic, but from the noise in my own mind. I needed to reconnect to why I started.
To search deeper, to realign with my vision.
I spent countless nights soul-searching, brainstorming, refining my message. And that’s when clarity finally arrived.
What started as The Journey Podcast quickly evolved into Kymmiee Unfiltered. The name felt like home. It represented the kind of space I wanted to create: raw, honest conversations that didn’t try to hide the messy, beautiful truths that come with living, growing, and figuring it all out.
Those early episodes, with their imperfections, became the most beautiful part.
They were me, unfiltered.
In that rawness and vulnerability, I found connection — not just with others, but with myself.
Each episode became a mirror reflecting the lessons I’d learned, and the ones I was still learning. It was the beauty of life’s in-betweens, and the courage it takes to embrace the unknown.
Kymmiee Unfiltered isn’t just a podcast. It’s an extension of everything I am. It’s the place where I strip away the polished edges and share the stories that matter.
The wins.
The losses.
The messy moments that remind us we’re all just figuring it out.
It’s where I talk about the things we don’t always admit out loud — but desperately need to hear. The rawness of those moments is where the real power lies.
This podcast is my space to dive into what makes us human: growth, failure, reinvention, and resilience.
It’s not perfect. It never will be. But that’s the beauty of it.
In a world that demands perfection, Kymmiee Unfiltered is my way of saying:
“Let’s just be real for a minute.”
Every time I hit “record,” it feels like an invitation —
Not just for me, but for anyone listening.
An invitation to embrace your story, lean into the mess, and find beauty in the process.
Kymmiee Unfiltered is more than a podcast.
It’s a love letter to anyone navigating the chaos of life and choosing to keep going.
And honestly?
It’s become one of the most fulfilling parts of my journey.
August 10th, 2024.
After one of the worst meetings of my career, I had to physically restrain myself from blurting out,
“I QUIT!”
It took every ounce of self-preservation not to say it in the boardroom, but honestly? I regret not having that Oscar-worthy dramatic moment. That meeting was the last straw, but let’s be real — it was a long time coming. It wasn’t just that one meeting. It was the slow, steady realization that staying where I was felt scarier than leaping into the unknown.
My dream — the one I’d kept tucked away for so long — was no longer something I could ignore.
It had been waiting for me to acknowledge it. To give it life. The job I had, the one that promised stability, was no longer enough. It wasn’t what I needed anymore.
Leaving my 9-to-5 wasn’t just about a career decision — it was a reckoning. It was sitting with all the doubts I’d buried for so long and saying, “I’m doing it anyway.”
I was finally acknowledging all the voices that whispered, “What if you fail?” And answering: “But what if I fly?” The first few days of that leap were terrifying. There was no safety net. No paycheck to rely on. No clear map to follow.
But there was something unexpected: Freedom.
For the first time in years, my days weren’t dictated by someone else’s goals or timelines.
They were mine. To create. To fill with work that lit my soul on fire.
It wasn’t easy.
There were moments of doubt.
Panic.
A thousand little failures.
But each time, I reminded myself of the reason I took the leap in the first place.
To build a life that felt aligned, purposeful, and true.
To prove to myself that the dream I’d been carrying for so long wasn’t impossible — it was inevitable.
I spent a month after resigning traveling, grounding myself, and reflecting. I wandered the streets of Paris, marveling at the history in Rome, and let the sun-soaked cliffs of Positano hold space for my thoughts. It wasn’t just a vacation. It was an unintentional pilgrimage to find clarity. Each city seemed to whisper something I already knew but hadn’t fully embraced:
This is what you’re meant to do. Full time. All in.
By the time I returned home, I didn’t just feel grounded.
I felt unstoppable.
Ready to take the leap — not because I had everything figured out, but because I finally trusted that I didn’t need to.
And now?
Every blog post, every video, every collaboration feels like a piece of that dream coming to life.
I’m still learning.
Still growing.
Still figuring it out, one step at a time.
But the leap? It was worth it.
Because here’s what I’ve realized:
The scariest thing isn’t leaving your comfort zone. It’s staying there and wondering what could have been. This leap wasn’t just about turning passion into purpose. It was about turning fear into fuel.
It was about choosing myself.
Betting on my vision.
Trusting that the journey, no matter how messy, would be worth it.
And it is. Every single day, it is.
the Values
embracing the messy, imperfect, beautifully human moments that make life real.
Breathing life into ideas, crafting stories and spaces where imagination and purpose intertwine.
Creating spaces where kindred spirits connect, inspire each other, and grow together — one chapter at a time.
Championing your journey — offering tools, stories, and encouragement to help you design a life that feels fully your own.
Kymmiee Lately is more than just a brand — it’s a space built on the belief that growth, creativity, and authentic living are within everyone’s reach.
It’s where the everyday meets the extraordinary, and where meaningful connections transform aspirations into actionable steps.
My mission is simple:
To inspire bold action, to empower you to take full control of your narrative, and to build a life that feels both intentional and fulfilling.
Kymmiee Lately is a place where you can bridge the gap between where you are now and where you want to be, offering you strategies, tools, and inspiration to help make real, meaningful change feel not only possible, but attainable.
At Kymmiee Lately, the mission is clear:
To capture and elevate the everyday — turning even the simplest moments into stories of beauty, chaos, and growth, seen through a romantic, cinematic lens. Purpose: Celebrate the magic found in the ordinary, turning each moment into an opportunity to live fully and intentionally, and to tell a story of beauty and authenticity.
To embrace the ever-changing nature of life, celebrating growth, transformation, and self-discovery through every stage. Purpose: To honor the beauty and complexity of personal evolution, recognizing that each season — from struggle to triumph — shapes who we are becoming.
To empower individuals to share their unique stories with authenticity, using personal expression as a tool for connection and self-discovery. Purpose: To create a space where self-expression is celebrated, and where authentic storytelling takes center stage in both creative content and personal style.
Kymmiee Lately isn’t just about personal growth — it’s about creating a ripple effect that spreads far beyond just me.
This space is where authentic storytelling, self-expression, and personal evolution come together. It’s where dreams meet action, where passion intertwines with purpose, and where each step you take creates a lasting impact.
Here, it’s not just about individual growth — it’s about building a community, a collective journey where everyone can find inspiration, take bold steps, and evolve. It’s a space that encourages collaboration, connection, and the courage to embrace imperfection.
At Kymmiee Lately, I’m not here to offer quick fixes or promises of perfection. I’m here to provide value-driven solutions that help you find clarity, live with confidence, and face each day with resilience.
Because growth doesn’t happen in the perfect moments — it happens in the messy ones.
It happens when you show up, not perfectly, but authentically.
Here we are — a girl from Tanzania, once hesitant at every decision, questioning if her voice even mattered, now standing in her truth with a vision that feels both terrifying and exhilarating.
What started as quiet curiosity has now blossomed into something far beyond my wildest dreams: a life of creating, connecting, and finding beauty in the messiness of growth.
Kymmiee, Lately isn’t just a brand. It’s a story — a reflection of every victory that made me proud, every failure that taught me resilience, and every moment of self-discovery that stitched it all together.
It’s proof that the most profound transformations don’t happen in grand gestures, but in the unassuming, overlooked “latelys” — those small moments in time where everything shifts, when you decide to show up, not perfectly, but authentically.
Growth isn’t neat. It’s awkward, sometimes painful, and often terrifying. It’s found in the sleepless nights, in the leaps of faith that make your heart race, and in the moments of doubt that demand courage. It’s in showing up — not in perfection, but in honesty — and trusting that every small step matters.
This is my story — imperfect, raw, and deeply human.
By sharing it, I hope you see yourself in it too. Because we’re all just figuring it out. Navigating the highs, the lows, and the “what comes next.”
Welcome to Kymmiee, Lately, where growth is celebrated, connection is cherished, and dreams are meant to be chased.
Let’s create, evolve, and make something extraordinary — together.
All my Love,
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