Life and Work with Karna Small

Today we’d like to introduce you to Karna Small.

Karna, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I wrote a blog post about the Texas State Fair as a class assignment during my freshman year at SMU. I had so much fun with it that I decided to make my own website and blog that would allow me to document college experiences and share advice with others through my writing. Flash forward to my sophomore year at SMU and I declared a major in Public Relations, which taught me about websites, blogging, social media, and creative writing. I then joined the executive board of Alpha Chi Omega at SMU as VP of Public Relations and Marketing, which helped broaden my creativity to clothing design and other marketing items for our chapter, along with overseeing the chapter’s social media accounts and website. Junior year, I got thrown for a loop and learned I have celiac disease, which means I can’t eat gluten. I struggled to find places to eat and recipes to cook but used my struggle and knowledge to help others going through similar situations. Now, as a senior at SMU, I am blogging about fashion and gluten-free food on my own website, www.simplykarna.com. I also provide daily life-updates and advice to the digital community I have joined that encourages students and young adults to embrace their twenties and have fun while still living on a budget. It makes my day when I run into someone on the SMU boulevard who says they got their dress from my LiketoKnow.it post. Other people have sent me pictures of their groceries and recipes after they were inspired by my “Food Friday” Instagram stories. I love that we live in a digital era where collaboration allows me to share allergy-friendly products, affordable clothing, and real-life advice with other twenty-somethings.

Has it been a smooth road?
I think anyone who tells you their path was easy or straightforward is fibbing a bit. Of course, I have had struggles. I started my blog four years ago when I had no idea how to work a website. I spent hours on YouTube watching tutorials on website building. Looking back, I am so proud of what I have taught myself. I found a passion and I went with it. I had to make this passion fit into the busy schedule we call “life” but it is worth it.

The blogging world is changing at such a fast pace that even today, I am still learning something new pretty often. I have never felt like I have truly mastered the blogging world. But that is ok because it shows me that we never stop learning and there is always room to grow. In such a fast-changing world, it is easy to beat yourself up over the obstacles you have ahead of you. But it is important to take the time to look back and see how far you have come. Think about where you were one year ago, two years ago.

Life is going to throw you things you didn’t ask for, but use your experiences to grow your community and show someone else that they are not alone. Being diagnosed with celiac was not easy. I felt sick every time I tried to eat at restaurants and had a “life sucks” mentality. I started to share my experiences on my blog and people showed me that I was not alone. Now, I am able to have this niche within blogging that invites individuals like myself to find comfort in the experiences and advice I share.

What do you do, what do you specialize in, what are you known for, etc. What are you most proud of? What sets you apart from others?
I am a fashion and food blogger that invites other twenty-something women to follow my journey to find affordable fashion and allergy-friendly foods. I help women navigate their twenties by sharing apartment decorating tips, recipes and groceries that help people cooking for one, and I give women tips on how to dress on a budget.

As a blogger, I love the community of young women that I have helped create and collaborate with. Helping women find stylish options on a budget allows them to feel beautiful without the guilt of designer price tags. Girls who used to pass on a girls’ night out due to food allergies are now planning the events with the help of my restaurant suggestions.

I do my best to keep my blog about real-life. It doesn’t do anyone any good for me to make my life look perfect. That puts way too much pressure on me and it creates unrealistic expectations for other women. We are all on a road with ups and downs. The key is sharing the journey with one another and being there for each step of the way.

Do you think there are structural or other barriers impeding the emergence of more female leaders?
The hardest thing, in my opinion, is having the guts to put yourself out there. The worst thing that can happen is that you get told “no” and then you are in the same place as before you went for it.

We are all afraid of failure. That failure is even harder when everyone really only highlights their success. As a senior in college, it’s terrifying to search for jobs and think “I’m underqualified” or “What if I don’t get hired by anyone?” I see people on LinkedIn every day sharing their new job or their promotion. Life is moving so fast that we constantly get caught up in moving the standard of success. You got an internship, awesome! But now you need a job. You get a job and then you think, “if only I could get a raise.” I think we need to take a little time to slow down in this fast pace world and be proud of how far we have come.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.simplykarna.com
• Phone: 9495005959
• Email: karnasmall@me.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simply_karna/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SimplyKarna/
• Other: https://www.liketoknow.it/simply_karna

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