Meet Michelle Ly | Travel Blogger and Content Creator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Michelle Ly and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Michelle, why did you pursue a creative career?
I decided to pursue an artistic career to relieve stress and be able to find a way to express myself. For me, photography and creating short-form videos was my way of showcasing who I am to the world. I have always loved social media and I thought to myself, why not share what I love on the networks I love? Honestly, I am very appreciative that social media gives me an outlet to share what I create and possibly work with brands doing what I love.

In actuality, I didn’t always plan to be a digital creator. Photography started out as a quiet and “secret” hobby of mine. I have always used by my phone to take pictures and be creative, but I never thought about doing anything serious with that hobby. It was actually the COVID-19 pandemic that pushed me out of my safe and private “shell.” The pandemic made me realize that life is too short to not live to the fullest. I wanted to share what I love doing to the world and I wanted to be proud of what I did. So the year 2020 was the year I started to share my content. I even bought a camera and learned to edit professionally using different softwares to be able to fully commit to my passion. I felt that the COVID-19 pandemic created a lot of stress and chaos in the world and my way to alleviate some of that stress and chaos was to share my art to hopefully inspire and allow people to forget about some of the horrors that were happening all around us. Since the start of my journey, I have learned a lot about photography, creating short-form video content, and Instagram. I learned what works and what doesn’t and I have a lot more to learn in my career. I hope to continue doing this passion of mine and hopefully really turn it into a full-time career one day. I love the creative freedom that I have and I love that I have the ability to work with companies that share my vision of content. I am happy with my decision and will continue to do this for as long as possible.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am a content creator and travel blogger. I love to create images and videos to post on social media to inspire others to get out and explore the world. This can be exploring a city, a national park, or even just a museum. My goal is to inspire adventure, curious, and exploration type lifestyles. I think this type of lifestyle can really influence happiness and open-mindedness to someone’s surroundings and learn more about their area and the world around them. In addition to my content creation, I also give travel tips, photo tips, and recommend cool photo spots on my social media and on my blog.

I love what I do and I am so proud of my work. I love the creative freedom that I have and the ability to combine my work with my passion for traveling and adventure. To get to where I am today, I practiced consistency, hard work, and determination. In honesty, there were many times where I felt that I was pursuing something silly and the thought of failure constantly plagued my mind. For example, at one point in my career, I found that the work that I uploaded onto my blog and social media were just not reaching people. I had very low views, engagement, and I struggled with follower growth. In these times, I often thought to myself if I was even good at what I do. I wondered, how can this be a career if no one really likes what I do? I wanted to give up and I wanted to stop putting my work out there because I was really questioning my abilities. In truth, I almost did give up.

However, my amazing support system did not allow me to do that. They helped me find a way to keep pursuing my passion. They were encouraging, supportive, and even helped me brainstorm content ideas. With their guidance, I was able to keep creating content. I kept posting and posting until I was finally able to get a more consistent audience. It was tough and uninspiring, but I learned that you really have to have a strong mindset and keep doing what you love to get any success. If what you love is strong enough and you want your dream badly enough, then you have to keep working and working for it. That was the type of mindset that I developed. And I think that was the best lesson that I learned. It’s really important to have the drive and to able to keep seeing your dream even in the face of failure. Today, I hope that I can continue growing as a digital creator and hopefully work with more brands that align with my passion in the future.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
What is the best thing to do in LA/OC? It would be impossible to do it all in one week because there is just so much! However, if my friend only had a week to stay, I would definitely try to bring them to the highlights of the area! Here are my recommendations:

For Food (in no particular order):

1. Little Tokyo (for Ramen, Sushi, etc.)
2. KBBQ (any)
3. BCD Tofu House
4. Howling Rays
5. Din Tai Fung
6. In N Out
7. Boba Places (Orobae, Sharetea, Cha for Tea, etc.)

Attractions:

1. Disneyland/ Disney CA Adventure
2. Universal Studios
3. The Broad
4. LA Zoo
5. Parasailing (Marina del Rey)
6. Griffith Observatory
7. Walk of Fame
8. Corona Del Mar
9. Newport Beach

Photo Spots (in no particular order):

1. Chinatown
2. Hollywood Sign
3. LACMA
4. Downtown LA
5. Santa Monica Pier
6. Beaches (in LA and OC)

For shopping:

1. Rodeo Drive
2. 2nd Street
3. South Coast Plaza
4. Fashion Island

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I am so blessed by the support of my family and my partner. I would like to thank my mom and dad, my brother, Josh, my sister, Emily, and Jadon for constantly supporting me throughout my journey. It would not be possible without their support. They have always inspired me to pursue my dreams and to never give up.

Website: missmichellely.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/missmichellely/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/misstravelers

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChHEG6F3lSJeN-ujCwOwepA

Other: TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZTdpXRdJL/

Image Credits
Photographers: Jadon Blandino