Who is Leah Jean?

So, you have found yourself on this website to discover “MyLifeAsLJ,” but you probably have no idea who I am or why you would want to know anything about "My Life" in the first place. WELL. That’s what I’m here to tell you! Let’s start at the beginning…

I was born in Pennsylvania to an extremely amazing & supportive family about 23 years ago by the name of Leah Jean. I grew up listening to all kinds of music 24/7 and playing with my neighborhood friends until the sun went down every single day. I was a little tomboy who loved getting my feet dirty after playing barefoot outside for hours, but I also loved all things Barbie and pink. Life hasn’t changed all that much since then! I graduated high school and moved on to get a degree in Business from Penn State (We Are!), which then led me to the land of my dreams...California. I’m not kidding; I had been dreaming of living in California since the day I first visited that golden state when I was 12. I made it my mission to get my Bachelor’s degree from the best school in the world (my humble opinion of PSU) and move to California as soon as I graduated… so, I did it! All on my own.

Okay, so I got a degree in Business from a top-tier school. Now what am I doing with it?

I’m glad you asked because I have been wondering the same thing! I started off with a great job in retail, then decided it wasn’t for me; it didn't fulfill my heart or soul. I moved to a mountain soon after and lived a very simple, minimalistic life for a few months to get back to my roots and figure out what I was supposed to do next. I started by asking myself this question: “What am I passionate about?” Easy! Music, health, fitness, traveling, helping people, and entertaining. Great! Okay... so how do you combine all of these passions? Well, I wasn't quite sure... until now.

I have a degree in entrepreneurship & innovation, a natural talent for singing & entertaining, and a passion for a whole long list of things. In order to live out these passions every single day and truly follow my dreams, I need to make my side hustle my main hustle. I have had a few different big-girl jobs now, and I hadn't fallen in love with any of them. In fact, I would spend all day thinking about all of the other ways I could be making a much greater difference in the world and in people's lives. I couldn't stop repeating this thought: I am an entertainer. I was born an entertainer, and as my father said, it would be a shame to waste the talent I was born with. So, here goes nothing. 

Last year, and many years before that, I focused on the music part of my life/passion journey. I posted song covers to YouTube every week and I live-streamed everyday, singing to the 54,000 people who followed me. I entered singing contests and earned many opportunities to perform in front of large crowds with grammy-winning artists, like Clean Bandit. I also performed at endless events on campus at Penn State with my rap group, during which I had the time of my life. After many years of this being my main hobby and side hustle, I decided to switch things up, and more recently, I began focusing on my other main passion: health and fitness.

I worked at a local gym for 6 months, I became an online fitness coach, and I decided to study to get certified as a personal trainer this October. With this fit community surrounding me everyday, I started to revolve my social media around helping people care for themselves in the most natural, fun, exciting, and positively life-changing way possible. I wanted to encourage all-around health and nutrition for the body, mind, and soul. I loved living a healthy lifestyle and inspiring others to do the same, but I often fell out of my fitness routine or ate food that wasn't so healthy. I didn't find it fair that I was promoting this healthy lifestyle when I wasn't following it myself at all times. Additionally, my passion for posting about health and fitness on my social media dwindled rather quickly, and it was beginning to seem like a chore instead of a hobby, which actually caused me to not want to workout as often because I would feel like I missed a content opportunity if I didn't show Instagram my workout. Plus, I was really beginning to miss my music hobby. I always thought I had to choose one topic to focus on, as to not make it confusing and hard-to-follow, but I realized that the whole point of social media is to be able to show the world all of your passions and connect with others who share the same ones.

Since then, I have done a lot of reflecting. I've gone through a few more big-girl career changes since then, and I realized something very important. Money, security, societal acceptance, hierarchy, and power means nothing if you cannot come home from your job at the end of the day, describe what you do for a living, and honestly be proud of it. If you do not love what you do, no matter how great it seems in someone else's eyes, you will never be satisfied. At this point in my life, I am becoming more and more frustrated each day that I am not spending my time on this earth doing what makes me happy. No matter which new career I ponder or participate in, I am always preoccupied with the life I could be living if I just went for it and followed my dreams.

So guess what? No matter how big the risk, no matter how burnt out I get, no matter how much time it takes... I am going to give it my all. I am going to pour everything I have into my own business. I am going to take the risk on me, on myself and on my business because when that light flashes on and I am doing what I love and helping people every single day, I will look back on these moments, thanking God that I took that risk.

This officially marks the first day of the rest of my life. From this moment on, I will be investing in myself, my time, and my business for the last time. It's now or never, and I prefer now, whether I succeed or fail because I know that I will never wonder "What if?" In fact, instead of thinking "What if?" my thoughts have been flooded with "What if I don't?" and that is much more powerful to me. If I don't at least try and give it my everything, I will always wonder what my life could have been and regret that I didn't follow my heart when I had the chance.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - 

My name is Leah Jean, and I want to welcome you to My Life As LJ! I am an entertainer, I am a singer, I am a doer, I am a helper, I am a teacher, I am a friend, and I am a confidently lost gal in her twenties who is trying to find her way to her best life and inspire others to do the same. You can join me on my adventures a few different ways:
1) www.youtube.com/LeahJean -  This is my music channel. I post covers of me singing my favorite songs. Sometimes, if I'm feeling brave, I'll also post original songs I've been working on. 
2) www.youtube.com/MyLifeAsLJ1 - This is my fun channel. Anything I want to create and everything you want me to produce will be here. Vlogs, lifestyle videos, try-something-new videos, DIY videos, challenge videos, Q&A, beauty, health, fitness... you name it, it's here.
3) www.instagram.com/MyLifeAsLJ - My portfolio and my photo album. My most favorite moments in life can be found here.
4) www.facebook.com/MyLifeAsLJ - Here is the hub for all of my news and events from every social media platform. I always share everything on my facebook page.
5) @LeahJean on the StarMaker app - Singing videos and my biggest following of 200,000 people. This is where I've entered and won my singing contests. I still post covers here as often as I can.
6) @MyLifeAsLJ on the Live.Me app - It's all live. I interact with you guys directly, live, in the moment on here. I love being able to talk to you one-on-one.
7) www.mylifeaslj.com - My virtual journal. Life updates, thoughts, informative blog posts, inspiration... you name it, I'll write it. Leave comments so we can keep the conversation going.


Thank you for giving me this opportunity and helping me make my dreams come true. I love you.

Love yourself. Take care of yourself. Find happiness and light in every situation. DO WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY <3

XO,
LJ