No Niche, Just Me | Hi, I’m Elly, Your Resident Hobbyist!

For the past six months, I’ve been pondering the question every recruiter asks: Where do you see yourself in five years? Every time I’m asked, my answer is a lie. I know I’m lying because I always give an answer, but in reality, I envision nothing. Not in a suicidal “I won’t be here” way, but in an “oh sh*t, I genuinely don’t know where I’ll be, who will be there, or what I’ll be doing” kind of way. Now, because I’m usually at the point in the interview where my heart is starting to feel tight and I’m thanking God that the Zoom camera blocks out my armpit sweat, I usually stutter and come up with something like, “oh I’d like to think that I’ll be working my way to the top of the corporate food chain.” Do I want to be doing that in five years? No. I do not. But if you asked me today, my answer would probably be the same because I am too terrified to say the words “I don’t know.” But the ugly truth is: I don’t know. 

I’ve struggled with pursuing a passion for years, not because I don’t have interests, but because nothing I do feels original. I want to do anything and everything, but my biggest fear is that the people who already do it are going to do it better. And that’s sickening to me. Little Elly also struggled with this. Oh, I can’t shoot a deer, because my family has already deemed my sister “The Great White Huntress.” Oh, I can’t run for fifth-grade treasurer; someone is already going out for it. But it’s not only the fear of unoriginality that gets me, it’s also the fear of missing out on whatever I’m not doing. I want to travel the world, but oh, wait, I’ll be missing out on monetary security. I want to pursue creative work full-time, but oh wait, will I miss the structured salary and insurance benefits? I want to be a college professor, but crap, I can’t because that requires a lot of time and commitment, and I want time for my side hobbies too. So today I woke up, after trying to rebrand Elly’s Ink for three months now, and thought to myself: why do I just have to choose one niche? Why do I only have the option to do one thing? 

The answer is, I don’t! The only one who was putting all those pressures on me to be someone totally original and new was me. I can truly do whatever the heck I want, as long as it glorifies God. So that’s what I’m going to do. This website is going to be a creative space for thoughtful design and beautiful ideas, shaped by passion, home, and the quiet rhythm of everyday life. Maybe I’ll get around to selling products, maybe I’ll post some interior design inspiration, and maybe I’ll write a blog or two, even though I’ve never thought of myself as a writer. Maybe I’ll paint needlepoint canvases like I’ve been thinking about, or get into the freelance event coordination scene, or shoot, maybe I’ll get tired of all of this tomorrow and decide I just want to work in corporate America for the rest of my life. But regardless, here I am, putting myself out there, taking back the decision-making power I’ve been scared to wield for 21 (almost 22) years.

Today is January 21, 2026, and I’ve decided I don’t need to know it all right now. I can try things fully, without committing to them forever. Maybe one day I’ll choose one path. Maybe I’ll figure out how to weave them all together.

Either way, this is me choosing to start. Join me as I figure it out.