Meet Trailblazer April Deguzman

Today we’d like to introduce you to April Deguzman.

Thanks for sharing your story with us April. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Around six years ago, I decided to switch to a completely plant-based diet for the betterment of my health. I wouldn’t say it was necessarily difficult, but a lot of the foods I wanted to eat weren’t always readily accessible. I decided to teach myself how to make the foods I wanted to eat. As my journey progressed, I really started perfecting my craft, especially when it came to baking. I even made an Instagram page to share the foods that I was cooking at home and got a lot of people asking for the recipes. I started exploring ways where I could share them and decided a blog would be the best way to go about it.

Although food is a huge passion for me, I’ve also had just as much of an interest in photography and fashion as well. A lifestyle blog was going to be the ideal creative environment to encompass all my interests, so as a result, HappilyEverAJ.com was made.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
There were a few minor hiccups along the way. Not everyone was supportive of my eating choices and thought that starting my blog would be a waste of time. It’s also been a long process teaching myself everything I know now about cooking and running a blog. With that being said, I loved every part of it and I’m always eager to learn more and further improve my skills.

The best advice I can offer for anyone wanting to pursue the same things is to just dive in and start now. There will always be hurdles you’ll face and people who will criticize you, but if this is your passion, you can’t give anyone the power to deter you from achieving your goals.

Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I’m the lifestyle blogger behind HappilyEverAJ.com. I share the delicious vegan recipes my fiancé and I make at home, my personal taste in fashion and how I style my outfits, as well as our traveling tips and tricks.

I think when it comes to food and the recipes I post, that is the most critical area for me. There is a stigma when it comes to vegan food that when you try to recreate a dish, the taste will be heavily altered. I take lots of pride in my food because when I make something, I don’t serve it unless it looks and tastes the way it’s supposed to. My favorite moments are when those trying my food have to question whether or not what they ate was actually vegan-friendly.

I don’t think this aspect makes my blog different from every other blog, but I would say one quality that I think is very important is how transparent I am with what I post. I don’t want my readers to feel like when I recommend something, there’s a hidden agenda behind it. I feel like with social media, almost everything feels like an ad and it’s difficult sometimes to see where the authenticity lies. I am very upfront with what is going on and why I have the opinions I do and make the choices I make.

What’s the most important piece of advice you could give to a young woman just starting her career?
My best advice is to always keep in mind where you want to be, not just stagnant with your current position. Progression is something you want to be working towards and there’s always room to grow and become something better.

Contact Info:

• Website: Happilyeveraj.com
• Email: happilyeveraj@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/happilyeveraj/

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