What is this, 2010?

Hi, my name is Sara Bellum. Welcome to the Create Cohort Blog!

With TikTok, Instagram, (insert your favorite social media platform here), why attempt to bring back a complete relic of digital word vomit? I am gonna blame nostalgia. I am a geriatric Millennial, after all. 

Although I do have accounts across many social media platforms that I utilize for sharing many of the things that I used to write about on my previous blog, Cat Ears and Coffee, I tend to “show” rather than “tell”. It took me a long time to get on the Reels bandwagon, but now not only do I enjoy creating them, I treat them as a vessel for showing the viewer the experience. For example: If I am going to create a Reel on an event such as Eastern Market After Dark (surprise, I did), I try my best to emulate what the environment is via a mix of detailed shots, visuals of the size of the event, a bit of candid footage, as well as capturing fun moments of smiles, waves, and general nonsense. I also include a bit of blurb of what the event is, and try my best to choose a song that fits the experience. I lean away from voiceovers for that reason, even my Day In The Life Reels. Why you ask? Because although I do enjoy other creators voice over videos, they just don’t fit me. 

Blogging just hits different.  

Cat Ears & Coffee; my OG blog was a lifestyle blog focusing on personal style, daily life, adventures, recipes, and bit of DIY. Why didn’t I just continue posting on that blog? Cat Ears & Coffee can’t come to the phone right now, why? Because she’s dead. Actually, she is not. I am in the works of painstakingly re-reading every post to check for any personal facts that I might not feel as open to having out there, checking to make sure links work/need to be updated/removed, etc. before re-publishing them. My want to use Blogger for that platform, however, has died. RIP.

Blogging was the gateway drug to all of my creative endeavors: I wrote stream of conscious posts, I played around with an old junky digital camera until I got my hands on a DSLR. I started getting creative with my living spaces: painting, organizing, decorating-documenting all of it. I wrote poems, I freelanced myself out to take high school Senior portraits. Over the past year I have taken workshops in Eastern Market, and was taught by local entrepreneurs how to create a brand by telling the story, how to accomplish food photography, and to utilize my content for more than one post. Now, after completing a very involved Digital Marketing Science program at Grand Valley State, I am pushing myself to keep on this path of learning how to create digital content that I am proud of, with a back-to-basics blog in tow.  

That being said, what will the Create Cohort Blog bring to the Ikea-hack table? Recaps of places and events, with a focus on things local to Detroit and its surrounding areas, some introspection on projects, and life updates, with the occasional throwback outfit pic included. I also have a few other ideas that I am noodling out, however, that is for a future post. 

As a self-proclaimed Digital Creator and Community Advocate, Create Cohort was forged from my love for romanticizing the mundane, uplifting communities, supporting local and small businesses, and living life in general in the hamlet that is Detroit.  And run-on sentences, apparently. Currently hailing from Dreamtroit, and spending ample amounts of  time in Eastern Market, Island View, Midtown, and Hamtramck, I aim to capture, document, and provide insight in my own authentic voice. Creating for both my cohorts, and myself. 

Welcome to my new little corner of the world. 

📍Eastern Market, Detroit

Sara Bellum

Create Cohort Blog