Hello my beautiful friends,
Welcome to my blog! My name is Mariya, and I was born in Karachi, Pakistan, raised in Chicago, Illinois, and now living in London, England. I am so excited to get to know you all as I embark on this new journey as a blogger and share tidbits of my life with you! So here’s a little bit about me for those of you who are wondering. As a little girl, I loved telling stories and sharing life’s precious moments with those around me. My Mom would jokingly say in Urdu “Iski toh khahania khatham nahi hongi (Her Stories will never end).” After living in Karachi for two short years my mom and I were finally able to to join my Dad in Chicago in 1996. I spent most of my childhood years (and a bit of my adult years) in Chicago–The Windy City.
I completed my undergraduate education at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) and graduated with a degree in Marketing in May 2016. While I was at UIC, my passion for creativity and content marketing began. I used to blog for the business college at UIC and then worked in a Marketing Research company down in the loop for some time after graduation. My blogging journey at UIC was really cool because that is when I realised how much I loved writing, sharing, and creating content that people would enjoy. Fast forward 7 months later, my childhood best friend, Abdul Latif, and I had big plans for a wedding, so I decided to change my life around by joining him in London right in the beginning of January 2017 (what a great way to start the new year right)?!
Moving from one vibrant city to another was a HUGE change, and with changes in life come new beginnings, so one day I decided to start something I have always wanted to do. My husband, Abdul Latif, told me that while I wait for my working visa in the UK, why not start a creative outlet for myself? I thought it was a great idea, I mean I have always admired beauty bloggers, style bloggers, food bloggers ever since I learned about the world of the internet and social media. It would make me so happy to read about the things people were truly passionate about. So that, my friends, is when I decided to take the plunge into the world of blogging so that maybe (just maybe) I could make someone’s day brighter by sharing things that I am passionate about –and voilà— Chicago Girl in London was born.
So friends, please come along and join me on this ride as I try to find my place in this new city as well as in the blogging world. I hope that my blog will be of fit to you and that you can find some inspiration within my daily life. This blog is aimed to fuel my creativity and share moments in life that cultivate happiness while creating an exciting space that welcomes all personal style as well as promoting self love, confidence, and happiness.
Thank you for reading!