Conversations with the Inspiring Ariel Hunter

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ariel Hunter.

Ariel, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I moved from Huntington Beach to Oceanside when I was about 8 years old. Growing up in such a close-knit city, I felt like I knew almost everyone my age in my community. However, teenage years were hard and at many times, I was lonely and missing real support. I realized after meeting my husband – Trevor Dyno Hunter, the importance of having genuine relationships in your life. To realize when you have toxic people around you and to put forth change to surround yourself with really supportive, honest and non-judgmental people. My life changed after that, feeling more in control of my thoughts, feelings, and desires than ever before. After having our first daughter, Stella and dealing with a whole year of postpartum depression, I had those same feelings of loneliness creep back from years ago and I didn’t know how I had managed to get myself back into such a funk. Later on, I realized that I had become so distracted and focused on my pregnancy and my daughter that I stopped paying attention to the things around me that I wanted to change. Trevor and I worked together to do what we could to give our family a great foundation and achieved getting where we are today by working together as an equal team, with the help of truly supportive friends and family. I started Happily Ever Hunters shortly after to create a place where I can share my experiences, expose my truths and hopefully inspire others to live their best lives all while making it a safe place for others to share their voices as well.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Nothing about my journey has been easy. Life’s obstacles make us face harsh realities, but I believe it is what you do with those times of despair that make going through the hard road worth the journey. When I started writing blog posts before I launched HEH, I had decided that I wanted to dig deep and go somewhere most people wouldn’t ever dare to start a conversation. I sat down and started writing a blog post called “My Motherhood Story: Part 1: The Miscarriage” – as the first set of three posts describing my experiences in becoming a mother. In writing this piece, I removed myself emotionally, so that I could write what happened from beginning to end without removing anything I felt was too emotionally raw. I felt as though I should be real and honest with what happened for the other women who can say “me too” and the women who will say it later. In finishing my writing, I let it sit unpublished on my laptop for days debating whether or not I should unleash it to the internet, for the world to read and see.

Never in my wildest imagination would I have thought to get the reaction I did. My inbox started flooding with other women’s miscarriage experiences as near to me as my childhood friends to as far away as women from the UK. Their voices of support, enthusiasm and comradeship is what healed my heart from the loss of our first child, and allowed me to not let the moment go by without bringing knowledge and attention to a common issue that often gets no voice. Hearing what it meant to these women, and later, hearing how I helped others going through a loss made me feel like I had truly established a purpose for Happily Ever Hunters as an unruled notebook for everyone to use a diary. We share our sorrows, griefs and in exchange get support, self esteem and a sense of peace. My advice to younger women: everyone experiences life in their own way, some are better handling it than others, but what you decide to do when life is getting at you is what will write your story. Be a good friend to your fellow women and when you see her fall down – to pick her up instead of running right past her.

What should we know about Happily Ever Hunters? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
My work is promoting mental and emotional health and well-being of the young women/mothers who are figuring it out just as I am. I seek to inspire everyday happiness, a feeling of being a part of a community and to help you seek peace of your mind as well as your heart with your true self. I couldn’t be more proud of the relationships I have created with other women and moms, and how we can support and help each other through small things (like the best place for children clothing) to the big things (like delivering your babies) and everything in between. I truly feel like I have been given the coolest opportunity to be a part of such an important life changing time in so many women’s lives through this blog and it’s an absolute honor.

Looking back on your childhood, what experiences do you feel played an important role in shaping the person you grew up to be?
I had a rough few years when I hit 15 years old. I made some bad decisions, I was dealing with a lot of things I didn’t want to deal with, and I was already developing stress and anxiety at a rapid rate. The amount of pressure put on young girls in this society at this time is exhausting. I was in high school when Instagram debuted and it was never the same after that. Forget seeing models in magazines and having body issues about that. I was seeing everyday girls that I went to school with who were editing their images and portraying a certain luxurious or far more entertaining lifestyle than I, and most other girls our age could accomplish.

All of sudden, everyone was focusing on ‘likes’ and ‘followers’ so much that people lost their authenticity. It was a huge movement as a society for our generation. I think the turning point for myself that has helped me come so far on this platform, is figuring out how to keep that level of authenticity to my posts on the blog and on our Instagram platform. People can see my crazy mornings with Stella in my Instagram stories and the day to day chaos. I frequently talk about the things I’m dealing with in life (latest being my wisdom teeth removal!) and I keep it real. I’m not rich, I don’t drive a Mercedes, I’m currently a stay at home mom and I’m doing the best I can – people want to relate to somebody more than they want to see people trying to fake that they are actually happy.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.happilyeverhunters.com
• Phone: 760-208-3849
• Email: happilyeverhunters@gmail.com
• Instagram: @happilyeverhunters
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thehappilyeverhunters/

Image Credit:
Cassidy Rose Mulberg – CRM Photography

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