Disclaimer: In case it isn't abundantly clear, I am most definitely not a social media figure... yet.

Lately, I've been really into YouTubers and lifestyle vloggers. Aside from watching their content and following them, I've also been busy convincing myself that I could do what they do. How hard could it be to make a name for yourself and brand yourself on social media?

Apparently, very hard.

Last week, my friend and I took a short trip to Long Island for the purposes of a) getting tan b) getting out of town and c) getting Insta-worthy pictures. In the three short days, we were there, I spent scary amounts of my time, energy, and money on creating looks and experiences that would take my social media pages to the next level. This wasn't a vacation. This was a business trip.

What I learned from my three-days of DIY photo shoots, lots of driving, and outfit change upon outfit change is that having a strong social media presence is a full-time job. And then some.

Our first full day there we left the house early to go shopping. Although we had packed more than enough clothing for our mini-getaway, we were somehow missing outfit essentials. After about 3 hours of searching for good deals in the outlets, we were on our way back home with too many bags of shoes, glasses, and clothes, and significantly lighter wallets.

After a quick stop to drop off our bags, we set out in search of our first good location to shoot. This is where the hard work really began. One thing about the area we were in is that there are TONS of really nice locations that would be ideal spots to take pictures. However, the majority of these places are privately owned, inaccessible, or require some type of payment/pass to get to.

We stopped at maybe five different locations to check them out, and Googled at least ten more, before coming across our winner. We pulled into the parking lot of a small farm stand next to a giant field of sunflowers, which are very in right now.

The final productInstagram: sambasil1

Behind the scenesVSCO: sbasilone

Keep in mind that we had been up and at 'em, driving around, since 9 AM. By this point, it was around 4 PM and we hadn't even taken a single picture yet. After clearing up a misunderstanding about picking sunflowers, the incredibly nice owner told us we were welcome to take all the pictures we wanted on the field and we got down to work.

After 40 minutes of picture taking and a break to buy some peaches, we were back on the road home for an outfit change. The next stop was 30 minutes away from the house and we wanted to get there before sunset. Back in the car. Again. (Who wants to guess how much we spent on gas??)

We were finally able to find a small (and photogenic!) restaurant to eat dinner at - after finding parking, walking around town, and stopping in a few different spots to take pictures. Of course, by this point, the sun was in the middle of setting and we were just sitting down. When we got our food, there was a solid ten minutes of silence as we enjoyed our first meal since we stopped for coffee at the mall.

By 10 PM we were back in the car and editing and posting pictures, on our way to the house. We picked outfits for the next day, planned a schedule, and set our alarms, then passed out in bed.

Repeat that day with different locations, outfits, a trip hauling chairs and bags to the beach, and add a few more problems to run into, and you have days 2 and 3 of the trip. Starting out, we figured the hardest part about taking good pictures was having a good camera and photographer. Little did we know, you also need a good location, at exactly the right time for ideal light, different outfits so your images don't get repetitive, ample time to travel and get ready, ten backup plans, and patience.

Even with all this effort, we still didn't get everything we planned to. Two nights in a row we set alarms to get up at 4 AM to drive to the beach for sunrise pictures. Two mornings in a row we ignored those alarms and went back to sleep. Listen, if you want to get those dawn golden hour pictures, you need to have the dedication. And probably a lot more coffee and sleep than we gave ourselves.

Moral of the story: those lifestyle accounts on Instagram or YouTube work a million times harder than you might think. Because behind a single picture or vlog comes hours and maybe days of planning, editing, and working.

Was it worth it? Yes, because my Instagram account is about to be a whole lot better than it's ever been before. Is it a lifestyle for everyone? Only the most dedicated and committed social media users would go to these lengths for a picture or video. Do I have what it takes to become a public figure? Well, I missed the sunrise twice in a row, so you tell me.