What advice could you give to someone who wants to express themselves more through their fashion?
Baby step it. I thought I could ‘never’ dress the way I do and be taken seriously or be accepted or _______. But my counselor (yes, it took counseling) challenged me to just experiment: wear just one accessory that reflected my style, or wear an outfit for a day but just around my home, or wear an outfit out on an errand, etc…I was so scared to be myself after all those years of hiding that I would never have gotten around to the ‘someday’ if I hadn’t baby stepped it.
What’s amazing was that after the first baby step, I was so affected by how I felt that I was addicted. I literally never went another day after that without SOMETHING on my person that reflected me. And when I followed my own pacing of baby steps I didn’t realize how quickly I was progressing! Within just a couple of months, I was doing whole outfits every day because that’s what felt right. It wasn’t until I started coming out of hiding that I realized how much I had been hiding and how much I hated it. To me, it felt like a lot of courage and energy to begin expressing myself in this way, but I didn’t realize how it was going to empower me or just how much energy was being drained by hiding.
It’s the total opposite to me now: it takes way more effort to consider going back into hiding than to figure out how I’m going to express myself today. I imagine I’m not alone in this…the pressure is immense to blend in. But if you WANT to start feeling more like yourself, then give yourself permission to find one thing every day that lets you do it. Heck, start with your secret underwear! You deserve it! If you won’t be you, who else will show us the awesomeness that is uniquely you?!? To that end then: WE deserve you. So if you want to, baby step it! Whatever it is that you are, geek out on it and own it…one accessory at a time.
View Comments
Angela you are amazing! No you don’t fit into any of the boxes and it’s a lot more fun when you don’t. You will learn so much more about life when you don’t. Keep it up girl you are a wonderful example to young and old (me) women everywhere.