Journal entry #1 – Let’s start from the Beginning
Last updated on September 18th, 2023 at 10:08 pm
My love for fashion began at a very young age. As a 10 year old kid, I never felt confident in who I was, and always shied away from expressing myself in an authentic way.
At the young age of 10, I started paying more attention to what I wore. I would ask my mom what she thought about my outfit, specifically whether my top matched my bottoms or my shoes matched my entire outfit. Then she would reply and say, “Nancin, why do you care? You’re only a small girl” LOL.
Although I was beginning to get more sensitive about how I looked and what I wore at that young age, I never really understood why it meant so much to me.
The Back Story
I moved to America when I was 14 and for yearssss after moving here, I struggled to fit in, and dare I say I struggled with my identity. I remember apologizing to the girl in my 10th grade french class for my ‘thick African accent’ before I spoke. It was either I apologized for how I sounded or I didn’t speak at all. In fact, I could be in a class for a whole school year and I would never utter a word.
One day in college I decided I had enough. I was tired of living in fear and walking around like I didn’t belong in any room. I then made a promise to always push myself out of my comfort zone no matter how uncomfortable I felt.⠀I began volunteering to do things like teach elementary school kids, take public speaking class, etc. As I was doing these things, that initial curiosity I had as a little girl for how I looked and what I wore began to show itself more and more in my adult years.
I realized that what I wore helped the way I felt. When I would wear heels I noticed my confidence increase and I no longer felt small in the room that I was in.
People would often ask me, why do you like wearing heels everywhere, or why do you always like to do the “most” and while most times I want to reply with “umm because I can” lol my answer is really – because I feel good, and I feel my best when I look my best.
My love for fashion continues to evolve. Fashion to me has a deeper and more personal meaning than just being trendy, its about how what I wear makes me feel. Although I’ve come a long way in my journey, I’m still on the confidence train and learning along the ride.
Thanks for reading my story 🙂
