dreams,

When you think of dreams, what do you think of? For some, the first thing that comes to mind might be the movie that plays in your head while you sleep. You know, the one that doesn't make complete sense and may or may not follow a storyline. Others may think of aspirations, which by definition is a hope or ambition to achieve something. Today, we’ll be talking about what it means to follow your dreams and aspirations(see what I did there). As someone who dreams, I cannot write this and say that it’s easy to chase your dreams. We live in a time where everyone is trying to force their own ideologies on others and I really sit here and wonder why? It’s not everyone’s dream to be their own boss. There is nothing wrong with getting a steady paycheck and some benefits on the side. In that same breathe, there is also nothing wrong with being an entrepreneur and starting your own business. Everyone is different and should do what will make them happy in the end. Now that we’ve discussed chasing a dream, let’s add fashion to it. There are many people out there whose dream it is to start a clothing line or maybe a fashion boutique, and today I want to highlight a brand called Ash Apparel(@ashapparel.co on IG). Ash Apparel is a black owned women’s fashion business based in the Toronto, CA area and is owned by Asha J. (@ladyash___ on IG). When Ash Apparel dropped I remember seeing one of their knit sweaters that I thought was so dope and reached out to Asha to purchase. I didn’t realize it was a women’s brand but also didn’t care and still purchased said sweater. After sometime, I had the opportunity to get to know the person behind the brand and what better way to start off our month than with a spotlight for a black owned business. So, who is Asha? She is an outgoing and fun loving person who loves the expression of fashion. Asha has had this dream for a while and actually tried to start two previous businesses before this one stuck. First, she tried an online vintage store, and the second one was an Etsy shop selling vintage clothing for men and women. Unfortunately, it wasn't the right time yet and things did not go as planned, but as they say:“The third time’s the charm”. Asha decided to test launch on Etsy again selling women’s sweaters and would expand overtime. This seemed to be the best idea yet. Not only was she now fulfilling her dream but it also happened to revolve around her first love. When finally launching and running the women’s sweater line she attained a certain level of peace that came with it. As she describes it, “I found a sense of happiness”. Asha’s business background started when she was about 5 or 6, yrs old. She’d take things around her house and set up shop in her basement. At first, no one in her family would come and buy, but she quickly realized that she needed to sell things people needed and truly wanted. With that realization she went around again, and this time took the necessities of her family and went back down to the basement to set up shop. The “customers” came in one after the other, and in order to get their things back, they had to pay shop price. To me, this screams a natural born hustler. Asha has now been able to translate her natural business instinct and her business education into an official small business that brings her true happiness. When you do something you love, there is a different kind of happiness that comes with it. We’ve all been at that point where we hate waking up to go to a job we dislike, so why not chase our dreams? Asha isn’t only a small business owner but she is also a grad student at the University of Albany studying Librarian Information Science. Aside from all her great accomplishments, she enjoys the little things in life. Things like taking spontaneous trips to places like the Niagara Falls in the winter and spending time with her family, but she also loves information gathering and philosophy, hence why her studies suit her. As complex as a Asha is, her overall goal is to make sure that women feel great and confident in what they wear. There is no greater feeling than getting ready, putting on a great outfit, and adding that smell good to tie everything together. That alone will have you feeling like a brand new you and that’s exactly what Asha wants to invoke in the lives of those she touches; confidence and happiness in self. Now that you know the brand and the person behind the brand, it only makes sense why this is entitled “dreams,”. For anyone out there who has a passion for anything, whether its fashion or becoming an engineer, (the two aren’t mutually exclusive), chase that dream and achieve the happiness that you deserve. Will it be easy? No. Will you fail? Yes. But you get back up and strive for success because it’s what you love and is who you are. Don’t be discouraged in your short comings, but continue to get back up and live the life you desire. With love from your favorite neighborhood blogger, peace.

2020 Too: A Year for You!

Greetings friend-o’s and friendlies! Happy New Year!!! It is finally 2022 and the start of a new chapter for many of us. Since this is a new beginning I’ll keep this blog brief. While I truly don’t believe in new year resolutions, I believe in seasons. This is the start of a new season regardless if we are now three years into this simulation. I speak for myself and hopefully for you all when I say it’s time to really focus in on us. Trust me, 2022 has already been trying me and we are only a few days in so when I say that 2022 won’t take away this new energy… I mean it! I was speaking to a friend the other day and they were explaining to me how they wanted to leave a couple things in 2021. While they were speaking I was thinking the same exact thing. We all have baggage. We all have our own things going on that affect us differently but I think what gets us through it all, is our mindset. No matter what, we CANNOT let these things take our good and positive energy. Quick vulnerable moment!!! While reflecting, I found myself doing a lot for other people, whether they knew it or not. I never even realized it until it was too late. I was trying to keep certain standards from college, from high school, from really anywhere and because of it, I was becoming this person that I didn’t really enjoy as much as I let on. If I’m being real that is no one else’s fault but mine. I was so deep into it that I didn’t even realize that I was doing it half of the time. It’s funny because I am almost 100% sure that my roommate realized it before I did, but this all comes with growth. I would be remiss if I continued to keep living my life that way. This is why I say that I am focusing on me this year. I am not saying you need a new year to do so but I only realized it after reflecting on this past year. You can start this journey at any point in time and if you have already been on your “you grind”, shout out to you! Everyone else’s you grind will look different because we are all different people but the overall goal is the same. That means mind ya business, drink Yor Water (sponsor me), and live your life. Take those trips(solo or group), start that business, dress the way you want, make that music, change that career, etc! The list is endless and all you need is God in front of you and no one else can stop you. I know my blogs always end up having some type of positive ending and that is because I always end up realizing that no matter how hard things may get, God always sees me through it. Certain things may not go how you plan it but trust me its always for the better. It’s hard to see when you’re down in the valley but when you come out you’ll understand. To anyone reading this, take this season as a YOU season and don’t let anyone deter you from it. I am speaking to myself just as much as I am speaking to you all reading. 2022 is not 2020 Too, but it’s our do over year from 2020. I love you all and I mean it when I say I am glad you’re here, alive and breathing. Enjoy this year and I look forward to chatting with you all in the next blog. Oh, and don’t forget to call someone and tell them you love them! C’mon pull out that phone or switch over to the phone app. Go on! Get out of here and call!

Seasons Greetings

Last week was a hard week so I apologize to anyone who was awaiting a blog post. It’s not that I didn't have anything to write about because I did, but I didn't want to post anything I didn't truly believe in at the time. I’m learning that this is all apart of my journey especially with bettering my mental health. I am going to have some pretty great weeks but I will also have some pretty bad ones. Last week just happened to be a bad one. I was speaking with a friend and they told me that when they aren't feeling their greatest they choose to stay away from talking and texting people because they wont get the best version of them. I took a step back after hearing that and realized that I’ve never done this. Normally, no matter how I’m feeling I’m always talking to or hanging out with people because I’ve always felt like people make me feel better. I’ve always felt that when I’m with them I want to be my best self. I am now realizing that it all was just a distraction from dealing with myself. I would want to be my best self but I would never actually be. I am not saying that you shouldn’t be with others when you’re feeling down, in fact I myself encourage that if you have someone you can be with, you should. It’s hard to deal with issues alone, but they’re your issues and unfortunately only you can deal with them. I wouldn’t deal with my issues at all but I’d try to cover them up with time with others. What I didn’t realize is that when it’s all said and done or the move/event is over, I have to go home and deal with my problems. The best thing for me to do is to deal with them when they come about. Having that “head start” on dealing with my issues makes it easier to get over and find a solution instead of allowing them to linger on in my mind. No matter how deep you try push down your problems they always come back, so take them head on. I promise you are stronger than you give yourself credit for. But enough of the sadness because this week is much better, and at the end of the day we get to choose whether or not we are happy. I choose happiness, or rather I choose to be content in my life. So lets talk about something that brings me happiness and hopefully you all too!

November and December have to be the second and third best months after the best month, September. Now, if you’re born in Nov and Dec please sit down, it’s NOT about you. Those two months are the next best months, in my opinion, because they are the most family oriented months. November 1st comes and it’s now Christmas time. Everyone puts up all their decorations and begins listening to Christmas music as if Thanksgiving doesn’t come first. Those who love Christmas go hard, and when Thanksgiving comes they take a day break only to resume again on Black Friday because that is prime time Christmas shopping. Although I come from a family who doesn’t celebrate Christmas, I myself love Christmas. To me, Christmas spirit just means happiness. Now I might have romanticized Christmas time a little but how could I not? My Christmas tradition was to wake up early morning and make myself hot chocolate. Yes, I was in Miami but it’d be a little chilly that morning so please just continue reading. After my microwaved hot chocolate, I’d sit on the couch and just watch Christmas movies all day, fantasizing my life as if I was apart of those families. I know this may sound sad but don’t get it twisted, I loved it! As a kid I lived in my head for the most part so I was just fine doing this tradition. My parents worked on Christmas so at night when my mom came home she’d bring whatever her job made that year, and my dad would bring home the best eggnog ever. That to me was a Christmas well spent. I then got introduced to an actual Christmas by my Aunt and cousins. I slept over one year and they taught me their rule of getting to open one present on Christmas Eve and enjoying a Christmas breakfast in the morning after you’ve ran downstairs to open the rest of your presents. It was then that I knew that I’d want to have a mix of this with my own family one day. As I’ve grown older I’ve had many different variations of Christmas Day. I’ve even spent Christmas at the beach partying and playing football with friends. For me as long as I am surrounded by people I love and enjoy, it’s a Christmas well spent.

This year’s Christmas is going to be a little different. It isn’t at all where I’d picture myself if you would have asked me last year, but I'm learning to be thankful no matter what, a realization that came from Thanksgiving. I feel like this year was the first year that I understood to be thankful. I haven’t been home for Thanksgiving since my sophomore year of college but every year, I was still able to find not one but a couple of houses to stop by. This year that wasn’t the case. I got invited to a Friendsgiving the night before Thanksgiving and I was genuinely excited to go. I get in my car after work and start driving only to catch a flat on my way. It’s freezing cold and I’m trying to change my tire but the lug nuts won’t budge and before you ask, I have changed a tire before. Maybe I was just cold and tired but it wasn’t working out. I was able to get it home and wait for shops to open in the morning. It is now Thanksgiving day and I planned to go to see my bro in Delaware which was only a two hour drive, but now that I’ve caught this flat it was looking slow. I was able to get a new tire put on but my car wasn’t ready till the afternoon so now Delaware just wasn’t an option. In a last minute decision I decide that I’m just going to cook and chill with Arlo (my dog). I get everything I need and get ready to cook and in walks my roommate. I was super happy, I thought he was going to be with his family but he chose to come back to the crib. Long story short, we end up cooking together and making a feast. I learned to be thankful with what you have cause it could always be worse. Like I could not have had the funds to even get my tire changed or buy the groceries needed to cook dinner. Maybe I could have went to Delaware or even the Friendsgiving the night prior but who knows, something drastic could have happened on the road. There are just so many unknown factors, and I was just happy that I was home safe with a great meal to eat. I’ve been riding that wave ever since because although this isn’t what I envisioned for this season, it’s still a great time. I am dead smiling writing this because it was so unexpected but when I think of the blessings I have and the possibilities of the future, I can’t help but smile. It may not be the season you intended to have but you’re alive and breathing. Rule #32 from the great movie Zombieland states to enjoy the little things. Even in a zombie apocalypse you can choose to enjoy the little things. As we go through this perpendicular with new variants like omarion, we can choose to be thankful for what we have, choose to love those around us, and choose to not just exist but to live our lives. As always, I love you and I am happy that you’re here, alive and well. Go out and live and enjoy this Christmas season with those whom you love. Merry Christmas or Happy Hanukkah! If you don’t celebrate either, have an AMAZING day!!!

Untitled prod. jd

“Live a full life and not just a productive one.” - Tabitha Brown, Season 4 of The Chi, Episode 9. If someone else said it, shout out to them too, but this has stuck with me ever since I heard it. In my last blog, I talked a lot about finding balance in our lives which is super important. It’s really easy for life to just become a checklist. This is the mentality that if I’ve done everything on my list, I must’ve had a good day. I too have been a victim of this, where my life becomes a checklist and then somewhere down the line I feel like I’ve been stuck going through the motions, watching everything pass me by. Productivity does not mean that you are living your life to its fullest potential. Now there is nothing wrong with being productive, but don’t let it become your identity. To be transparent, I’ve been trying to find happiness and I thought that if I did everything that I needed to do, it would follow. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. Now while I did feel accomplished, I didn’t feel whole. The truth is, I was not happy for a long time. Life let on a lot of baggage in the last few months, and it’s been hard. My version of happiness was to make sure I was still productive, but you don’t find happiness in your work. You don’t find happiness in anything or anyone. It’s up to you to choose happiness. I want to take a pause here and say that I know that it is easier said than done. I wish it was just a flip of a switch and all bad moments or dark moments just went away, but the whole point is to try. I’ve learned that we make the world we live in, and that perspective is everything. Your perspective gauges how you view life, from the value of money to what an art piece may mean to you. It’s why we all view fashion differently or interpret situations differently. We live life by our own perspective. When we are in the dumps or in our darker periods it’s really easy to go with the darkness. I can honestly say that there have been consecutive days and weeks where I let the darkness win. I allowed it to stop me from doing everything I loved and it had me holed up in my room. Of course that didn’t mean life stopped, so I went to work unhappy, saw friends and although it was nice to them, I was still unhappy. I would go to certain events and have to ask myself, am I enjoying this or am I just faking it? When I had to ask myself that question I knew that it was time to change my perspective. Going back to what I said earlier, we choose the life that we live in. What does that mean? It means that if we let the darkness win, our life will be dark, but if we choose to let the light in, our days will only get better with time. Another thing that helps is that we aren’t alone, as much as it may feel like it. We have someone in our corner, and if you feel like you don’t, hit me up and we can talk even if all you need me to do is listen. I can say that I’ve been blessed with people who help me out and they didn’t even realize they were helping. Those people in my life are greatly appreciated. I was talking to a good friend the other day and they let me know that I shouldn’t let my darkness (depression) overtake me. Making the conscious decision to be happy also meant that I would now be doing things I loved, and I started hanging out with myself more rather than just existing. I took the first step by going on a hike with Arlo. I fell in love with trails in Michigan and didn't realize that Jersey also had some pretty beautiful trails. I was able to conquer Mt. Tammany and with Arlo being such a great hiking partner, we honestly had fun. Of course I took my L’s before. For example, I didn’t realize I was looking at the wrong weather forecast when I thought it was going to be a sunny day. It most definitely poured rain but I wasn’t going to let that stop me. I met some great people on the hike and Arlo even helped this little boy who was afraid to go down the mountain. Had I left when I realized that it was going to rain, Arlo would’ve never been able to help that kid and I wouldn’t have had such insightful conversation with the father. It was my perspective that allowed me to stay and is why I enjoyed the hike even in the rain. Like I said, changing your perspective is not the overnight switch from sadness to happiness, but it’s a start. It doesn’t mean that there will be no more bad days. Because we're human, we can only do so much. In fact, although my weekend was great I still had a pretty bad Monday but a friend really lifted up my spirits when they said, “just because you had a low moment that doesn’t take away from the progress you were making.” I needed to hear that because there is no end all to sadness as long as we are on this Earth, but the real victory is when you’re pushed back down and you choose to get back up again. I don’t have all the right information, but I am just speaking to my life and hopefully my experiences help someone else. It isn’t the easiest thing but God got us. He really looks out even in times that it may seem like He isn’t there. Whether or not you believe in a higher power, you’re being looked out for and your steps are ordered. I guess I’m here to tell you today that the dark period you are in or going through is just that, a period of time and it isn’t forever. It will get easier with time and at the end of the day it is your choice whether you stay holed up in your room or you go out and live your life to the fullest. Remember, you ARE NOT alone. Hit me up,  hit up your closest friend or parent, and if you don’t feel comfortable with that see a therapist. They may not give you exact answers but they can help you understand why you feel this way. If all else doesn't work, write it down and discard it as a release. As always, I love you and appreciate you for reading this. Don’t forget to call your mom or dad or someone and tell them you love them! Now get up and go do something amazing lovelies!

Adulting: The good, The bad, and The Ugly

Friend-o’s and friendlies what is good! It blows my mind how much can happen in two weeks, it’s actually astonishing and I want to keep you all updated. Let’s kick this off by saying this whole adulting thing is a SCAM!!! I know we hear it all the time but let’s actually talk about why it is. Looking back to my childhood I was eager to be an adult, as if the world was better. SIKE! Why are we so quick to grow up? Yea, you get freedom but with that freedom comes responsibility, cliché but it’s true. Like…I have no choice but to get up and go to work because I won’t be able to pay bills if I don’t. Call in sick? Nah, I take extra shifts so I can have some type of cushion or I’ll do little things on the side that’ll give me some spending money. It isn’t always fun, so why didn’t I wait to grow up? I know that younger me never took the time to process that everything now falls on us. No one is telling you to do anything and although that sounds cool it can sometimes be a trap. If you feel like taking a trip, you can book it. If you don’t want to go to the gym, just order a pizza. If you don’t like your job, quit and go in a new direction. While most of these things sound amazing, everything has a consequence and it all falls on you. If you are reading this and you’re not paying your own bills yet, this is not meant to scare you but to give a little lesson on balance. So this is the part where you ask what does that balance looks like. “WhAt dOeS tHaT baLanCe LOok lIkE JD?” Well I’m glad you asked, let me paint a picture for you. You move out and now you’re trying to figure out how to continue making money, chase your dreams, and still enjoy your life in the process. Great! Even while we all are working on our dreams and all that good stuff, don’t burn yourself out. In your own way try and still have fun. If you like walks in the park, museums, or even if you like to take yourself out and splurge (check your bank account first) you should be able to. This does not mean you should do it everyday but have a BALANCE. I still fail at successfully having that balance because in all reality my mindset was wired to choose vibes every single time. I say WAS wired because I had to sit myself down and realize that if I spend more than I need to, rent won’t be covered and no one wants to be evicted. I live pretty close to New York and weekends in New York can get expensive really fast. You spend $2.75 on the train and you think to yourself “that’s calm”, but then you’re meeting up with friends and y’all get hungry then somehow end up thrifting then you’re out for the night. All of a sudden it’s 3am and you’re heading home in an Uber because trains run every hour and its 59 minutes till the next one comes……vibes got me here more than once. Did I mention there have also been days like this where I still had work the next day. Don’t make the same mistakes I’ve made. Like I said, I’m still not 100% successful at the whole balance thing but I am trying my best and I’m definitely not having nights like that anymore. Now my balance looks more like this:

During the week I fill my days up with tasks I’d like to get done. Some of these things can include writing a new blog, working out, working on a new sewing project, or doing a photoshoot/practicing poses. At the end of everyday I have about 1 -1 1/2 hrs to decompress and relax so I can mentally prepare for the nest day. I do this routine so that I’m still working on my goals during the week, and when the weekend comes I feel like I deserve to go do whatever might be happening. For example, this past week/weekend I went to Rolling Loud. If you don’t know what that is, it’s a three day music festival featuring various Hip-Hop/Rap artist. I got to see some people I really mess with and others that I’ve never even listened to. I genuinely love concerts because being in the crowd, moshing, and yelling the lyrics at the top of your lungs is truly an experience. Plus when you add all the props, lights and screens and just take a moment to actually see what is going on and be present it is super freaking cool. But before all of that happened, I made sure to get what I needed to get done and made sure I set aside money to spend for that week. Creating a plan or a system and having a budget will always help with the adulting process. Is adulting still ghetto? Hunnid percent, but it’s also fun and throughout this whole process I’m also figuring out who I am outside of school. Before it was always just I am a student and I have to pass classes to graduate. Now it is I am an adult and the world is my oyster. The world has so much to offer so even while I am doing what I need to do, I’m also venturing, seeing & trying new things, and just overall trying to be happy. If you’re a “new” adult and you are going through the same things… you’re not alone. If you’re going to be a “new” adult soon…remember to have that balance figured out because it’ll make everything easier. Lastly, after doing this whole routine for a while don’t be afraid to break routine and have a well deserved me day because it can get tiring. We don’t have to rush to our goals, it isn’t a race to see who is successful first. You’re never too early or too late, you’ll get there right on time because God gotchu as long as you align everything with Him. You will be just fine. As always, I love y’all and appreciate you specifically for reading this blog. Now go on about your day and do something with your life. Oh and call your mom, dad, sister, brother, cousin, or friend, they miss you and you probably need to hear a friendly familiar voice today.

Post-Grad

So…I graduated and it is now October. What have I been doing? Well here is a life update. You see, I’ve been meaning to write this blog or any blog for a long time now, but I kept putting it off. Why? Honestly, I couldn’t even tell you an actual reason that would suffice… but let’s start from graduation. The weekend of May 9th was supposed to be the weekend where all my depression went away because I was done. That weekend meant that I was finished with school and could now move on into this new chapter of my life. It’s safe to say, it wasn’t. Grad weekend was overall a great experience. I got to graduate and I was able to see some of my best friends graduate as well. My family was able to come and watch it from the parking lot and I was able to have a nice little Sabbath luncheon with loved ones. All these good things were happening around me so why didn’t I feel relief? Well here is something no one really discussed with me. We all know that just because you have an education does not mean you get a job. If you’re like me, you aren’t apart of that “we all know” statement. Let’s not get it twisted, my price definitely went up. A young black man with a degree. I was and will always be proud of myself for that but that still doesn’t equal a job. You see before graduation and even before senior year I was doing my best to make strides so that I could have a job after college but then covid happened and I did not know what to do. All the internships I applied for got cancelled so then I started applying for virtual internships and 2021 internships. I applied for all the internships I could find and got rejected or ghosted for pretty much all of them. It was either I received a rejection response or I would make it the 2nd or 3rd round of interviews and then get cut. After filling out so many applications and going through many different processes you kind of give up. I stopped applying for internships and decided to go the job route and started applying for jobs. I’d get some call backs but they would either insist that I start working immediately or I was told that I was not the right fit for the job. I even had some places telling me they could wait for me to graduate to start but then when I tried to continuously reach out to the hiring manger, they would have given up my spot after some time. Other places would call back and ask for experience, I would mention the experience I gained in classroom and personal projects but then they would ask about internship experience…..obviously the conversation would go dead from there. It seemed like they only jobs that would stay around were word of mouth marketing jobs. Those jobs where you stand in a grocery store and ask “Have you heard of our services?” only to get brushed off by hundreds of people simply trying to grocery shop. Not to knock anyone who does have that job, but I’ve done that before and it wasn’t the right fit for me. Taking all these loses led me nowhere and jobless. Only then did I realize that is why I felt no relief. We always think of how everything could go perfect but forget that a perfect world doesn’t exist. Everything in my life went left and now it was summer and I needed to figure out the next steps in my life. Luckily, I was able to get a transition job where I am on contract till the end of the year and during this time I have gone through more depression and added on anxiety, got a dog for emotional support, moved to the East Coast, and now I am back on the grind to make my dreams come true. Although nothing has gone according to the plan 12 year old JD had in store, I am glad to be where I am now. This past summer had its ups and downs but I wouldn’t change a thing because I got to spend quality time with people who will be in my life forever and others whom I will be able to carry on the memory of them forever as well. I may not be making that career money yet but I am still alive, have a roof over my head, and food to eat. I guess besides this being a slight update of my life, I also want to say to remember to hug your loved ones. You never really know what could happen so tell them you love them or give your mom a kiss on the cheek or don’t, you’ll have to live with that regret…couldn’t be me though. Just be kind and go with God! Love y’all and shout to you who is still reading this, I appreciate and love you especially.

Fashion To Me

Alright so check it! I've been thinking about it and I feel like I want to continue this blogging thing. Before I was doing it for class and now I want to do it to share my views and opinions about a passion of mine. If you've ever read any of my other blogs one my previous website, (https://jdchery.wixsite.com/tmelss)they were mainly focused and centered around fashion so you can only imagine where this blog will go. I have a passion for fashion. Some may say its an obsession more than a passion, but it is all the same to me. It’s something I love and is what I spend my free time researching other than binge watching Netflix. Here's a little back story for you.

I got into clothes in the 8th grade. Now I say got into clothes because I didn't really know how to dress then, I just knew that I started gravitating towards a few pieces. Back then I used to skateboard with a homie named Taylor. We were nowhere good at skating but we were deep into the culture. Since we were skaters, my inspirations were Torey Pudwill, Ryan Sheckler, and Stefan Janoski. Hearing those names you’d understand that I wore hoodies, skates tee's, baggy pants or cargos, vans, and sb's. My parents loved that for me because my shoes only cost at most $65 and they could always get great deals or discounts. I was into brands like Obey, The Hundreds, and of course loved OFWGKTA (Odd Future). Zumiez always had buy 1 get 1 or buy 2 get 1 free so I didn't spend too much. My skate homie moved away and no one else really skated like me so I naturally grew out of it and got into other stuff.

I stayed in the skater boy stage till about 10th grade and that was when I started getting into online shopping, listening to different music, and meeting new people. I started shopping at places like forever 21 and H&M because it was popular at the time. 10th grade for me was in kind of a gap year. I was searching for my style but didn't know much so I was looking like a hot mess. That upcoming summer I got my first job. I worked at summer camp with some friends from school and to say the least, we got payed WELL. This is the summer my sneaker collection grew and it’s the summer that I visited NY and decided to buy my most expensive sneaker. I went ahead and dropped $400 at Flight Club on Infrared 6's. I went in knowing what I wanted, but I was taken a back when I entered the store and ended up staying for over 2 hours just staring at shoes. That same week I also bought my first Bape shirt and Supreme shirt. It seemed like I was getting into the more hype beast era in my life and that lasted about 2 years as well. To fast forward this story, let's move to college.

I'm originally a kid from Miami Gardens, Florida who went to a small Christian school in North Miami, but I moved and left for college in Michigan. I've never really dressed for the cold, but if you know anything about Floridians, we will wear hoodies in 95 degree weather. We may look crazy but I figured that since I did that, I would be fine in the cold. My dad is originally from Haiti, but he moved to New York for college, so he gave me all the coats he wore in NY. Those coats held me over for a while, but I quickly got into my own version of fall wear. That semester I was buying puffer jackets, coats, and boots to ensure that I still looked decent and stayed warm. I began finding my own style looking to new inspiration from Instagram and Pinterest. As freshman year went by, the compliments began to roll in, but then came sophomore year. I completely stopped dressing, because I was going through a fashion crisis. It wasn't cute and I let myself wear sweats every day. A friend of mine even asked if I was okay, because it was so unusual for me. Honestly, I realize that I use fashion to express myself and that is just how I was feeling. In a way I lost my style because I was going through a lot that year, but I was determined to change that in my junior year so I did. I fell back in love with fashion and started looking at it as my own version of art.

Now it might sound like Im out here having a fashion show everyday and dressing for others, but I'm not. I’ve realized that when I dress nicely or even decently I am 10x more confident than I would normally be. Fashion to me is self-expression which really equals to your own art. When you think of a painter who creates, you think of it as their expression on the piece that they are painting. I think of fashion as the same thing. It's my own outlet to express my creativity. I am now in my senior year of college and my style is still changing and only getting better. I am looking to test my own limits and do things that are out of the box for me. Im learning that I am the only thing holding me back and I want to change that. So you guys reading this, hold me to it and help me continue moving forward. Let’s create a community!