I would be lying if I told you I dreamt this dream as a child. It was never a dream of mine growing up to be standing here, in the midst of Paris Fashion Week. This was someone else's dream, possibly someone who along the way, gave up on it. And now here I am, living out their dream and their dream has now become my dream.
A couple of months ago I had a crazy idea. After running a retail company for the past three years I was itching to learn more about the design and production side of fashion rather than focusing on just the business side of things. I was itching to get into high-end fashion and wanted to explore the options. I also knew there were not many people that looked like myself in this area I wanted to belong in.
Before this crazy idea, I was living a pretty awesome and comfortable life. I'd just received high honors, given an award for my work, had a great group of friends, and received multiple offers to work at great companies. Everything was going well, and there were no complaints on my end.
What everyone predicted years ago, was coming to fruition. But that's just it! When I had this crazy idea, I thought it was so crazy but it actually wasn't. I realized part of my life, everyone's predictions, were not my own. I realized I was just doing what everyone thought I should do, and because they thought I should do it, I did it. They were my peers, they are wiser, more experience in life than me, how can I tell them they didn't know what was best for me? Coming from my background, I was already outliving the statistics that I was born into. I was put into a very hard decision, like most of us, that want to go against the grain.
I am here to inform you, my crazy idea, was the best thing I could have ever done for myself because it was mine and for the first time in a long time, I am living in it.
I decided that I was going to study fashion, that I wanted to be a fashion designer, a creative director of my own brand and a major company. At first, I thought it wasn't a good idea because most of my friends didn't understand. They questioned me, asked me why did I want to ruin what I already had. That is the reaction that occurs when you decide to live your life when you decide to go against the grain. Outside looking in, my friends didn't understand that I didn't have those things, those things had me.
It has been six months since my decision and three months into following my new dream. It's been a great journey so far and every day I'm learning something new. I am no longer the best in my classes, I left what I was pretty good at, to come into a place I don't know much about currently -- but I'm happy. Every day is a new challenge (literally) and I'm learning and soaking up as much as possible.
Before I close my eyes tonight, I just want to remind you, I'm at Paris Fashion Week (who'd ever thought). It'll be hard to sleep tonight, however, it's a good thing because my dream is right outside this window.
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