Real Talk

The beauty industry; illustrious, glamorous, and very exclusive. But, once mentioned in terms of a career, people scoff.

Why is that?

How is it that an industry that is so revered and immortalized, is looked down upon by the masses in terms of employment? Lets have an honest discussion.

For the longest time, I have always been interested in the fashion/beauty industry. Growing up, I religiously watched America's Next Top Model. I would 'smize' along with the contestants, as well as try my hand at a catwalk whenever I was home alone.

I even wanted to be a fashion designer when I grew up. I have a whole journal full of designs I created, with color stories, and descriptions of the specific textiles that I wanted for each individual piece. It brought me so much joy to create these renderings, and it gave me a creative outlet to channel my imagination and focus.

But as I got older, and people started seriously asking me what I wanted to do with my life, I was providing answers like "fashion designer" or "artist", and people would give me this confused look. I could clearly hear the internal eye roll.

I started feeling self-conscious about my passions. I started to doubt the direction I thought I wanted to go in my life. All because people were judging me, and seeing the things that I cared about as vapid and ridiculous.

This really hurt me, not only in terms of what direction to take my life, but it made me second-guess my blossoming interests and passions.

This carried on into my young adult life. I struggled finding a path to follow, especially when college drew ever near. Now, you must pick, your freshman year, what degree you want, what career you want, what life you want. And that terrified me. Because, up until then, so many people told me that I need to pursue a career that holds esteem in our culture. "Business, finance, the medical field, those are things you should truly consider!" While all of those fields are well and good, I am not suited for any of those jobs. My mind was not formed for those lines of work. And that is nothing to be ashamed of. But, unfortunately, I've had people in my life who didn't see it that way.

It wasn't until a close friend of mine (Hi Alyssa!!!!) gave me the encouragement to see this dream of mine as something valid, real, and worthy of my time and effort. I truly had an epiphany sitting there in a coffee shop. She told me, "Why is that just a dream for you? Why can't that be your reality?" And honestly, that question hit me hard. Why have I been putting my dreams and aspirations on the back burner, just to make other people comfortable? After we left that day, that question stayed with me; nagging my mind. It lit a fire within my heart, and for the first time in a long time, I knew what I wanted to do, and I had the desire and passion to fuel me on my journey, as well as tell those specific people who disparaged my dreams to "shove it."

I've spoken about self-confidence here on my blog before, where I talked about not letting the opinions of others dictate how you live your life and how you view yourself. This provides a warped vantage point of your life. No matter how many different angles you're seeing yourself from the lens of another, the image is always going to be distorted.

Looking at myself and my potential career through the lens of teachers, friends, even significant others, I always saw myself in a reality where I wasn't fulfilled. They saw this idea of me, and thought, "See! This is what you want!"

Don't let other people dictate what you want. You are never going to find happiness if you let other people command your life.

I see this industry and it's profound ability to empower and encourage women. I see this as a conduit to providing confidence to women who lack self-esteem and who have a skewed vantage point on themselves.

Although others believe they know what is best for us, you are the only one living your life. You're the one experiencing it day by day. Find the strength within yourself to find your passions, and follow them with wild abandon. Drive aways the views of others, and find what will fulfill you in this life.

Thank you fore reading. I hope, moving forward, we can all be a bit more open and willing to validate the feelings, thoughts, and desires of those around us. It'll do the world some good to be supportive of one another.

Much love,

-Em