Growing older means learning new things about yourself. It’s a continuous chance to figure out how you want to show up in this world. Our only constant is change; with that, there is beauty in finding out who you really are. Each day, there’s a new chance to embrace your most authentic form and all the parts that go with it. It’s one of the many reasons I work in fashion. No matter how frivolous some might see it, fashion, clothes, and especially accessories are among the few ways we show the world who we are before we even have a chance to use our words. It’s a pivotal way to express yourself in a world so cemented in first impressions. As someone with bad eyesight, a chic option to wear on my eyes is always top of mind. I want to always build a look that represents my full personality and Vogue Eyewear has been one of the brands that manages to do that.
In recent years, I’ve received many compliments from friends and strangers alike about my confidence. I haven’t always been the most confident person, so these remarks still come as a shock all these years later. Growing into myself has taken time. Like most things in life, it doesn’t come overnight. You’ve got to show up every day for yourself. Consistency is vital when it comes to confidence and being true to yourself. For me, that has always been easiest when finding my personal style. As kids, we can easily identify what we like and don’t like. But as we reach primary school and all the years after, we stifle our personal choices to fit in with the crowd. No one wants to stand out; it doesn’t make it very easy to find friends when you’ve built an outlying personality. Over the years, I’ve tried to blend in when I should’ve been embracing standing out. Only when I decided to own what I truly enjoyed in this world did I start to figure out who I was and wanted to be. I’ve always felt my best when I’ve looked my best. And this has nothing to do with societal standards.
My confidence blooms when I wake up and decide to step outside as my whole self and not be a lesser, smaller, more tame version of myself. My confidence soars when I wear the bright skirt from which I usually shy away. My confidence storms across the room when I wear the top that shows off my arms, forcing myself to exist loudly. My confidence is felt when wearing the Vogue Eyewear glasses that bring my whole look together. It’s leaning into my style wholeheartedly, no matter who is watching. There’s something so special about letting the world see who you are at your most intimate moments. It lessens your walls and releases you from the shackles of perception. To let yourself be seen is to let yourself be known. And to be known is one of the most extraordinary things we can allow to happen in a world so hungry for human connection.
Finding yourself takes time, so it’s essential to give yourself grace. You won’t figure it out tomorrow, but you can take a step each day in the right direction. Those steps will get you there faster than locking your real style away in a coat closet for a rainy day ever will. It starts with a minuscule but momentous moment, like wearing the colorful glasses you’ve been eyeing for weeks or throwing on the sunglasses that make you strut across the room instead of saunter. Every small choice turns into a bigger one; Every choice leads to another one; Every day turns into a lifetime, and you’ve only got one to be yourself.
