This is your masterpiece -- Don't forget to dream
Hi friends -- It's been a little while! A lot has changed since most recent post in November of last year, when I had just moved to a new city to live with my boyfriend - with only my belongings, my cat, & some BIG plans. You may recall my wide-eyed post explaining how excited I was to have a fresh start & chase after some dreams that I have always had -- Well, I am proud to say that within about one month of that post, I {literally} made that dream come true...
Fast forward to nine months later -- One week from today I will be turning a year older & that has got me doing a lot of reflecting. Each year around my birthday, I feel a world of emotions - looking back on what I did & did not accomplish in the past year, thinking about how I have grown & evolved, & most of all - setting new goals for myself for the next year. Most people do this every January when the numerical year changes, but for me - I get a much bigger rush of adrenaline around my birthday & that is when I plan resolutions for myself. In August of 2013 I started this blog, & although each year my posts have been less & less, it's still a very special & personal place where I can let all of my ideas & aspirations pour out of my finger tips, or let images, music & other forms of media speak for me. If only I could post on here as often as I truly get ideas, which is 24/7!
The main inspiration for this post is my love for fashion & how I completely immersed myself in it this past year full-speed ahead... For as long as I can remember I have wanted to be an artist - specifically in the world of fashion. My love affair with fashion began when I was a little girl & has never left me. It has always been dream of mine to do what I love but my road getting there was a little crooked...
As a child, I wanted to be an illustrator, an art teacher, a graphic designer, the list goes on... Not a day went by that I wasn't drawing, painting, crafting, playing dress-up, putting on plays, scrapbooking & more. I remember watching Martha Stewart everyday in 1st grade...in awe of her art, food, decor, & all-around creative boss lady tips & tricks. But it wasn't until middle school that I soon fell in love with fashion. I loved to shop, experiment with my outfits, & fawn over magazines...yes, most adolescent girls do this...but I adored it on a deeper level. The ways colors could compliment each other, the ways patterns & silhouettes could all work together to tell a story... & most of all - the psychology behind it, the way that fashion made people feel...it all connected with me. I started to make my own handbags {hand-sewn! lol]} & loved to alter pieces I found at the thrift store or hand-me-downs from my older sister & mom. "Do It Yourself" was my life! To this day when I walk into an art/fabric stores, I am overcome with wonderful memories from my childhood, where stores like these were just heaven to me. My family moved all over the country when I was a kid & one of my favorite ways to make myself at home in each new bedroom was to completely make it my own. The blank walls were quite literally a blank canvas, & I would cover every inch with photos, memorabilia, & anything & everything that inspires me. I was in love with visuals. In high school, I watched What Not To Wear on TLC every day after school, which is where I discovered my love for styling. I memorized all of Stacy & Clinton's rules & still use them this day with myself & others with styling. Cue to junior year when all of this began to hit me, & I decided this was the route I wanted to take in college & in my life. I was accepted to great fashion school in Los Angeles where I was planning to study Visual Communications...a.k.a. store window displays, mannequins, etc. I was over the moon. Unfortunately, this amazing news was followed by a few bumps in the road as I previously mentioned, & long story short: I was unable to attend...To put it lightly, I was heartbroken. But I stayed strong & never let go of that dream. I went on to graduate with a degree in Advertising from a fantastic school. I then went on to work in the advertising & interior design industries where I learned so much about the creative yet corporate world. Fast forward to summer 2015...
When I decided that I would move to Charlotte, I knew this was finally my chance to make my lifelong dream a reality. I had to push through some concerning/hesitant looks from others (out of love of course), as well as my own self-doubt & fear of the risk - moving to Charlotte with no job, very little money, but with a world of hope & fire in my belly. And my risk paid off. In December of 2015, I landed the job of one of five Visual Merchandisers for the largest department store chain in the Southeast, at their flagship location - focusing solely on Ladies Apparel. I couldn't believe it...they took a chance on ME. Armed with my retail knowledge from my days working at Anthropologie & my pure obsession with fashion & style, they saw something inside of me. And I am forever grateful.
So for the past nine months, I have been able to live this dream every day... Styling mannequins, creating displays, & putting beautiful things out in the world is something I have always wanted to do. I don't have a work computer, email, or a business card... & I am on my feet all day long, often sweaty & dirty from the hands-on tasks, but I absolutely love it. I will never forget those first few days on the job - I was pinching myself that I actually made my dream a reality. I will also never forgot my fifth day in when I was styling mannequins for an event, & a colleague of mine who I had just met looked at me & said, "Are you having fun?" When I replied, "Yes!" with a big, blushing smile, she responded with an adjacent smile & said, "I can tell." :) That was an incredibly special moment for me. I truly knew I was in the right place at the right time, doing exactly what I was born to do. To this day, I often am told remarks like this from colleagues & even customers, who say they can tell how passionate I am about what I do. These are unbelievably rewarding & motivate me every day. But regardless of how others receive my work, I am incredibly proud of myself & I am rewarded just by pursuing this art-form & creating small masterpieces every day. Some people are chefs, some are musicians, some are dancers -- This is who I am.
Although I love what I do, I still have so much more I want to do with my career & I hope to never stop evolving...never stop creating. And it has not been easy every step of the way -- I am sparing the details on the bad days, exhaustion, & breaking points - but it's all been worth it. So this post is really to share my story, & hopefully inspire others to never give up on your dreams, even once the dream has come true. No one will believe in you as much as you.
I will sign off with a song... "Masterpiece" by Andy Grammer. This song sums up exactly how I feel about creating the life you want every day. This is your masterpiece - don't forget to dream.
Love, Gina
P.S. I have to give an enormous shout-out to my family, boyfriend, friends, & past co-workers - for supporting me & encouraging me every step of the way. I love you all & I am eternally grateful for you. <3
Fast forward to nine months later -- One week from today I will be turning a year older & that has got me doing a lot of reflecting. Each year around my birthday, I feel a world of emotions - looking back on what I did & did not accomplish in the past year, thinking about how I have grown & evolved, & most of all - setting new goals for myself for the next year. Most people do this every January when the numerical year changes, but for me - I get a much bigger rush of adrenaline around my birthday & that is when I plan resolutions for myself. In August of 2013 I started this blog, & although each year my posts have been less & less, it's still a very special & personal place where I can let all of my ideas & aspirations pour out of my finger tips, or let images, music & other forms of media speak for me. If only I could post on here as often as I truly get ideas, which is 24/7!
 |
This quote was the inspiration behind my very first blog post -- I remember sitting in my first apartment out of college, working in a corporate job, & dreaming about what I wanted to do with my life. I knew it would take some time, so I decided to give myself a creative outlet & the blog was born... I have since had this quote hanging in all of my apartments for inspiration as my life mantra. |
The main inspiration for this post is my love for fashion & how I completely immersed myself in it this past year full-speed ahead... For as long as I can remember I have wanted to be an artist - specifically in the world of fashion. My love affair with fashion began when I was a little girl & has never left me. It has always been dream of mine to do what I love but my road getting there was a little crooked...
As a child, I wanted to be an illustrator, an art teacher, a graphic designer, the list goes on... Not a day went by that I wasn't drawing, painting, crafting, playing dress-up, putting on plays, scrapbooking & more. I remember watching Martha Stewart everyday in 1st grade...in awe of her art, food, decor, & all-around creative boss lady tips & tricks. But it wasn't until middle school that I soon fell in love with fashion. I loved to shop, experiment with my outfits, & fawn over magazines...yes, most adolescent girls do this...but I adored it on a deeper level. The ways colors could compliment each other, the ways patterns & silhouettes could all work together to tell a story... & most of all - the psychology behind it, the way that fashion made people feel...it all connected with me. I started to make my own handbags {hand-sewn! lol]} & loved to alter pieces I found at the thrift store or hand-me-downs from my older sister & mom. "Do It Yourself" was my life! To this day when I walk into an art/fabric stores, I am overcome with wonderful memories from my childhood, where stores like these were just heaven to me. My family moved all over the country when I was a kid & one of my favorite ways to make myself at home in each new bedroom was to completely make it my own. The blank walls were quite literally a blank canvas, & I would cover every inch with photos, memorabilia, & anything & everything that inspires me. I was in love with visuals. In high school, I watched What Not To Wear on TLC every day after school, which is where I discovered my love for styling. I memorized all of Stacy & Clinton's rules & still use them this day with myself & others with styling. Cue to junior year when all of this began to hit me, & I decided this was the route I wanted to take in college & in my life. I was accepted to great fashion school in Los Angeles where I was planning to study Visual Communications...a.k.a. store window displays, mannequins, etc. I was over the moon. Unfortunately, this amazing news was followed by a few bumps in the road as I previously mentioned, & long story short: I was unable to attend...To put it lightly, I was heartbroken. But I stayed strong & never let go of that dream. I went on to graduate with a degree in Advertising from a fantastic school. I then went on to work in the advertising & interior design industries where I learned so much about the creative yet corporate world. Fast forward to summer 2015...
When I decided that I would move to Charlotte, I knew this was finally my chance to make my lifelong dream a reality. I had to push through some concerning/hesitant looks from others (out of love of course), as well as my own self-doubt & fear of the risk - moving to Charlotte with no job, very little money, but with a world of hope & fire in my belly. And my risk paid off. In December of 2015, I landed the job of one of five Visual Merchandisers for the largest department store chain in the Southeast, at their flagship location - focusing solely on Ladies Apparel. I couldn't believe it...they took a chance on ME. Armed with my retail knowledge from my days working at Anthropologie & my pure obsession with fashion & style, they saw something inside of me. And I am forever grateful.
So for the past nine months, I have been able to live this dream every day... Styling mannequins, creating displays, & putting beautiful things out in the world is something I have always wanted to do. I don't have a work computer, email, or a business card... & I am on my feet all day long, often sweaty & dirty from the hands-on tasks, but I absolutely love it. I will never forget those first few days on the job - I was pinching myself that I actually made my dream a reality. I will also never forgot my fifth day in when I was styling mannequins for an event, & a colleague of mine who I had just met looked at me & said, "Are you having fun?" When I replied, "Yes!" with a big, blushing smile, she responded with an adjacent smile & said, "I can tell." :) That was an incredibly special moment for me. I truly knew I was in the right place at the right time, doing exactly what I was born to do. To this day, I often am told remarks like this from colleagues & even customers, who say they can tell how passionate I am about what I do. These are unbelievably rewarding & motivate me every day. But regardless of how others receive my work, I am incredibly proud of myself & I am rewarded just by pursuing this art-form & creating small masterpieces every day. Some people are chefs, some are musicians, some are dancers -- This is who I am.
Although I love what I do, I still have so much more I want to do with my career & I hope to never stop evolving...never stop creating. And it has not been easy every step of the way -- I am sparing the details on the bad days, exhaustion, & breaking points - but it's all been worth it. So this post is really to share my story, & hopefully inspire others to never give up on your dreams, even once the dream has come true. No one will believe in you as much as you.
I will sign off with a song... "Masterpiece" by Andy Grammer. This song sums up exactly how I feel about creating the life you want every day. This is your masterpiece - don't forget to dream.
Love, Gina
P.S. I have to give an enormous shout-out to my family, boyfriend, friends, & past co-workers - for supporting me & encouraging me every step of the way. I love you all & I am eternally grateful for you. <3
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