My Journey: Modeling, Hair, Yoga, and Fashion

Hey darlings! Thanks for stopping by! I wanted to make a blog post telling you all about my locs when it occurred to me. Most of you may not even know I am a licensed cosmetologist and have been since 2008! I rarely talk about my hair (because this is a fashion blog, not a natural hair blog lol) but I wear many hats as you can probably tell by now, which is why I wanted to write this post to give you a little insight into my journey. Get comfy, were going on a ride…

The journey starts when I’m about 12-13, I wanted to be a model. My mom, I love her. She Is my #1 fan, and she supported my dream of wanting to be a model. Back in those days it used to be her and I, waking up early, driving super far, going to modeling school, going on casting  calls, photo shoots, trips to New York. I remember being the only black girl in the room, never getting the part. As young teen I really didn’t understand the complexity and inner workings of the modeling industry. I thought one takes pics, go on auditions, and sooner or later you get a part. After about 3 years of chasing that dream, I gave up and didn’t want to pursue modeling anymore. I knew even with my hair permed straight, I still was not who agencies were looking for. So I walked gracefully off the commercial modeling scene and started doing more local modeling. Modeling with troops, walking in school shows like Catwalk Classics, and modeling in college Homecoming fashion shows, was more my style. So at this point, I’m a little older now, maybe 15-16 and I had still been modeling a bit, but it definitely was not something I pursued…

That’s how hair, yoga, and fashion started to come into the picture. I feel like I’m always going to be a stylist, a yogi, and a fashion/sewing enthusiast. This journey starts in high school, I had been a shampoo girl since I was about 15-16 years old. I started at and learned the basics from @salonchristol and it was her who convinced me to sign up for hair school in high school. Which was one of the best decisions ever! I liked doing hair, it was fun, I made money, and most importantly, I got to be creative. By 17 I had my cosmetology license. I planned on just having it as a plan B, and good thing I did because that is what I fell back on when I didn’t get into Clark Atlanta the first time I applied.

I knew I was going to go to Clark Atlanta University after my first HBCU college tour in 10th grade. I didn’t apply to any other schools, I wasn’t interested in anywhere else except Clark Atlanta. So you can imagine I was heartbroken when I didn’t get in. Still, determined to make it to college, I started doing hair at a salon, and went to community college for a year. I reapplied to Clark again the following year and STILL did not get in. Can you say devastated? I beat myself up sooo bad. I wondered was I even capable of going to, let alone finishing college? I mean I had a 3.0 GPA I wasn’t a horrible student. Little did Clark Atlanta know denying me just added fuel to the fire because I was getting into that school, finishing, and walking across that stage. Period. People go to college for all kinds of reasons, I went because I had something to prove to MYSELF. So I applied a third time and this time I was not taking no for an answer. I applied, and instead of waiting on a letter in the mail, I went to Atlanta, to the admissions office, met with an adviser and told him “I’ve applied here 3 times, if you all don’t accept me, I need to know why.” I was accepted on the spot and graduated in 2013 with a degree in Fashion Merchandising.

During college is when my love for sewing & DIY fashion really began to blossom. Shoutout to @apairandaspare. That was the first DIY blog I had ever saw and stalked and the first DIY sewing project I ever tried came off her blog! lol I was in a fashion buying program so I really didn’t have any fashion design classes, but I would sit in on some of the fashion design classes at Clark and just admire them sewing and draping fabrics. I was also partying ALOT in college but I was a broke college student so I didn’t have money for new outfits all the time. I had a sewing machine, so I figured out how to use it, and I started buying vintage/thrifted clothes and revamping them into cute dresses and party outfits.

So 3 years flys by and now college is over, and I’m in that post-grad period of confusion. Fear got a hold of me and whispered in my ear “oh just go back to what you know. Go do hair, just stick with your plan B.” Plan A was ALWAYS fashion for me, back in 2013 after college, I wanted to start my blog, I wanted to create and inspire people, I knew I had it in me… but FEAR… smh So after college I went back to doing hair and 2 years into it I realized, I’m like reeally unhappy. Probably lowkey, depressed in my life right now. I’m not passionate about my work. I loved doing hair but I hated working in a corporate salon, I had no energy for anything. I was easily irritated and I just started to feel idk lost and broken spirited, I was always asking myself is this all there is to life? Work, eat, sleep???

That is when I reached out to God. In 2015 I got baptized and in 2016 I started yoga school. At that time I do think I was experiencing a spiritual awakening or transformation. This quote explains my shift perfectly “ I searched for God and found only myself. I searched for myself and found only God.”

That right there IS THE TRUTH, it is exactly what happened to me. Yoga school was a very eye-opening experience, that broke me down and built me back up. I had to unlearn so much. Studying yoga caused a shift in my personal growth and I began to find and love myself and my life in ways I had never done before.

I began to ask myself, why am I doing something I don’t love? Why am I settling? What would make me happy right now? How do I want to feel? Am I really present in this moment? Fear, self-doubt, and listening to others, kept me in that little bubble of comfort and complacency. I always knew I was a creative. I am art, I need to express myself, I cant be micro managed, I like to be able to express myself in my work. After doing hair for the past 8 years.. I finally decided to step out on faith quit my job as a hair stylist last year and go after what I really love, which is fashion! So far it has been an amazing journey but its only the beginning. Looking back I’m upset I let fear hold me back for so long.. However I don’t regret anything about the journey… Not the fear, student loans, the club nights, the tears, the having my laptop stolen, apartment break ins, losing my yoga final, the broke college days, long distance relationships, lonely moments, none of it. It was all a part of the journey.. I’m here now and I’m only going up from here.

Is my life perfect? Of course not! Do I still get sad sometimes? Yes. But do I trust the universe and what it has in store for me. Absolutely. It’s like that popular Instagram post. At this point I just trust the universe so much that IDGAF! Honestly, I’m not making 6 figures yet, but I love my jobs. I love working for myself. I love that I don’t have bosses anymore, I have partners. There is something to be grateful for everyday, even on the low days. I can’t tell you how podcasts like Super Soul Sunday and BGIO (Black Girl In Om), journaling, and even social media have been instrumental in helping me and connecting me with like-minded people on this journey. Starting any journey can be scary, taking a risk, quitting your job, following your dream, it can be difficult but “Speaking and living our truth is the most powerful tool we have.” Everybody’s journey is different but its YOURS. Trust your journey and your process, put in the work, be grateful, be present, set intentions, speak the truth, grow, glow, and let your Goddess show baby!!

Hopefully that gave you a little more insight about me and my journey. My next post will be all about my loc journey. All the details about my thick set of locs will be in the post. So stay tuned!