Hello to New Beginnings
I have been MIA for the past little while (sorry!) and I can finally share why. I have been given an amazing career opportunity that will be sending me to Edmonton, Alberta at the end of the month! I have been running around like a headless chicken trying to finalize paperwork, figure out moving logistics and finding a new home, but I can finally take a bit of a break now that things are starting to shape up. For those of you who have read my blog for a while now, you know that I rarely ever share my career through this platform. This is for a multitude of reasons that range from ethical and legal obligations to personal comfort; however, the one overarching reason I am so closed mouthed about what I do on weekdays from 8-5 is that my blog is my safe space in which I escape from my career. I am a proud woman in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), continuously pushing boundaries and trying my best to excel in a predominantly white, male sector; however, it is soul satisfying to have a place to run to in order to express myself creatively through words and fashion.
I have struggled a lot recently with what exactly I want to do "when I grow up" (aka a mid mid-life crisis, as sad as that sounds). I have been caught between the idea of jumping head first into the world of blogging and fashion or pursuing my career full on and attaining a VP title one day. On any given day I either want to be one, or the other or both, which has been causing me a lot of stress and worry as I am a type A personality who needs a plan to get to point B. I was pretty much floating around with no real drive before receiving news that this new career shift was a sure thing. This decision changed my perspective and through the conversations I have had recently, has made me realize the importance of being a Black woman in the field that I am in. Of course the blog will still be near and dear to my heart and a place where I can interact with so many different people and points of views, but for now, I am dedicated to ensuring that I push my career forward, without forgetting to pull other women up behind me too.
I think it can be really easy to forget that most bloggers live in this dual state of mind, with one part of their lives dedicated to producing content and the other wrapped up in their personal lives and/or careers. A small percentage of bloggers can say that they are fully supported by their blogging, however, this small percentage are often the ones we hear most about. This leads to newbie bloggers, like myself, pushing hard to attain something that is actually pretty tough (not impossible!) to do, setting us up for feelings of failure when we do not reach certain milestones within given time frames. I have a few bones to pick with the plus size fashion/blogging world, one of them being an over glorification of this small percentage, alienating a base that made them who they are.
I still see myself making waves and speaking out for those who turned to the world of plus size fashion and body postivity after failing to meet mainstream beauty ideals, only to be faced with a new set of beauty ideals (e.g. being 5'9 or taller with that Coke bottle figure) that does nothing to celebrate who they are. I will still continue fighting for body diversity in fashion houses across the globe and calling out exclusionary behviour of any form in any way I can. But, I have come to the realization that I can do this while also paving the way for women in STEM, showing that we can excel in the fields dominated by men. At the core of it, both these goals really are the same: I want to prove that it is only through diversity that any organization, group or movement can achieve the greatness they set out to achieve in the first place. I am just lucky and fortunate enough to be able to instigate this change from two very different channels at the same time.
So, again, I apologize greatly for ghosting hard on you all. I promise to begin creating and putting out content more steadily towards the end of the month as I transition into my new role. YYC has been so very good to me and I will miss all the relationships I have made here. Edmonton is only a 3 hour drive away from Calgary (and my family and baby doggie Zen are still here), so I intend to still pop up at events and help bring body diversity to some of the city's events. I am so excited to start fresh in a new city and to see what Edmonton has in store for me! If you are in YEG and want to collaborate or just simply grab coffee and talk about your career with me, feel free to drop me a line or slide into my DMs real quick.
Love & light always!