To be Original

Photos by John Gabriel

Originality. 

Defined as the ability to think or express oneself independently and creatively; freshness of aspect, design, or style. 

In today's society that's bombarded with information, content, and images every single day, it's easy to lose our true selves in aspiration of becoming someone else. I wanna dress like Olivia Palermo; I wanna look like a Kardashian; I wanna buy a pair of sneakers because everybody's wearing one . Sure, it's normal to be inspired by those people we admire, but often we get caught up and confuse inspiration with imitation.

One of the biggest challenges I faced in my early years of blogging is not about the process behind taking quality images or thinking of what to write, but rather it's discovering myself and my true style. For several periods I was on different phases - the vintage phase; the grunge phase; the girly phase. But each time I wasn't satisfied with my clothes, with how I looked, and with how I felt. There was always something amiss, and repeatedly I would get frustrated. I realized I wasn't doing it right because I was actually trying to be someone else by dressing the way they did.

Coming to senses I made it a point to constantly push myself to stay true to my style and to always be aware of that; to wear what I want regardless of whether it's trendy or not; to wear a trend not because everybody else is doing so but because it goes with my aesthetic; to genuinely want something not because others want the same thing; to sometimes compromise a seemingly fashionable outfit if it gives much inconvenience and discomfort (read: high heels); to take in inspiration from people I admire but not to imitate them; to be individual; to be original.