Hello and happy Sunday funday. [Blogged while wishing I made more time to blog.] So it turns out I’m almost 30 and still trying to find myself a little bit. Which I think is normal and healthy and things, I just like wasn’t expecting it. Like I thought I was supposed to have my shit together by now. But it makes sense. We should all be evolving in some way until we die. Otherwise, how boring.

Remember being in college and prepping for interviews? What to wear, what to bring, what to say. It was like a formula for fitting society’s predetermined path for any young professional. I vividly remember being excited to go shopping for “work clothes”. (Ick.)

So I stuffed my carts with ill-fitting black pants, white blouses, boxy blazers, things with buttons, and too many pencil skirts. All set! I got my mundane wardrobe all stocked and ready for whatever business things came my way.

As I started my first official internship, I actually really liked dressing up in those clothes. Because as a young professional, I wanted to fit in with my more established co-workers. A right of passage if you will. As if to say, I’m young, but I look like you, so I’m capable. Which worked for a few years. Because I was “dressing for the job I want.” But…was I?

It wasn’t until I met a co-worker with a similar fashion sense that I began to question (all) my choices. She inspired me to stay true to myself in every aspect — including my clothes. This might sound silly to those who really don’t give a fuck about what they wear, but for some of us it’s a way to express creativity and authenticity. And after the being-out-of-college-and-in-the-real-world honeymoon phase wore off, I began to feel jaded. In a way, I had been concealing my true self behind layers of cotton because I thought I had to look a certain way to be taken seriously as a professional, or even just as an adult. News flash: I am forever a child. I like unicorns and glitter and (faux) fur and bright colors and bold patterns. And you know what? I fucking love it.

I eventually retired my stuffy wardrobe for one that brings out my best and most genuine self. I shouldn’t have to stifle the eccentricities and youthfulness that make me who I am.

So that’s all I have for today. Don’t compromise your authenticity to try and fit a mold. You should be living a life that lets you embrace all the facets of your identity. And if you’re not, then maybe you’re not where you’re supposed to be.