To the sweet follower that I saw in Target on Sunday — you have inspired this post. This blog is obviously a place for me to share my fashion finds but I often have so many thoughts that run through my head that I don’t share, but part of my resolution for 2019 is to start sharing them with you all more often. Part of it will be as a personal release, a way for me to share the girl under the clothes but also as a way to give life reminders. Today’s life reminder is to embrace your natural self.
Most days and by most days I mean pretty much everyday I roll out of bed, put on workout clothes and then after my workout I change into an old ratty sweater, blow dry my sweaty hair to prolong having to wash it and I wear zero makeup. Then I spend my day working in my office.
Days that I’m shooting for the blog are the days I get dolled up and I try to cram in my shoots and try on stories. But most other days I look like a hot mess. Weekends are no different. If I run errands I throw on a hat, an oversized sherpa jacket and old Ugg boots and pray to God I don’t see anyone I know.
Well Sunday was one of those days and looking exactly as described above, I turned the corner at Target and a woman stopped me and said “House of Leo! I follow you! And there’s Summer.” I was so insecure in how I looked that I pretty much ran away. I thanked her for following me and I made an insecure comment that I look a wreck and then I scooted into the next aisle.
How stupid of me right? I mean this small moment in time has weighed on me for the last 2 days. I didn’t engage with her more all because I didn’t have makeup on, my false lashes and curls in my hair? I mean how ridiculous is that? But it really got me thinking.
I think we place so much pressure on ourselves that clothes, hair and makeup make us feel confident right? And yes it does. That’s part of why we have a society that loves fashion and beauty. It helps us feel confident, beautiful and good about ourselves. But a huge life reminder is to feel these things even without our armor on. I’ve briefly touched on confidence before in this post too.
At the end of the day I’m just a mom and that’s probably why the sweet lady at Target follows me. I’m just a regular person who posts about fashion but I’m no different than anyone else. I go to Target with dirty hair, makeup free with my daughter still wearing her braid from yesterday AND THAT’S OK. Life reminder to myself and all of you — embrace your natural self, love your self no matter how you feel or look that day, and be confident because confidence in yourself looks better than any outfit you are wearing.
This goes down to my stories on Instagram. I still shy away from getting on there everyday because most days I’m not dressed up and I feel like I look like a disaster and this thought process needs to stop. At the end of the day I need to just be me and embrace it.
I am human. I make mistakes. I may write blog posts 3 times a week but I make plenty of errors in my writing and I’ve been called out on it. I am not a writer. I will have grammatical errors in my blog posts despite how many times I proofread. Does that really matter at the end of the day? I think my message is still getting across despite a typo here or there.
What I am trying to say here is that I created this blog to teach women about self confidence but I clearly still struggle with my own. I strive for perfection but I am going to stumble along the way and rather than run and hide in the next aisle at Target or feel bad about a blog post that caught some criticism I need to just accept that I am human and the flaws and naturalness are what really make me — me. <—That’s probably a grammatical error but I think you still get my point.
So to the sweet lady at Target — I wish I asked you your name. I wish I asked you how long you’ve been following me. I apologize for my own silly insecurity. But thank you for the life reminder. Makeup or au natural. Great outfit or old ratty sweaters. Clean hair or dirty hair under a beanie. I’m still learning to embrace my natural self.
To all the moms out there, the women who roll out of bed in sweat pants — work it ladies. Go to Target any old way you want. Just do it with confidence. Embrace your natural self. You are beautiful.
SHOP MY LOOK: SWEATER (c/o Chicwish) | PLAID TOP | JEANS (old similar) | BOOTS (also here) | EARRINGS
You know i am there with my sweats and glasses on half the time too.
And nothing wrong with that sista!
I really love it when you put yourself out there getting to know you on a personal level resonates with me. I enjoy your posts even more. Although i always read your posts i pretty much don’t buy anything online because I have to try everything on. one day i tried on 25 different tops and only 5 looked good on me. i can’t do online buying.
I always put makeup on even if I don’t leave the house just part of my daily routine i have done this since college which was a very long time ago
Definitely going to share more of “me” this upcoming year. I think it’s time to start putting a lil more of myself out there aside from just what I’m wearing. Thanks for always following XO!