KEEPING IT FRESH
One thing that does not go out of season is romanticizing the idea of finding yourself and being true to yourself. The constant search for one’s identity is exhilarating and exhausting. However, it’s hard to deny loving the idea that everything will be okay if you express yourself and are who you want to be. Clichés are clichés for a reason, and that reason is sometimes that they are true… until they are not.
Be you. Sounds simple enough but leaves out all the nitty-gritty that comes with who “you” is. What if I do not know who I am? What happens if I do not like who I am? Am I printed pants and bubble braids, or am I last night’s makeup and a bleach-stained t-shirt? It is easy to be me on the good days. It is easy to be me on the days where saying yes instead of no ends in watching the sunrise and dancing on a balcony. But if that is the real me, then what happens on the nights where I can no longer be the life of the party. The bad nights, when my jeans hug me in all the wrong spots, and I say way too much to the wrong person.
It is easy to love loving yourself when thinking about all the objectively good parts of your identity. Thinking about expressing myself through my clothes and makeup makes me feel powerful. When I think about who I am through the lens of who I surround myself with, I feel proud to have the kinds of friends I have. The hardest part of loving myself is learning to love that my mistakes are also a part of who I am.
Ultimately, the reason why we love the idea of finding our truest selves is that there is no set answer to who You are. What makes each person an individual is not defined by what they wear or where they work. We are each made up of so many small details, many of which are dynamic and ever-changing. It is naïve to think we will ever truly know who we are, but we can revel in the interminable chase of self-discovery.
Strike Out,
Concept: Martelle Jackson
Digital onsite: Catalina Correa, Amy Dantin, Lily Fox
Photographer: Lily Fox
Writer: Faveanny Leyva
Editor: Lexi Fernandez
Makeup: Helen Trawick
Model: Alexandra Pittman
Tallahassee
