R7: SELF

Know Thy Self

This photo was taken at the end of this past winter season, I was freezing outside, waiting for a bus to New York with my boyfriend. Even though it was freezing the sky was incredibly beautiful and I wanted to capture this moment. You'll find in most of my photos my hair straightened, I have a lot of hair and I don't make the time to wear my curly pattern out just because everything effects hair. I love this picture because of the effortlessness it captures with my hair. This is what I go to the hairdresser every three weeks to achieve. My hair stays like this for so long and it makes my life easier.  I was raised by a lot of women, women of so many mixtures of cultures and this idea of the "polished" look. Polished but they always wear it in a ponytail which makes no sense to me. I wear my hair straight 95% of the time because during the school year +work is a lot to handle with my hair. Most people wouldn't know that's why I don't wear my hair curly but I'm a roll out of bed kind of girl, I have long thick curly hair, its not a part of my personality to do it all the time but I do make it a goal to wear it in the summer. Also this is a filtered picture, I love to add contrast to a photo. It makes the picture pop with color and I think depending on the goal of the photo you may or may not use a filter. Also it's important to note, I'm not a huge selfie taker. 

This is the second selfie that is actually me in New York on one of my birthdays with two of my best friends. I had never been on the Empire State Building and so this is wear my friends took me. I love to travel as do most millennials but I've been two New York so many times and it never gets old there is always somewhere new to visit or a favorite place of mine that I miss. This is a fun but sexy photo, I had my favorite romper on, my favorite jean jacket and hoops, I was feeling myself. This photo represents me very well, I am incredibly feminine. I love dresses, not heels so much but wedges are nice, I enjoy comfort over statement, so dresses and a nice flat are perfect. Also I have this thing where if I can't run in them, I won't wear them. My body language and my outfit all signify this to anyone looking that I am feminine. I haven't figured out how I feel about the term, "girly" since it has a negative connotation. 

This is one of my favorite selfies not only because I look pretty great at this angle but because I've struggled with my identity as a student and as a person in a educational society. The image is one of importance, a diploma signifies quite a bit in society; hardworking,perserverance,adulthood and much more. What you wouldn't know from this photo is it took me 5 years to obtain a 2 year degree a lot to do with my rebellion from school, paying for school and wanting to find who I was after high school and not just joining the masses. I also hadn't nailed exactly what I wanted to pursue. I finally did in 2015 and decided to go to UMBC to become a producer/filmmaker. This picture is my journey from being a kid to who I am now. I've now planned to get my Masters in producing and filmmaking and that was never the plan. That's so much thats not visible but also my mom came to see me graduate, she doesn't live in this state and she let me wear her necklace that I'd been obsessed with since I was 13. You can also see I'm wearing make up but I don't regularly, I have nothing against make up I just have no interest in wearing it on a daily basis but for a special occasion I'll spice things up a bit.