Style

So its been a while since I blogged. Lucky for me, that is normally a sign that my life has found a happy medium and I have no overwhelming thoughts or emotions that I need to write down. Life in Omaha suits me. I feel very at home here and everything comes natural. That doesn't mean the struggles of day to day don't go away, but I don't have this push in the back of my mind to bale if things get hard. It is a solid thought. I am staying here. For once, I am more excited to see what happens if I stay in one place than to move from state to state every year. I loved being able to move like that and experience new places, however, it was hard. It was hard to make new friends and build solid relationships because I was just going to move again soon anyways. I still did find some wonderful kindred spirits along the way, and re vamp old ones. Relationships have yet to cease to amaze me. They are beautiful. Even the bad ones will eventually teach you a lesson to live by. Okay, so that is a quick update on my mental life view. Haha! Lets get to the real point of why I decided to blog.

I am a friend and follow this lovely lady on Facebook by the name of Dajon. She just happens to be one of my older brother's high school girlfriend. When I was little, I admired her beauty and spunky personality and now as an adult, I admire her even more so. She is such an honest, positive and genuine person. She has her own site full of encouraging videos and life hacks. DajonSmiles.com. You should check her out sometime, you won't be disappointed! Anyways, throughout the past few years of "coming into my own" as an adult and developing my own "style" so to say, her words have always encouraged me to "keep on keeping on." Just one more person I am blessed to have in my life. Even if she doesn't know it. :) So from there, lets talk about style. I remember struggling with my mother as a tween about clothes and the evolving changes in modesty and such. I remember her always telling me, "You don't have to have what the trends are," "What is 'in' isn't always the best choice." I just remember being so annoyed because well it was "my mom" saying that, but also because there were certain trends I legitimately liked. I can remember telling her once, "I want to wear it because I like it, not because its a fad." I guess I have kind of kept that mindset throughout my life so far. I do things I love. I wear things I love. I drink and eat things I love. I often get called a hipster because I drink coffee, wear scarves, berets, TOMS and skinny jeans, along with wearing my hair au natural. Which, I can admit (haha) is quite stereotypical for the modern hipster. I laugh because honestly, I just really really love coffee..and scarves..and berets and TOMS and skinny jeans and letting my hair do as it wishes! "These are a few of my favorite things.." So yeah, way to go Grace! You know what you love, keep on loving it! Haha. I guess it makes me a little sad sometimes because it is so hard to be an individual in a world that judges on stereotypes. I get down on myself at times because I think, "are you just following the trends? Are you really being true to yourself?" It allows for that style identity crisis to sink in. Every person, regardless of whether they live in the U.S, Hong Kong, Norway or an African village, has their own taste in what they like and don't like. This is more than just a thought about whether someone has the trending red skinny jeans. I remember looking at photos from my grandparents time in Papua, New Guinea. The women were often fully naked except for a grass skirt around their waists. Yet, they had some unique facial piercings or hair styled in funky braids or dreads or had shaved heads. They each had their own individual likes and dislikes when all it came down to was wearing a grass skirt.

I guess my point is these two things: 1. My style is what I love. I am an individual and I love every aspect of myself for that. So go ahead and call me a hipster, I am just being me. 2. We, as a society, need to lay off the labels. It starts from a very young age. You call a little girl who smiles at people "a flirt" and those who can't focus in school "bad kids" or "ADD kids." If we spent less time labeling everyone into groups and just let people figure it out for themselves, maybe we would be a better functioning social world.

So I raise a cup of all black "hipster" coffee to all of you, as individuals. And as Dajon is constantly reminding me, don't forget to love yourself today!