On The Run

I think my favorite part about my “dope” journey so far is the feedback I get. The fact that there are people in the world who care about what I’m wearing and what I have to say is amazing, but what’s even more meaningful are the words people share with me. And I’m not talking the “oh she could get it,” “she’s bad af” messages (though I do get a kick out of them). I’m talking about the messages from young women who wish to be more confident and happy with the bodies they live in.

I can’t even explain how blessed I feel knowing that people see me as a confident and in charge being. What I want people to know, however, is that confidence is something I’m working on daily. I wasn’t born into amazing self-esteem. In fact, I was born into things like shyness, disappointment, abandonment, and cautiousness. I was born knowing how to avoid any attention. Confidence is an entirely new conquest for me and it is still very strange for that concept to be associated with the name Emerald Shaw.

I read a post on Essie Golden‘s blog recently and the part about not being confident all of the time really struck me. Even though I have tapped into a great deal of confidence over the past 7 months, I can honestly say that there are days where I regress. And that’s okay! I’m not perfect. I’m just a young woman fighting a battle. Who doesn’t get wounded in war? We all have insecurities and they aren’t something you necessarily need to do away with. The important thing is to accept them and then figure out how to keep living in spite of those things. You don’t like your legs? Okay. But it’s hot outside and you deserve to wear shorts. So just wear them. Nobody got time for sweaty thighs. In all seriousness, some days I just want to run and hide. I used to be good at that but now I won’t allow it now. You have to face your feelings head on. That’s the only way go gain control.

But y’know what? This is actually an outfit post so I’ll shut up now. This is an ode to that one time I discovered I could fit clothes from Bebe. Click read more for more images and the deets.

Dress: 2b by Bebe | Belt: Ready-to-Stare | Shoes: Lola Shoetique | Photography: @m76photo | Makeup: Alyson Perry