I Don’t Look Like What I’ve Been Through

You will not be able to tell in these photos but I was having a rough ass morning! In the spirit of investing in my brand, I booked a photo shoot before work for some amazing high-quality photos for the resume. Brands look at your page to see high-resolution images and get a feel of your style for possible campaigns and brand ambassador roles. I keep telling myself you never know who is watching! So one of my fave blogger baes Monroe Steele posted that her photographer was having a pop-up in Soho. Saturday morning comes and the first sign of a shitty day on the horizon: the makeup brushes I washed the afternoon before were not dry. How am I gonna slay a look with no makeup? I know I don’t NEED makeup, but it pops in photos like this and just pulls a look together. I had to use my fingers to apply a bit of under-eye concealer and throw on mascara, eyeliner, and a matte lip.

The second thing that pissed me off, some of my twists for a twist-out were not dry. I usually wash my hair on Friday’s to prep for my weekend shifts and the forthcoming week. They usually dry with no problem, but maybe since it’s growing out since my cut in October it needs more drying time. I fluffed it out and carried on, a fro is a fro right? (Insert rolling eyes emoji.)

So now I am commuting from Staten Island to Soho, I have my headphones in jamming and trying to get my vibe together for the shoot. I feel someone tap me, a sweet young lady tells me “the zipper on your skirt is down.” That is it, ladies and gentlemen, I have had enough!

Who knows how long I had been walking around with the zipper open to the world. I quickly tied a sweater I had in my bag around my waist and ran to the bathroom to try and salvage this calamity. Thank God I was able to fix it, but I was super careful not to sit down or make any sudden moves to have it open up again.

How many of you check your bank accounts daily? I do! Full disclosure, I am not at a place where I wake up knowing there are thousands upon thousands of dollars as my balance. I happened to check en route to the shoot and guess what? An unauthorized transaction from Amazon. (They will refund by Monday.)

With all these things happening back to back in the span of a couple of hours, how do you think I felt? Defeated, angry, over it, frustrated are some words I would use to describe how I felt. Thank God for the friends I was able to vent to while this was all happening!  Because I swear I was two seconds away from calling to cancel this shoot. When it’s time to “turn it on” as they say, I had to push through and deliver. Rose was such a pleasure to work with and has an amazing eye for backgrounds and poses. She made me feel super comfortable and confident, as I was a little nervous shooting with a new photographer. You all know I am a sucker for women supporting each other, Monroe was on set too as a great assistant, checking my zipper and all!

All I can say is the Devil tried it (Tamar Braxton voice), and I was not going to let him win. Never let them see you sweat. When it is time to show up for yourself, you better WERK! This blogging thing can be discouraging at times, like no one may be reading this post, but I am passionate about it so I keep going. I hope whatever may be trying to discourage or knock you off the path destined for you, will not persevere. Stay focused and as always stay chic!

Please check out Rose of Dadou Chic if you are in need of photography services. These images were not edited or filtered what so ever. She gave them to me straight off of her amazing camera and sent me on my way!