Becoming Me

I've always said that every moment in my life has lead to the next: a domino effect. Every event, opportunity, intervention, and "yes" has been a guiding stepping stone on my journey to where I am today. The journey I'm referencing here is my professional development, and my path into the fashion world.

I've always been a creative. So in high school, when I had the opportunity to take a fashion class (at a tiny school that offers next-to-nothing for electives), I did! Growing up, I was always dressing my dolls, never actually getting to playing with them. I had fashion sketching kits and paper dolls. My point here is, I LOVED this class. However, I didn't think anything of this.

During this class, a representative for a Los Angeles fashion school came and talked to us about starting a high school fashion club through the college. No one acted on any of the information presented to us. Fast forward to the following summer, I was sitting at home, scrolling through clothing sites, and just analyzing trends in my head. I never bought anything. It was just really fun for me to get lost in what's popular and how the brands related. I remember having an "ah-hah" moment that day. I emailed the teacher of my fashion class from the prior year, and basically just said:

"Hey,

I know it's summer but I really wanted to ask you if you would be the advisor for this fashion club I want to start."

Much to my surprise, she responded fairly quickly and said of course! I spent the afternoon signing up, filling out applications, and learning about the program. I remember going with my brother to a college fair and thinking "there are SO many options. I like music, journalism, sign language, and theres a major for all of those!" This was also the day I realized that my hobby could be a career.

When fall came around, I had a binder full of posters, sign-up sheets, and roles and responsibilities. The club was approved through my high school and the college in LA. I recruited my friends to come and we elected officers. They had this big fashion show that happened in the Spring, and my professor decided we were going to make it happen. There was hardly ever any of us at club meetings, and no one was as into it as me. In fact, we stopped having meetings after a while when people lost interest. But it didn't matter, because I had this new drive knowing that I could pursue this as a real career. We attended the fashion show in Los Angeles that March and toured the fashion institute. The school was beautiful and overwhelming and EXPENSIVE.

There's a key moment during this year where my counselor forwarded an email to my fashion advisor that would lead to the next step of this journey. He emailed my teacher an invitation to sign up for a fashion club program at our local mall. It happened once a month, but there was an application fee of $100. I explained that I couldn't afford it (and my parents weren't yet supportive of the whole fashion-as-a-career thing). The next day I came to school and my teacher let me know that our counselor was going to cover the cost for me to join the club. I had been volunteering at a clothing bank he ran weekly, and he wanted to see me pursue this.

The club was so much fun. We had runway lessons, styling days for stores, celebrity events, and fashion shows. I had many jobs at that mall because of the connections I made there. During a fitting for a modeling event, I was in a store trying my outfits on when a man approached me. He said he had a start-up brand and wanted me to model for a photoshoot. My mom let me do it and I soon after attended a very unorganized and awkward shoot. I remember coming home and crying because I felt out of place and uncomfortable. The designer ended up ghosting me, as he didn't like what I had to say about his unprofessional business.

Another jump later, and I have chosen a school to study fashion at, convinced my parents I don't need to study something conventional, and I am halfway through my first year at Central Washington University. I joined the Student Fashion Association the first month of college and signed up to go on their yearly field experience trip.

We attended MAGIC, the worlds biggest fashion trade show) in Las Vegas that February. Buyers, brands, celebrities, and industry members from across the world flock to this event twice a year. During our visit, I got a Facebook message from the designer I had modeled for a couple years back. He was like "Hey! I'm at MAGIC too! We should say hi!" I reluctantly said yes, as I like to believe the best in people.

We arranged to meet in the food court of the convention center and he arrived with a woman at his side. We said awkward hellos and the woman, whose name I soon learned was Jen, quickly took over the conversation. She took to me immediately and wanted to mentor me. She was his consultant and was helping him build his brand professionally. By the end of the day they had invited me to come to the trade show and work with them at the event in August, free of charge. I said yes. (My yes' to questionable opportunities continue).

In August before my sophomore year of college, I fly to Vegas with the designer, Jen, and a small team to sell his brand to buyers. There are MANY issues from the beginning. The designer is late, misses his flight, and leaves us with hundreds of pounds in clothes and supplies to get to Vegas. He brings some friends with him that are older and awkward. We found out that our AirBnb has one bed and one couch for 5 men and two teenage girls. Jen was at a hotel with her boyfriend and we expressed our concern immediately. (We ended up staying at a nice hotel with Jen as she was NOT happy). There were oh-so-many more problems during the trip. I paid his bills at the trade show because his credit card was declining, for goodness sakes! It was unprofessional, but definitely a learning experience.

He was SHADY. Jen dropped him, and took me under her wing. She took me on as an intern and started paying for me to attend the trade show with her every year. By my senior year I had been five times. My junior year when we attended, Jen took interest in a model/entrepreneur who hosted celebrity panels at the show. I met her once and Jen became friends with her after that. We followed each other and at the show the following August, connected and chatted multiple times.

That February, my school attended the trade show as our yearly trip again, and I reached out to the celebrity interviewer via Instagram and asked if she would be willing to meet with my classmates and share with us her experiences and advice. She agreed, but her schedule was crazy and by the time the show came, we had never dialed down a time or day. I found her next to her stage setup the first day of the show and she (luckily) recognized me. She had her agenda with her and wrote us in for the next day.

I figured I would just give her a list of questions and she would sit and answer them for us, like a live Q&A. (I was SO wrong). The next morning, we met at the stage before the time scheduled and she was like "okay, so you're going to interview me." I was hesitant, but agreed. AND THEN, she had her assistants bring over mics to hook me up to the speakers. there was one shirt mic for their recordings, and a handheld for the speakers. I was now TERRIFIED. How was I to interview the celebrity who does this for a living?! And on a mic?!

Needless to say, I did it. A crowd flocked around us and there were tons of cameras circling from every angle. I have awful nerves and stage fright but it felt really good to overcome. After the interview, we chatted and she asked me why we were even attending the show. I let her know we were networking and looking for internships. She was like "do you need an internship?! Let's talk!"

I wasn't sure if anything would happen but we chatted over Instagram DMs in the following weeks. She then gave me her number and we set up a call. I felt like I totally bombed the "interview." But she still gave me some tasks to do and ended up being really impressed with my work. I was soon working a few hours a week for her while going to school, and getting paid to work for her company. I was given so much responsibility, so fast. I knew I could NOT mess things up, so I worked my butt off to crush every task.

As time went on, I was given more and more tasks. Her husband, who owns a viral marketing company began training me to work for him as well. I became an extension of them and worked with them every day. I am now getting to collaborate alongside the people that PLAN and RUN the trade show I attended for so many years. I am working for the coolest boss babe and a HUGE marketing company.

In the next couple months I am moving down to work for them full time. People keep asking me where I see myself in 5 years or what my career goals are. And I keep answering "this." This job is a combination of my love for fashion and communications. Every awesome opportunity (or awkward step) led me to this couple taking a chance on me.

So whats next in this domino effect? Well, I'm moving to split my time between LA and Las Vegas. I'm going to continue learning and working with these great companies. I am so blessed, content, and SO lucky. Look out world!