Inspiration - The Journey North
Rewind to 2007. I didn’t know anyone in New York. My whole life had been spent among Mississippi’s green fields and purple skies. I took a leap and studied abroad in England. After that, I knew my lay in the city. I hit the ground running in my senior year of college – emailing, snail-mailing, calling, and even faxing every designer I could think of for an internship opportunity. Weeks passed, then months, and nothing came. We’ve all had those moments of doubt, where time and again we try to make something happen but are denied by the powers that be. The unresponsiveness of that biggest and loudest of far-off cities filled my mind with all the fears and insecurities of my upbringing in Holmes County, a quiet little world full of tension and beauty, where Martin Luther King’s and Robert E. Lee’s Birthdays are celebrated on the same day. I had to ask myself the painful question… “will I ever make it to New York?”
My mother saw my distress. She had always been so connected with my dreams and prayers, nurturing my creativity and growth all my life. Well, my mother had an idea. She came to the den where I was working and said, “Why don’t you try Vera Wang?” as she held her Vera Wang eyeglasses and case up to show me. It seemed unthinkable that I would have any chance of interning for the iconic designer behind the most exciting and graceful wedding gowns of cascading silk organza – falling like layers of delicate meringue and confectioner’s sugar!...
I didn’t say all that, but you get what I mean! Vera Wang was so amazing, so unattainable! Nonetheless, my mother thought that it would be a great thing to try - not to mention that she had seen Vera on Oprah several times and thought she was a lovely woman. So, like most well-behaved momma’s boys do, I listened to my mom. I found their general HR email address and sent a message that same day.
Amazingly, within two weeks I heard back from the HR team at Vera Wang and they wanted to meet with me and learn more about my background. Shortly after that, it seemed like the floodgates had opened up and I started to get replies from all the other companies I reached out to. I could almost hear angels in the sky singing in unison! This was my grand invitation to travel to New York, for the Vera Wang interview and as many other interviews as I could possibly schedule while there. Smart, huh? I took on two internships in New York City that summer (the other was at a denim designer) and the internship at Vera Wang turned into a job.
I took in all the opportunities I could while there, and learned so much! I felt God was looking out for me and always has been. I am so thankful for my mother and attribute my journey to her. She inspired me to take one of the most rewarding risks of my life. It has been over 10 years, and I am still in New York, living my dream and learning new things about fashion, art, and beauty in the world around me! It’s a blessing to be able to do this.
My life has taught me that following inspiration is ultimately about risk and reward. In my first post I mentioned that Mississippi is full of inspiration, but with few opportunities for expression (seriously, Martin Luther King can't have his own birthday?!). I could have stayed back home in Mississippi and tried to carve out a niche to live my vision, but the potential reward of living in a place that fostered creativity was far greater. What did I have to risk? If I faltered, moving back South would have remained an option and I would simply be back home where I started - and it’s not like that didn’t come with its own set of risks. Sooooo... now that I’ve told you about my big risk, I want you to ask yourself... what do you need to risk to live your inspired life?