Coming from an average town like Baltimore, everyone follows the same path. This path includes attending private school for 13 years, going to a local university to study nursing, and then get married. I guess you could say I have known for quite some time this was not going to be my path. As a child, while my friends were shopping at Limited Too, I would beg my mom to take me to Nordstrom. As I got older, the same path continued. While my fellow classmates were lusting after Sperrys, I would daydream about the moment I would buy my first pair of Christian Louboutins.
According to Coco Chanel, “The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud. “ I had a dream for myself and my career; however, it did not involve Baltimore or a general college major. While applying for colleges, many people had doubts of me being accepted into my top choices. Teachers, college councilors, even people I thought of as “best friends” always asked me the same question……”But do you think you’ll actually make it?” One teacher actually told me to forget about fashion school, “Just go to community college. It will save you time, money, and heartache.” If I would have listened to this “piece of bull advice”, I would have never applied, and been accepted into the school of my dreams.
After being accepted into SCAD, a lot of people still had opinions/questions about my schooling decision. “Why are you going to spend so much money when you could go to school for free” or “Your school name sounds like a joke. Is it an easy school?” These comments haunted me for the next 8 months. However, my parents knew SCAD was the school for me, and were not going to make me give up my dream. …and I am thankful for that every day I spend at SCAD.
They say your freshmen year of college is where you truly find yourself. I have to say I agree with this statement 100%. As a freshman, you learn how to do laundry, share a living space with a complete stranger, and being an actual adult. I would have to say the hardest thing for me to adapt to was being an actual adult. In high school, if you had a problem with a class/teacher, your parents would call the school to help resolve the issue. In college, the only time the school will talk to your parents is when your tuition is due.
Everyone will experience that “one professor” who literally makes you want to cry after every class. However, not many have him/her their first semester in college like I did. To make a long story short, my Drawing 1 professor made my life a living hell. Criticizing my appearance, coursework, and talent almost every class for 2 months was unbearable. Any normal student would have dropped the class. However, if you could not tell, I am a very determined person. On the last day of the course, the teacher told me I had no talent, and would never make it in “the real world”.Â
After experiencing a crazy first semester, I started to think, “Maybe everyone from home was right. Maybe my drawing professor has a point. Maybe I’m not cut out for fashion school”. After hosting a 2-day pity party, I made it my goal to prove to this “drawing expert” I would make it in the real world. That is the day I applied for my first internship. I sent my resume over to countless companies, and interviewed for a few. I then received an email from a fashion PR company in New York, saying they wanted to hire me as their social media/New York Fashion Week intern. I have to say, receiving that email not only paved the path for my future, but also made me realize my dreams were actually within reach. Â
These stories were not intended to “bore you to death”, but to make one thing clear. No dream is too big. Everyone needs to learn to have confidence in themselves, their work/talents, and their decisions.  If I would not have gone after my dream of attending the #2 school for Fashion Marketing, I would have never worked NYFW, found my passion for fashion journalism, or became the Editor-in-Chief of Her Campus: SCAD