I'd been itching to play with some prints! Also, there is a little personal talk today that I'd love to share with you.
Photographed by Sarah Wolfe // Downtown Seattle
DRESS: c/o SheIn
SHOES: JustFab (old, similar Steve Madden, Nine West, at SHOPBOB)
BRA: Walmart (Similar Romwe, Free People )
BAG: JustFab (similar HERE)
SUNNIES: Free People
JEWELRY: H&M
Earrings, ASOS
Necklace, Vintage Belt
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Hi LOVEs!
How was your weekend? I really hope that you have started off this new week amazingly! If you follow me on social media, you have probably seen that I felt very ill yesterday when I woke up, and it was totally unexpected. In general, I am a very optimistic, cheerful, and positive person. I believe that my most charming characteristic is a BIG SMILE! (I hope you agree with me <3 ) Yet, sometimes it is just really hard to stay positive and to believe in myself. Concerns eat away at me - I have been single for almost three years now, my whole family lives a million miles away, and even though I have amazing friends here, I still have days when I feel a deep loneliness. The reality is that my parents are not 100% supportive of me pursuing my fashion dream in America. I know, it's kinda sad, right? I frequently wish for them to be more supportive of what I am passionate about. My parents' happiness is my happiness. Of course, I wanna make them happy. But my decision to go for my dream has resulted in making them very unhappy. As such, I then feel that I am such a bad daughter because I choose my dream over my parents’ happiness... At one point, I made my parents cry... That's one of the worst moments in my life.
Then, yesterday I fell apart completely, and naturally, I burst into tears due to my deep feelings of hopelessness, loneliness, and the extreme struggles that I have to go through as a foreigner. Even though I am happy to finally be able to stand on my feet and pursue my dream after such hard decisions, I have been struggling with not being able to share and talk about these struggles with my beloved family. This cycle of success followed by regret constantly torments me.
Nonetheless, I realized yesterday that I have a lot of friends, my fans and followers who sincerely care about me and even believe in me more than I do. Receiving heartfelt comments, snaps, and messages really brightened up my worst moment and saved from deep devastation. They are all so sweet, and I felt very loved and sensed a great amount of compassion. It made me feel so much better, and I was able to have a good cry. I actually thought that I should not share my negativity on social media because I knew I might end up giving people an unfavorable moment. However, some of them shared their stories of how they had been in the same shoes and of their struggles. One of my friends came over and gave me tight hugs, and then took me out for dinner and coffee. On the way home, we saw the most beautiful rainbow that I have ever seen! Seeing such a rainbow was as if the universe was telling me: "don't lose hope; you will be fine!" It was a breathtaking moment.
Although I don't have a boyfriend or family close to me, I couldn't be happier and more appreciative to have those people in my life, especially on my blogging journey. I really wanted to thank all of them including YOU who come to read my blog, leave comments and support me with lots of love!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH, GUYS! I seriously can't thank you enough!
Life isn't only about happy things and isn't always smooth and pleasant. It may not go however you are wishing it to. Some of you may be struggling or suffering over tons of stuff more than your surroundings. Then you may have to confront countless obstacles that easily put you down. However, struggling with problems makes you stronger. The most challenging times are opportunities for us to realize moments change, and great struggles enable us to attain immense good fortune. Those who have experienced great suffering can develop into outstanding people. Those who have undergone painful trails can help many others. Such difficult moments intensify happy moments. The key is to take one step, even half a step, toward what you are going for, no matter whoever stands in front of you disagreeing and preventing from your dream. And all you need to do is to have the courage and get back up whenever you fall down. I know as long as you keep fighting through, you can definitely win!
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Okay, now onto today's look! I wore this look for my friend's birthday party, but this wasn't how I normally dress up for one. It's good to change up your tendencies and try something you don't generally do.
I am so glad I chose this cute tribal print dress from SheIn for the occasion. I haven't worn this print for a long time, and finally, I get to play with some prints over plain clothes! I think the print will never go out of style, and the color of this dress is very fall-ready, plus its long sleeve! I like the wide-cut in front. This dress actually has pockets, but I totally forgot to photograph the details! I am always in love with a dress with pockets! Even though it came in a small size, I am super petite. So I had to adjust the length by adding a belt to make it more fitting and flattering! Paring it with my favorite fringe sandals adds a touch of playfulness, and I am pleased that I managed to create a color-blocking ensemble with these sandals, a red mini bag and burgundy sunnies in addition to my mermaid hair! I am back to rocking statement earrings because that's one of the trends this fall/winter. I am not ready to say goodbye to summer just yet, but doing our homework on what's coming next and starting to incorporate the trends into the current looks definitely help us prepare for the new season!
Thanks for reading today's long post, and I really do hope that you could relate to what I have experienced and that I inspired you somehow! And of course, hopefully you enjoy today's look as well!
If you ever want to vent, please remember that I am here for you. You are not the only one who goes through a lot!
Much love, AikA ❤︎
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Thank you for reading!!!!
XOXO
♥ ☆ ♥ ☆ ♥ - STAY FASHiONABLE, STAY UNiQUE - ♥ ☆ ♥ ☆ ♥
