Model Spotlight: Rose

(As part of our mission to provide accessories that help women "identify their femininity" IdentiFemi utilizes real women models in all of our product shoots. Each model brings a set of skills, experiences, goals, and style preferences that make her amazing! We want to share our amazing models with our customers and blog readers. Rose accompanied our model Kelly to her photo shoot. Rose was kind enough to do an interview with us regarding her thoughts on femininity. Thanks Rose!)

Meet Rose!

Name: Rose

Age: 21

Relationship Status: Single

What are your career aspirations: I want to be a Veterinarian or a Zoo Archaeologist.

Describe your style: [I’m a] tee- shirt and jeans kind of person most of the time, but I like to spice it up with some colorful tops every so often.

Who is your style Icon: I don’t really have one [style icon].  [When I see something inspiring] I kind of go “ohh, I’ll steal that [idea]”

What does femininity mean to you: It means that I can be who I am. I can be a girl and express that I am a girl and do that in a way that makes me feel good, versus the way that society wants me to look.

Have you ever experienced a time when your femininity was challenged: Yes. Like I said, I like to wear tee-shirts and jeans a lot. Every once and a while people will come up to me and say “ohh, you’re looking kind of bummy today.” And it’s like “well, I’m comfy so deal with it!”

Feeling beautiful can be a challenge in today’s world. What things make you feel beautiful? I like to get my hair done and I like to get my nails done which doesn’t always happen as regularly as I would like. But just stuff that makes my body feel better.

What would you say to your younger self: Have a little more fun in high school. It’s not that serious. Go to that party.

How do you stay confident? I try to stay positive and recognize when I’ve done good things and give myself that credit verses when I’ve done stupid things.

Where do you see yourself in five years? What about ten years?  In five years I will still be in school, I know that! And in ten years I will hopefully have some kind of career and not be living out of my parent’s house. 

 Thanks for the awesome interview Rose! If you love our "Model Spotlight" series as much as we do, be sure to tune in every Friday and hear from a new IdentiFemi Model. 

Check out a few of our past models: Kima, Dawnai, and Tina

Mallory's Thoughts: Happy Birthday Femininity

              A few weeks ago I celebrated another birthday. Each year, on my birthday, I take time to reflect on the past year. My standard reflection includes several things: goals I set on my last birthday, my accomplishments, things I would do different, and new goals for the year to come. This year, I decided not to reflect on my goals. Instead, I decided to reflect upon my femininity. Over the last few years, I have begun to embrace everything that encompasses being a woman. This process of embracing my womanhood has caused me to take notice of things that I would not normally notice, has caused me to celebrate small joys, and has increased my gratitude for the simple things in life. On my quest to reflect upon my femininity, I asked myself one question. How has my view of my femininity changed over the years? Before I answer that question, I think it is important to discuss the definition of femininity. In the traditional sense, femininity means: the quality of being feminine, womanliness; woman collectively (Collins English Dictionary complete & unabridged 10^th edition, 2009). My simplified definition for femininity is defined as: encompassing every part of a woman.  Have you ever thought about your femininity and how it is impacted by and impacts every area of your life? For just a moment close your eyes and envision your femininity. What did you see? How do you feel?

                Mallory at her birthday breakfast. The restaurant she went too didn't have a birthday tradition so the waitress got creative!

           
               As I closed my eyes, I began to think about how my expression of femininity has evolved. Over the years, I have learned the importance of taking care of myself. There was a time in my life when I was so busy being involved in projects and helping others that I had very little time for myself. I took pride in knowing I could take a bath, get completely dressed and be out of the house in 15 minutes. Sometimes I would brag about being time efficient. Now, several years later, I have learned the value and importance of starting my day off by nurturing myself.  I begin each day with a bubble bath and candle light. This helps me remember how important I am. I have regularly scheduled days for exercise, cutting my hair, manicures and pedicures, and I plan and prepare most of my weekly meals which includes a sweet treat at least once a week. I choose age appropriate clothes that look and feel good on my body. I believe a woman who takes time to nurture herself daily will feel better about herself.

            Part of embracing my femininity includes paying close attention to my mental and emotional health. There was a point in my life when I did not take the time to observe the mental and emotional cues my body was giving me. I had the mentality that I was strong. Regardless of how people treated or responded to me I was fine. I rarely addressed the true inner feelings I felt from the misunderstandings and mistreatment I experienced. I constantly went out of my way to over extended myself to others. As a result of my neglecting my mental and emotional cues, I began to experience several things: my hair began to fall out, I started gaining weight, I began to have random pain all over my body and I begin to exhibit symptoms of depression. As I began the process of addressing my mental and emotion cues my body began to heal itself and my health began to improve. The results have been astounding. I have learned to set appropriate limits with helping others. I keep a “short stack,” which means, if I have a problem with someone I try to resolve the issue quickly. I have learned that I am responsible for my actions and I can only change myself. I cannot change others. I forgive quickly and I accept the things that are outside of my control.

      

                                                                                  Mallory at her birthday dinner with family.
To sum up how my view of femininity has evolved over the years I would say, my idea of femininity encompasses peace, simplistic joys, genuine, honest, transparent relationships, having a heart that is honest and a mind that chooses to think the best of others. My evolution also includes taking care of myself inside and out, celebrating my life and being thankful for life’s challenges that have caused me to grow in wisdom, staying true to my personal style and taste of material possessions, embracing my individuality and appreciating the differences of others. I have come to terms with the idea that my femininity will always be evolving and changing just as I will be. So here’s to embracing new femininity discoveries every year. Happy Birthday Femininity!





*Want to see a funny snippet from Mallory's birthday celebration? Watch the video below.

 

 

Myah's Words VLOG: Balance

Thanks for visiting our IdentiFemi Blog!  Here is a video Myah did on balance. Do you struggle with balance? We know we sure do. In this two and a half minute video, Myah  gives three tips that she uses to help her balance her work load. Watch and let us  know what you think!
The IdentiFemi Girls

Mallory's Thoughts: The Power of Your Brain

             Over the weekend I took some time to relax and enjoy a movie. As I watched the Ben Carson Story I was inspired. I began to think about one of the most important lessons I have learned in my life. I believe one of life’s most important lessons is the process of discovering your unique gifts and attributes.     

            During a scene in the movie, Ben Carson interviewed for a position at John Hopkins University’s Neurosurgeon Residency Program. During his interview he was asked why he wanted to become a neurosurgeon. He responded, “I believe the brain is a miracle. There is so much we should do; there are so many miracles we should perform. The key to performing miracles is the brain.” As I thought about his words, I thought about how intricately human beings have been created. I also thought about how enlightening it has been for me to continue to discover and utilize all of my unique characteristics and qualities. It also has been just as important for me to discover ways to positively impact humanity by using my gifts and attributes.  

            As I began to think about how the brain is related to femininity, the topic of comparison continued to come up in my mind. Although many women will not admit to their behaviors of comparison it is very common. When we compare ourselves to others we use our brains destructively. We often compare our looks and achievements. We think negative thoughts about ourselves and we spend countless hours wishing we could change things about ourselves.

            We rarely stop and think about the power our brain has, or the brains ability to help us achieve countless and indescribable things. Our brain was intended to be a tool of empowerment. Our brain should be used optimistically, to plan for the future, to discover our gifts, to imagine ourselves fulfilling our destiny, to think positive thoughts about ourselves and others, and to accomplish miracles by being motivated to action. But we rarely push ourselves to use our brains to reach those unimaginable dreams and goals. Instead much of our time is spent coveting others possessions and achievements.          

            The beauty of femininity is its differences. Femininity can be described, explained, and demonstrated many different ways. Femininity encompasses many thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and ideas. When I think about how my brain influences my femininity, I would have to say my brain is the organ that completely encompasses my individuality. In other words, no one will see or embrace feminine ideas exactly the way I do. No one will wear color schemes or fabric patterns exactly the way I do. No one’s ideas of femininity will cause them to be motivated to action the same way I am. Each woman possesses femininity in her own unique way. Your individual approach to femininity is just as powerful and important as other women. So, in the spirit of “Identifemi” I encourage you to Identify Your Femininity. I want to encourage you to use your brain to activate those unique qualities you possess. Yes, I believe your uniqueness will provide you with a platform somewhere, somehow to impact others.  

Mallory

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Mallory's Thoughts: Bubble Baths and Candle Light

                                                                  Image Credit

I recently spoke at a women’s conference where I mentioned my daily ritual of a bubble bath to candlelight. When I brought up the topic, I was not prepared for the different responses. Sure, I know there are a lot of women who take bubble baths with candles burning, but it is usually a practice women indulge in after a long day. However, I take my bubble baths first thing in the morning. Some of the women attending the conference thought my morning bubble baths to candlelight was an interesting idea. Other attendees were inspired and saw the bubble bath ritual as an indication that they needed to incorporate some type of “me time” into their daily routine.

            My daily bubble bath ritual is the time I use to de-stress and prepare for the day. I know it sounds strange, the need to de-stress in the mornings. Most mornings, when I wake up, I immediately begin creating in my head a list of things I need to do. Carving out “me time” helps me to focus on what is important. During my morning ritual, I pray and thank God for being alive, for keeping my family safe, and for giving me the strength to face whatever the day brings. I also take time to reflect on this journey called life. I think it is important to embrace both the good and the bad that happens in our daily journey. Although we endure many struggles and disappointments in life, we also experience many surprises and golden nuggets that are priceless.

            You might ask, what does this have to do with femininity? I believe part of being feminine is taking daily personal time to rediscover yourself. My bubble baths in the morning are about nurturing my body, my mind, and my emotions. My bubble baths remind me that I need to take time to look my best, to approach my day with the best attitude possible, to increase in understanding, to show compassion, and to be an instrument demonstrating kindness and love. My morning baths remind me to embrace the challenges of the day by allowing the challenges to unlock unused potential and help me to embrace change. How you start your day will greatly influence how you respond to the events of the day. Okay ladies, I challenge you to find a morning ritual that will cause you to embrace your femininity by reminding you that your beauty is a representation of what you look like on the inside as well as the outside.   

Mallory

Myah's Words: Accepting My Style, Accepting My Femininity.

When I was in high school, I hoped to win “Best Dressed” my senior year. I put my best foot forward, wearing the cutest outfits I could create and almost never having an “off day” when it came to my clothes. I was sure I stood a chance. In my eyes, I was definitely stylish and people always commented on what I wore. When the “Best Dressed” winner and nominees were announced, I was nowhere in the running. I was devastated. I remember thinking “is my style not good enough?” “Do I dress bad?” The experience led to a fashion downward spiral that lasted four years. From that moment on, I constantly compared my clothes to other girls. I tried to keep up with the trends. I tried to learn the “cool styles” and wear heels. With every outfit I tried to create using other people’s style preferences, I lost a part of myself. 

                                            High school Myah, when I was comfortable with my style.

By the time I graduated from college I was painfully insecure and totally confused about my style. I didn’t feel cute. I didn’t feel feminine. And most of all, I didn’t feel good enough. In graduate school I ran a style blog. Style blogging gave me the opportunity to showcase my personal style, but reading other style blogs caused me to do what I had done so often in the past: compare myself to other people. Once again I was miserable, frustrated, and style-less. It took me a while, but I soon realized that what I had been trying to do all along was gain acceptance through what I wore. In high school, I really believed that winning best dressed would validate my importance. I didn’t feel important so I thought having the approval of “the right people” (popular people) would solidify how important I was. In college, I wanted to fit in so I followed the model of other people. If the cool, accepted girls wore pink boot and fur coats then I wanted to wear pink boots and a fur coat, even if my real style preference was a plaid shirt, jeans, and Uggs. I always wanted to be chic, but really (as someone recently accurately described) my style is very creative. I now seek to enjoy my clothes rather than to wear things other people approve of. Honestly, I’m not trendy. I only know a handful of brand names. My clothes aren’t chic. My taste isn’t sexy. But none of that matters because I have learned to wear what makes Myah happy. I feel the most comfortable in clothes that are sweet, colorful, and sparkly. I’ve learned that my acceptance and femininity are not defined by trends but rather they are defined by me.
Myah

                                    Myah now. I have redefined my style and now I feel more like myself. 

To see more of Myah's style (or to hear more of her thoughts) head on over to her blog :http://thehappyhealthywholegirl.blogspot.com