2013
December 9, 2013
Find your life’s passion and pursue your dreams
At some point in your life, an undeniable passion grasps ahold of your soul and directs you toward whatever your fate may be. Every person is created differently and is born with a different fate; Miley Cyrus apparently was put on this Earth to make twerking and tongue-wagging famous and Zac Posen was created to pleat and drape until the mouth of every woman drops in admiration. My passion, creating art both musically and aesthetically, has been clinging to my heart for as long as I can remember and is what I believe I am meant to do. There was not a specific “eureka” moment of realization of my life’s passion, I have just always loved music and fashion.
My junior year of high school, when I started planning and thinking about my future, I freaked out a little bit. I had been touring various colleges that provided for every type of major, but I could not picture myself studying at any of them. I figured out quickly that I was not meant to be a doctor, lawyer, or any other profession that all parents dream of for their children- due to my sudden sickness at the sight of blood and my strong loathing to argue about any disagreement; although I am very good at it, and I was left unsure of who I was supposed to be. Societal expectations were not mixing well with my heart’s true desires and I eventually chose to ignore society’s pleas. Following my heart, I knew that I wanted to continue pursuing music- I had already been signed to AGP Records as a writer and a recording artist for about six months, but I also had this strong desire to incorporate the love I have always had for the craft of fashion design into my career. I was not entirely sure how to do so.
“FIT was the perfect fit for me”
Then, miraculously, I read the Teen Vogue Handbook and The Fashion Designer Survival Guide. After reading both incredibly informative “sacred texts”, how I choose to refer to those life-saving books, in which the Fashion Institute of Technology is sufficiently discussed and praised, studying fashion design, specifically at FIT, suddenly became a very enticing option for furthering my education. It clicked: music and fashion.
With my mind completely set on going to school for fashion, I toured the FIT campus March of 2013 and something about it simply, and finally, felt right. I could actually see myself living there: attending classes, joining clubs, studying in my dorm, designing, learning about the business, and actually having interests and talents in common with other students- something I have struggled with my entire life because of growing up in a small town that did not bestow many outlets through which I could express my designing capabilities or my creativity. I had read in some book or advice column that students “just know” when a college is right for them in the same way that someone “just knows” when he or she meets the person with whom he or she is destined to marry and love forever. Whoever wrote that spoke the truth; I “just knew” that FIT was the perfect fit for me, no pun intended.
November 11, 2013
Life as a freshman in NYC
New York City: Center of the Universe. Land of the fashionably brilliant and land of the fashionably challenged. Here I am, in the middle of all its beautiful chaos, trying to create my own niche in this thing we call life. Let me tell you, it is not easy, being a full-time musician and a soon-to-be full-time fashion student at the Fashion Institute of Technology.
“Me” my dream!
There is an undeniable beauty in being surrounded with an unending amount of stimulation coming from so many different directions. It is an inspiring energy that opens up possibilities previously unimagined and possibilities I have been dreaming about for my whole life.
Moving into the city has proven to be equal parts invigorating and stressful, as any move would be, but it is an incredible feeling to start a new chapter in my life; a chapter I have been calling “Me”. My dream!
It is the beginning, where the reality of the hard work I have chosen to dedicate myself to hits me like a ton of bricks. Repeat: a TON of bricks. But it is awesome, and I can already see myself maturing by gaining wisdom of the fashion and music businesses and starting to grow into my own.
New challenges present themselves every day which test my knowledge and adaptability. I know that at some point I will be pushed to my limits and I am excited, believe it or not, for everything: the good as well as the bad.
Inspiration: nothing is ever as it seems to be
Inspiration is a funny thing. It comes from everything and nothing at the same time, depending upon one’s perspective. I love shoes, I seriously am in love with Jeffery Campbell shoes and have a personal relationship with them; maybe I need professional help, and I often find myself lusting over a pair of shoes that I cannot afford and probably will not be able to afford for a few years.
Frankly, I find it pitiful. But a few months ago jokingly speaking with a friend, I caught myself saying, “I’m so tired of wanting these shoes. It drives me insane,” and that was it: inspiration.
An idea for a song popped into my head and I had it completely written in less than an hour. It seems to be about a relationship turning sour, but it really is about me trying to get over the fact that I could not purchase a pair of Kanye West’s DW shoes that I have unmistakably seen in Kim Kardashian’s closet on her infamous show, “Keeping Up With the Kardashians”! I named it “It Was All Good” and the hook goes something like:
“I’m so tired of this game, it drives me insane. I can’t stop it no-oh-oh ooh ooh oh-oh. Now you’re done with me, it’s funny to see, ‘cuz I was over you oou oo yesterday.”
That is another thing I have learned, nothing is ever as it seems to be. Inspiration itself, if it should be actual matter, is the most malleable substance in existence. It is meant to be molded into every possible dimension the human brain can imagine. No perspective should be left unexplored or undiscovered. Not even writing a song about a pair of shoes failing to hold its prospective weight in a human relationship.
Love, Brielle