Influence Yourself!

If you’re familiar with my blog, you probably know I encourage everyone to be themselves and embrace their uniqueness! In this post (my 50th blog post!), I want to elaborate on that subject further, with the central focus on style and fashion, as it’s such a big representation of who we are.

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I feel like so many young people these days look the same. Everyone’s doing their hair and makeup the same and wearing the same types of outfits… I know there are always trends and styles that are “in” throughout the decades, but I feel like it’s a bit extreme right now. Or maybe I just never noticed before. Either way, I am not a fan. If you know what I’m talking about, you know I’m talking cropped tops, gold jewelry, middle parts, athleisure, plain black and other boring-colored clothes, and floral-print dresses. Now, don’t get me wrong, some of those things can be cute and all sometimes, but these are all things I think are very over-used right now.

I don’t exactly or completely understand why everyone wants to look the same. I know people have their reasons for things; maybe they really love being trendy and fashionable, or they struggle with peer pressure, or don’t want to look different because different can be seen as weird, but I’m here to tell you that you can look cute and feel good without copying other people’s style. I’m not saying don’t try to find inspiration from others at all! I mean, even I share outfit ideas on this blog! What I want to say is that you have your own style and preferences and personality and you should embrace them!

You don’t have to look like everyone else to be beautiful. You don’t have to have perfect skin; it isn’t natural. You don’t have to wear a color you don’t like. You can play around with different hairstyles and find what suits you yourself, instead of styling it the way everyone else is. You don’t have to spend money and invest time in getting your nails or hair done or buying makeup if that’s just not you. But if that is you, do it the way you want it done! I don’t think really long, fake nails are attractive, so I’ve never gotten them done like that. I think wearing sweatpants out in public is kind of lazy and I don’t like the trend, so I don’t do it. I don’t like gold jewelry, so I wear silver. And you can too! Wear silver if you don’t like gold. Don’t wear sweatpants in public if it will make you feel like a bum. Don’t wear those crazy nails if they’re uncomfortable (and you want to look natural). Be picky if you want. Stand firm in your convictions. (For example, I only wear cropped tops if I have a cami on underneath because I don’t think showing off the midriff is modest.) No offense intended toward the girlies who like gold, who are comfortable in oversized hoodies, or who carry around large water bottles as an accessory, of course! None at all! As long as that’s what you like and fits your personality, that’s great! I simply want to encourage you to be yourself and not be afraid to embrace your own uniqueness.

You may have heard this comparison before, but you know how snowflakes are all different from each other? God made each of us different too. Even identical twins have their differences. Some of us have brown eyes and some have blue, and God did that on purpose. Some of us are naturally quieter than others, and that’s so ok. Some of us are short, some tall, some pale-toned, some darker-toned, some with a big, brilliant smile, some with a small, sweet one, some with freckles and others without. God didn’t make us all to look the same on purpose. If He wanted all of us to look the same, He would’ve done it. We’re still all loved by Him equally, no matter what He made us to look like. And His acceptance is the only acceptance we need and should strive for.

Of course, how you dress and your outer appearance don’t define you or your personality, but those things can certainly represent them. Remember you are not your looks, or how well you keep up with trends, or how popular you are; you are so precious, and there is no one else on earth who is quite like you. No one could ever replace you, and no one is better than you for looking a certain way or owning certain material things. So go be who God made you to be, and let your personality shine!

P.S. If you’d like some tips on finding your own personal style in outfits, click here to read some of my advice for you!