Age Pressure

You HAVE TO see the below video. Bravo to Chloe Bennet for expressing these words that so many of us feel. I saw this video as an ad on YouTube and it resonated so strongly with me (and apparently 5.4M other people as well). I’ve watched it multiple times and it evokes emotion for me every time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNPLbbluze8

(By the way, if you’re curious, she is reacting to the brand SKII’s short film called The Expiry Date.)

POWERFUL WORDS

My favorite part of Chloe’s video is at 2:01 when she says, “I think the moment that resonated with me the most in the film was when you see all these women really deciding to take their destiny into their own hands and make that decision to be true to themselves and say ‘Look this is who I am.'” These words (and the powerful way she says them) just sends chills through my spine. She goes on to describe the woman leaving the date as a powerful moment of standing up for herself. YASS GIRL!

MY MOMENTS

For me, the moment of “getting up from the table” was leaving my secure, well-paid job at Google. “Getting up from the table” was moving from being an author into personal styling. Sometimes it takes us months, years to realize that we need to get up and put ourselves in a different situation – whether for work or a personal relationship.

I think this gets a bad reputation because it looks like we’re unfocused / giving up early / unable to commit, but it’s just part of the journey. When we do something, we give it our all. But we don’t stay in the same place for very long. What worked for me at 28 years old, may not work for me at 30 years old.

Change is the only constant, and I’m not going to let anyone else box me into something they think I should do or be. And I’m definitely not going to go the “safer” route because oftentimes that makes me feel …(for lack of a better word) dead inside, like I’ve betrayed myself.

THIS IS ME

I’m going to be someone who is willing to re-invent myself over and over again until I get closer to who I am. I won’t minimize the hard work or fear involved. It’s going to be a daily challenge, but I’m going to keep “getting up” and going after what I want.

What are you going to choose?