It was a beautiful day in New York.  The sun was shining, the temperature was perfect, and there was the occasional slight breeze.  It has been an unusually snowy, wet, cold winter here so everyone is waiting with bated breath for actual spring weather.  Hence, why there were so many people inappropriately dressed people walking through the streets of Manhattan today.  This is the season for transitional wear, not full on summer attire.

So yesterday was everything that nightmares and ill wishes are made of.  My God sis and I have this weird thing where we always catch the clock at the same time everyday.  We usually send each other a text when it happens, but I was feeling so down yesterday that I just told her I would have to talk to her later because I felt so beaten down by life.  Her response was: tomorrow’s anew.  I woke up today determined to make it better than yesterday.  I said a prayer and made my declarations while getting dressed for my internship, and when I walked outside it was actually warm!  Look at God!  Won’t He do it?

I got to the office and detected a weird mood from my superiors but I was so determined to be great today that I just did my work and kept my inner light shining, and wouldn’t you know it, their mood seemed to improve as well.  It’s funny how a bad day can get passed around like a disease.  One person pisses off another, and they just pass that negativity around.  It really only takes one person to maintain their inner peace to break that cycle.  You would be surprised how telling someone they look nice can alter their whole mood.  That’s my namaste moment for this post.

Anyway, my boss invited my intern partner and I to accompany her to a speaking engagement she was doing at our school and we accepted the invite of course.  As we sat there listening to her tell about her career and how she got started I found myself in awe of her.  To see a woman in a power position holding down a job, two children, and a husband, and doing so with style filled me with such inspiration.  The highlight of her speech was when she acknowledged the qualities that my partner and I possess that make us such great assets to their team.  I was so flattered and surprised, because it never occurred to me that she took notice of our personalities like that.  We get so caught up in our various projects throughout the work day that it seems like no one really has time to notice anything about anyone aside from whether or not they look cute that day.  Trust me in our office nine times out of ten they do.

The presentation concluded with the attendees coming up to my partner and I asking us questions like how we got the internship and if we really like it, and what they should do to get chosen to intern as well.  We had a nice fifteen minutes of fame before departing and heading back to the office to get lunch.  It was so nice out that we sat in Bryant Park and took in the sights of people in inappropriate attire, overly anxious for consistently warm weather.

I took quite a few things away from today.  First off I have to remember that even when things get hard, there are so many people that would love to be where I am (financial struggles and all) so I have to remain humble and thankful.  Second, people are always watching you, so be mindful of what you’re showing them.  Third, don’t get so caught up in the everyday hustle that you forget to look up.  After all I do live in New York.

In my best Ice Cube voice: today was a good day.

Most days I get this overwhelming feeling of joy and pride in knowing that I am well on my way to accomplishing my goals.  It often hits me when I’m walking towards Times Square to catch the train to class that I am actually a fashion student and intern living in New York.  That realization gives me the second wind to make it through class successfully after a long day of thankless, pay-less work.  Today wasn’t one of those days.  Today I had a case of the mean reds.  If you are unfamiliar with Breakfast at Tiffany’s I’m sure that reference is lost on you.  The mean reds are days that are worse than having the blues.  It’s another way of saying: I’m really going through it today.

Lupita Nyong’o is single handedly bringing color back, and not just with her epic skin.  The following are some looks inspired by her recent appearances. 

Lupita Nyong’o at the GQ Men of the Year Event

Lupita Nyong’o in yellow J. Mendel dress At the 17th Annual Hollywood Film Awards

It is a thankless job with little to no pay, long hours and more experience than you could ever hope to gain in a classroom or retail job.  Every semester fashion hopefuls scrounge to get some of the most highly coveted internships in the industry.  We all do this with the hopes that adding those few lines to our résumés will mean an entry level position post graduation.  An internship at a reputable company is an integral part of securing a real industry job, or so we’ve been told.  

So we go in to these companies three days a week putting our best foot forward.  You observe the women in the office.  How they dress, how they carry themselves, how they speak, their work ethic, and you take notes, lots and lots of mental notes.  You try to remember every little nugget of information that your superiors give you, because you just know that it will come in handy.  “The fashion world is incredibly small, so don’t make any enemies.”  “You can take all the marketing classes in the world, but attention to detail and efficiency are what help you to survive here.”  “Ask questions.  Better to ask questions than to screw up and have to explain later.”  And you hang on to these words, because you’re ever hopeful that you will get the opportunity to put them to use sooner than later.

Never mind that you get overlooked when the account managers are introducing the team.  Don’t worry about the fact that you don’t get to eat what everyone else gets to eat of the catered meals.  Ignore that your feet hurt from wearing heels to run errands all day.  Don’t focus on the fact that you may or may not get credit for your contribution to the overall goal.  Stay positive.  Be teachable.  Always be willing and available to help.  Don’t take anything personally.  Make a positive and lasting impression.  Be a self starter.  Take some initiative.  Whatever you do dress well.

So, the past couple of weeks have been Market week at my internship.  This means that retailers come in to view the next season’s collections and place their orders.  What does this mean to little old me?  The chance to sit in on appointments and get a firsthand look at the business side of fashion, but it also means free food.  The company has catered breakfast and lunch for clients that are coming in to view the collections. and for the fit models.  (Yes, they encourage models to eat.) Let me preface this next part by saying that I work with an amazing group of people in my department.  Their level of dedication to their jobs is a great example of work ethic and they treat me with the utmost respect. 

Since I began on this journey to find my way into fashion I have been compared to quite a few women.  Of course moving from Atlanta to Brooklyn, New York I get “oh so you’re like ‘A Belle in Brooklyn.’  When I did a brief stint as a fashion stylist I constantly heard: oh you must want to be the next June Ambrose, but the most frequent comparison has been to the one and only Carrie Bradshaw.  The Sex and the City character that stole our hearts years ago with tales of love, sex, and fashion.  While I will agree that there are some parallels betwixt the lives of Ms. Bradshaw and myself I want it to be known that my life differs dramatically from that of hers albeit fictional.