Sorry I haven't been around, lovelies! 

I was in Japan visiting a Air Force friend!

 For those of you who have read my other blogs, you may be wondering when I leave for basic training. I will be gone 29 December! After 8 weeks though, I'll have computer access again and be needing a brand new wardrobe, considering how much weight I've lost over the course of this year, and what I expect to lose in training... When I do all my shopping, I'll be interested in your opinions, so keep an eye out for me around late February!

In the meantime, enjoy a picture of shirt I bought on Halloween in Japan.

Sorry I've been such a bad Kaboodler! <3

See you again soon! [ish]

First things first, credit for this image belongs 110% to Doe Deere, and you can lean more about this outfit here, on her blog.

 
    Alright. So. For starters, Hello everyone! I realize I haven't been around much these days, so my apologies for being less friendly or responsive than normal. I've had alot going on for a jobless person! :P I finally found out my date for bootcamp- December 29th. Hooray! I've been spending alot of time doing Air Force-y things, working out, and doing little random chores for money to cover my phone bill. Things seem to be slowing down now so I thought I'd take the time to re-connect to my internet buddies. :]

    In my first blog entry, I explained my concern with wanting to maintain my creative, colorful, and edgy personality/style despite becoming part of what is portrayed as a rigidly conservative system. Furthermore, as of August I'm no longer a teenager so I suppose I have  to at least half-way pretend to be grown up, right? (Uh oh.. how do I go about a task like this?!) So, I've been putting more and more thought towards how I can develop my style into what I want it to be... I decided to start with grown-ups I admire. Hmm. For starters, I picked Doe Deere (designer/artist/musician). Why, you ask? Well, I'll explain after I list a few more.

Other adults I admire:

1. Sia Furler. (musician)
2. Regina Spektor. (musician)
3. A friend (of a friend?) named Cherie. (designer)

(There are certainly more, but these were the first few that jumped to the forefront of my mind.)

    There's something very important I'd like to bring attention to about each of this four magnificent women: They are successful, motivated, creative, and talented- but most of all, none of them take themselves too seriously. I love that Cherie had designed for Broadway, yet she has purple hair. She's tall, beautiful, successful. The fact that she has purple hair is really trivial, ultimately, but what I'm trying to emphasize here is that she knows how to push the envelope. My parents went absolutely bonkers when I tried to dye my hair "Atomic Pink" while living under their roof. They insisted that doing something so "outrageous" was akin to spitting in the face of society and would very seriously cripple any chances of my success in life. And yet, magically, here are a group of women that are not only successful but still thinking, working, and living out of the box. Sia, Regina and Doe generally have "normal" hair colors, granted. But they have styles, and messages, that very clearly say "I know who I am, I like me, and you should know and like me, too." It gives me hope for my own future. I should point out, too, that all these women are working artists... This is especially meaningful to me. My head, my soul, are constantly bursting with creative juice that sometimes I don't know what to do with it. Other than photography, I've really never found anything that I was able to fully channel this energy into and really get good at it. So.. what I'm getting at here is that I've decided today that I'm going to do my best to morph into the person I've always wanted to be. In Doe Deere's blog she has a three-part series of entries entitled "Architecture of Candyfuturism." In the third, she explains a personal theory of hers that I found spectacularly impressive and inspiring. I am quoting it directly here, as I couldn't possibly put it more eloquently:

  

"So, what is Candyfuturism?

Candyfuturism is a belief system where one is responsible for building their own ideal future. Candyfuture is your future. I often make an emphasis on the importance of being true to self and not caving in to pressure on this blog. For an aspiring Candyfuturist, this is only the beginning. The real challenge lies not in being rigid and resisting change, but welcoming it and bringing it about yourself! A lot of people take the future for granted and do nothing to earn it. They think it will come whether they sit or stand, rise or fall. The quality of such future is questionable. The Candyfuturist understands he cannot control what’s to come but continuously moves towards his goal, thus assuring a better tomorrow."

 

 This same entry features a quote I find extremely appropriate: 

“Stop being yourself and become who you’ve always wanted to be.” – Paulo Coelho

If you're not already familiar with Doe Deere, I highly recommend you change that.

Her blog: http://www.doedeereblogazine.com/
Her online shop: http://www.limecrimemakeup.com/

    In summation, I admit that I idolize these womenl. :] 
 I respect them for their confidence, their style, their personality and dedication to who they are. Thank you for (unwittingly) laying the stonework for me to find confidence in myself; find faith in originality. Whenever I doubt that I'll someday find my own niche in the art world, whenever I doubt that I will find myself and be able to portray it beautifully through my clothes and art, you are the ones who give me hope. Thank you. <3