Season 1 : Episode 3
"Gird your Loins!" We all know the cinematic masterpiece that ties a coming of age story with the important impact fashion has on society. It's one of my favorites, to say the least. Yet, just in case you don't know what I rambling about, I'm referring to the movie The Devil Wears Prada.
In this tale we see a twenty-something old Anne Hathaway brave on the twists and turns that come with the New York Fashion Industry while gaining a new sense of confidence and style. After working for editor-in-chief Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) of Runway magazine, Andy Sachs (Hathaway) a girl who once couldn't care less about how she presented herself transformed into an assured, fierce boss. Yet, as this change in Andy becomes more and more apparent to her friends, they are the least bit interested in maintaining a friendship with the "new and improved" her. Most nod along with the plot, thinking "she changed, it's okay for them to isolate her because she's picked up a few pieces of Chanel and can roll Italian designers' names off her tongue like a good morning greeting." To me, these people who called themselves her "friends", shunned her as she was trying to glow and grow out of the fear that they may not have room in the space she was trying to make for herself.
"All she did was get the Chanel boots,"
I scream in agreement as I watch the same scene for the fifteenth time that makes me madder than when I'm offered an iced tea, instead of sweet. How dare they overreact to her taking an interest in her work and reaping the benefits of it. Yet, we all have had those moments where we "get the new Chanel boots" and people we thought were on our team flocked when we flourished. If you're lucky enough to not experience this painful epiphany, strap up whatever Chanel you're sporting, because you haven't lived enough. Whether these new boots are a job promotion, a new business release, or the fruits of your self-improvement labor---if your "team" gets salty when you break them out the box, check them and then check yourself.
Checking them doesn't always have to be a dramatic Basketball Wives Scene where you're throwing glasses and plates across the table. It can simply just serve as putting a safe distance between you and whoever is secretly plotting on you from the inside. If they aren't cheering you on as you accomplish all you set out for, why would you want them next to you? That's when you need to check yourself. Have a one-on-one about your worth and the type of energy you want to allow around yourself. I've been checking myself and others constantly since I've arrived to D.C., yet something I've learned from the many plane trips from here to back home is that you can't reach a high altitude without the trouble of turbulence. As I've received new opportunities, grown professionally, and grown mentally--I've lost a lot of people along the way; but the trouble wasn't in how I dealt with them, it was with how I dealt with myself. You can cut off as many people as you want, but until you establish what you want, exemplify what you want, and choose wisely what kind of people you want around you, you'll keep cutting until you eventually cut yourself.
So where's the lesson in all that I've written? It's to not only be proud of that Chanel you've worked so hard for, but to also watch how the people around you react when you pull it out. Do they shame you for "changing," do they profess how happy they are for you, or do they not say anything at all? Be careful of who you show your "designer" to, and be wary of the company you keep.
