It's Time To Begin

 to ashes, to ashes...

 Top: Ever New | Pants: Bershka | Shoes: DAS | Bag: Marc Jacobs | Earrings: Cultus Chi Chi | Accessories: Charriol

It's time to begin, isn't it?
I get a little bit bigger, but then,
I'll admit, I'm just the same as I was
Now don't you understand
That I'm never changing who I am?

One of the few days I am dressing down and well, to be honest, I am seen to be simple and casual in a cropped embroidered pastel top from newly opened brand, Ever New paired with a pair of tribal print Ikat harem pants from Bershka. The outfit, I accidentally got to pair together  (I never really knew the separate pieces would match as well as they did) is something I usually do not do as I would prefer to up the ante by pairing the rather baggy pants with a dressier top like a bustier or a corset. However, granted I felt very much in the casual mood that day, I decided to go for cotton on cotton with minimal accessories- save for a pair of my favorite feather earrings from accessory brand, Cultus Chi Chi. Given most of my blog readers know that I am who I am, I decided not to disappoint and since I believe in high heels so much, I wanted to add a bit of fierce and my signature spunk to the look with my nude hued studded heel-less customized shoes from DAS, one of my favorite shoe brands since I could remember. Nothing like an outfit that deviates from my normal sassy style and something that is easy and comfortable to wear to begin again and, for lack of a better term, represent me figuratively hitting the "REFRESH" button in my life... A departure from the drama, the controversy, the intrigue and everything I have been going through lately. My life may not be as easy and breezy as this outfit but I reckon, there's no harm in pretending, even in something as simple as one's outfit choice for the day. 

What can I say about a new beginning except that- it is invigorating. After a week long holiday for some good old peace and quiet- so I can breathe and reboot (or whatever it is people go away for), I am back, fresher than ever, having bid Dramanila goodbye for quite some time. I have to say, there is no better feeling in the world. Leaving a toxic and chaotic place and compartmentalizing your issues and problems is a must. It's nice to forget about them sometimes too, then return to addressing such when you are better. It's not about being defeated or waving a white flag, since I have no intentions of doing that but taking a breather was essential. And while I have no intentions of changing who I am (as indicated by the song lyrics from my post's title  provided by breakout band Imagine Dragons), I am ready to take on anything that comes my way and this time, with renewed strength and with the knowledge and confidence in the ideology that sometimes, things will simply unfold in time.

One of the things I can totally relate to on my quest to beginning again is this: "Fresh starts. Thanks to the calendar, they happen every year. Just set your watch to January. Our reward for surviving the dramatic storm of life is a new beginning. Put your past behind you and start over. It's hard to resist the chance of a new beginning, a chance to put the problems of last year to bed. Who gets to determine when the old ends and the new begins? It's not a day on the calendar, not a birthday, not a New Year. It's an event. Big or small. Something that changes us. Ideally, it gives us hope. A new way of living and looking at the world. Letting go of old habits, old memories. What's important is that we never stop believing we can have a new beginning. But it's also important to remember that amid all the crap are a few things really worth holding on to. "

xx, JL