American Me, American You
We are officially 2 weeks into 2018 and already the year has started off with a bang. I started off the year with some golden opportunities and great news and still yet, I am still angry and driven to reach for me. As I've mentioned before, that feeling of wanting to as good as you envision is a natural one and is important to pushing yourself beyond your limits but it is also important to take a breath in the moment and enjoy it.
I recently caught my first cab in DC (after almost 35 minutes of trying) and had a very interesting conversation with the driver, who was an Ethiopian man. It is very much the American way to work non-stop and it has been tradition for so long that I'm not even sure we consciously recognize ourselves caught up in the mix. Labor forces in other countries look at Americans through a lens that depicts us to have a misguided understand of how life is actually supposed to go. Americans are said to lead a lifestyle where we live to work when, like many other countries, we should be working to live. Instead, we get caught up in the rat race chasing shiny things and earning more just to lessen debt that we have accumulated.
Funny enough, it's all in order to help the American machine run smoothly. The less freedom we have, the more efficiently the capitalistic system can operate. We buy buy buy, then have to work work work in order to achieve balance. The reality is that we should all be enjoying life to the fullest. We should be traveling, spending time amongst good friends, experiencing new things, trying new things. But in order to feel fulfilled, you must first recognize the robotic steps that we all take to remain invested - and that is always the hardest thing to admit. After all, we are the children that America raised and as a result, our minds are wired to live accordingly. But as I discussed with my cab driver, governmental systems look out for their own best interest and as a result, we the people should also.
So for me and my group of friends, we choose to chase the proverbial, American Dream, but as we do so we also make sure to enjoy the hell out of the process. This set is brought to you by the wonderful production team that came together to make it possible :
Lead by the amazing Model & Creative Director, Eden (@eden.girmatsion). Styled by the talented Malissa (@afrovelvet). And Beautified by S. Wright (@bytten.kyssz). All shot by Me
Follow them on IG & Twitter and look out for more work between us.
