Ladies....change your lens, change your story!

8 years ago when I did my first "Fun" photo shoot back in New York, I honestly did not know what to expect. I just wanted to know what the entire catalog modelling experience was about.

But moreover, I wanted to scratch it off my "bucket list of things" that I wanted to do, BEFORE I hit 40.

BEFORE I started showing signs of wrinkles and grey hair.

BEFORE I gained more weight and couldn't workout as much harder I had at keeping the weight off.

BEFORE I stopped focusing on myself and would immerse myself into having a family and kids of my own.

Honestly at that time, although THAT thought came from a place of confidence and goal-achieving mindset, it still had an underlying notion of uncertainty and insecurity that I had 'doomed' myself into thinking. And that ....that thought ....is a danger-zone we, as women, need to be extremely careful of. Because that danger-zone is within our own minds. And no one can change that unless we conscientiously make the effort to change how our minds were conditioned and dictated by family and society to think of ourselves. Because in truth, we end up constantly psyching ourselves out with such insecure thoughts.....into believing that we will never be as good as we were when we were 'younger'.

And boy, was I in for a surprise !!!!

Now that I'm in my 40s, and when I decided to do another photo-shoot, I have to be honest I was nervous. I'm 10 lbs heavier than I was from my photoshoot 8 years ago. And I'm working on getting those 10 lbs off through a healthy physical lifestyle and consistent workouts, but above all, with a primer focus on my mental health. And what made this experience different this round, was a completely different level of confidence that I've never felt before. Something that I've never felt in my 20s nor in my 30s.

As I was posing for each of these pictures, with every shot and with every flash going off, I couldn't help but think that we don’t have to be something we’re not, just to please someone else – forget that. WE get to decide what kind of person we want to become. Others will respect us for who we are when we are our true, unapologetic self. And I'm NOT apologetic for doing this latest photoshoot.

I dared myself to become my biggest competitor. I challenged myself with things that I thought I could never do. I started my blog, working on my side hustle business model, got back into an active physical workout routine, training in dance again...enjoying my career. And now as I look back, I cannot feel anything, but just grateful and surprised of how far I've made it. And this photoshoot is proof of that!!!

So to all the beautiful and gorgeous women in my life - we need to constantly challenge ourselves because no one else is going to do it for us. Whatever we do, we don’t let bumps in the road stop us from reaching the end. At times it may seem that everything is working against us, but that’s all the more reason to hustle through. Obstacles along our way are likely as is with most things worth doing in life. Allow our setbacks to serve as a platform for our comeback. Defeating our deterrents is key for a great success story. When times get tough, get tougher and stay resilient.

“The energy you’ll expend focusing on someone else’s life is better spent working on your own. Just be your own idol.” – Sophia Amoruso