How Nadia dared to be different.

Fashion has been and forever will be subjective. Even though society has learned to accept different styles and variations, there still is an invisible wall that has been defined as the “standard.” For me personally, I had quite the journey with fashion.

It takes me back to when I was in kindergarten. I went to a private school and we had to wear uniforms.

I hated it.

I remember feeling super uncomfortable and even almost protesting about it. That was me as a kindergartener. Crazy, I know right? Well, what I learned about myself later in life is that I don’t like being confined to other people’s standards. And no, I’m not telling readers to go protest for wearing uniforms. I’m saying to learn to be creative and create your own standard.

Learn to go outside the box and embrace who you uniquely are. Fashion was an outlet for me but maybe painting is yours, music, or maybe even science!

As I got older, especially during my freshman year of high school, I started taking risks and wearing fashion pieces out of the ordinary. Some people liked it, while others didn’t.

During my sophomore year, I had gotten a few more naysayers than people who liked what I wore. It made me want to stop being creative and confined to what the standard was in my school at the time. And I remember that being a very tense period in my life. I didn’t feel like myself.

During my junior year of high school, I had a realization. I realized that the people who told me that they didn’t like what I wore and who said I “had no sense of fashion” didn’t know me at all. I was the only person who knew who I truly was. And for me to suppress that little kindergartener, who just wanted the freedom to express herself through clothes, was not right. So I eventually stopped caring about what others thought and I learned to embrace who I was.

Even if others didn’t like it. I was not gonna be confined to what other people wanted me to be.

Later that year, I started getting a lot more compliments on my choice of clothing. People admired my boldness and confidence and some even said it inspired them to feel that way too.

So that’s my fashion story. I want to inspire others to embrace who they are. Learn about themselves and be confident and bold while doing it. One thing I love about fashion is that I can be whoever I want to be.

Sometimes I embrace my cool side and other times I embrace my cutesy side but whoever I choose to be that day, I always make sure to stay confident and true to myself.

Nadia Simone Simms is a 17-year-old professional actress, Nine Beauty Cosmetics owner, aspiring writer, and fashion enthusiast.

@nadiasimonesimms

@shopninebeauty

Website coming soon: shopninebeauty.com