It's Never Too Late to Cherry
I cannot believe it’s almost fall already, as in it’s happening next week when we cross the threshold into September. Time is flying by fast, and I’m talking about not only the imminent passing of summer but also the general passage of seasons. The seasons of our lives.
Last week, I shared the story about how I discovered my passion for kawaii fashion. I have noticed that the average age of people who like and wear LIZ LISA, judging by the models and what I see on Instagram, seems to be much younger. And of course, the designs and patterns of the brand give off a very youthful image. Some might even be deemed too cutesy for a professional setting, such as the Sanrio collaboration dresses.
As the summer sale on Tokyo Kawaii Life unfolded, I found two outfits that I wanted to get—the mocha belted jumpskirt and the white chocolate-dipped cherry jumpskirt. I was leaning more towards the former because the details are beautiful but subtle. I worry the latter wouldn’t suit me because the cherry print might come off as too cutesy. “It’s too much. I should probably stick to something safe like the mocha belted jumpskirt.”
ALL LIZ LISA.
Something about that line of thinking didn’t sit well with me, so I let my heart decide. Do I want this because people will accept me more or because that’s truly what I want? Then I realized too often we let our worries about what society will think of us (or what we think society will think of us, aka our highly critical selves) stop us. Sometimes they conveniently become excuses for why we don’t go for what we truly want, and age is one of them.
“I’m too old to start this project or go into acting/music/writing/dancing/other industries.” There is no such thing. It’s simply a matter of how badly you want it. Time and time again, my theory is proven right. Poet laureate Billy Collins got published and became famous at age 49, and Deshun Wang became a model at 79 years old.
All LIZ LISA.
We live in the age of convenience and omnipresent social pressure. It’s easier now than ever to distract ourselves from our dreams and get scared into submission to mainstream ideas by the sometimes-oppressive social media climate. But it’s up to us to overcome these obstacles and stay the course when it comes to something we truly believe in and love.
It’s not going to be easy, and you may not even succeed. The only thing that’s certain is if you never try, the rate of failure is 100 percent.
ALL LIZ LISA.
And the ending to my little shopping saga? I got the white chocolate-dipped cherry jumpskirt and got lots of compliments from people on the street. But it’s not about the compliments. It’s about being proud of who I am and showing that off one cherry jumpskirt at a time. It’s never too late to start pursuing your passion, and you never know what might happen.