Imperfectly You: China Glaze Prism

This is my second installment of Imperfectly You. You can check out the first installment here. This will be a monthly/bi-monthly feature where I will feature a nail polish that I find can reflect or inspire a topic that relates to self esteem and empowerment.

Today's topic is inspired by China Glaze Prism.

I chose this polish because a prism is an object that when when it touches the light you can see a spectrum of colors. I feel that we as people are have spectrum of interests, emotions, aspects to our personality and so on. I view myself as a prism. I have many complexities and facets to my personality that make me unique!

My experience:
I used to struggle with the many facets and the spectrum of my personality. There are times in my life I've felt like I don't fit in with others or a part of a group. I've always had a wide array of interests and I never felt like I really clicked with a group of people the way others do. When I was younger I'd try and conform, or force myself to like certain things in desperate attempts to fit in with people. While, it may of worked to some degree, it wasn't real. I felt like a fake, and I was miserable because pretending to like bands or movies I didn't like got old quickly!

It probably took me to about 22 years old to realize that I'm fine just the way I am. I can have a lot of different hobbies, interests, and sides to myself. I don't need to be one type of person to fit one mold I think is expected of me. I think I appear cheerful and fun on my blog, but that's not all of who I am. I'm also introspective and abstract, a lot of which you do not see on my blog, but it's there in other cases! I'm also a big history and art buff. I could talk about the most interesting events in history and my favorite artistic movements for hours. There are a lot of different sides to me, and I can be all of that and still make great friends and be accepted into groups of people. It's nice to know that my spectrum of colors can be embraced by others and myself! It's taken me awhile to realize this, but I'm glad I have.

Would you consider yourself a prism as far as having a spectrum of interests and facets to your personality? 

Have you always been confident about this or did you ever hold back parts of yourself? 

Please share your thoughts on this topic in the comments below!

Imperfectly You: Be Brave

Welcome to Imperfectly Painted newest feature, Imperfectly You! I've have been so inspired by your responses to my Talk it Out Tuesday posts and my recent bullying post that I wanted to do more with Imperfectly Painted. I know many of us struggle with self esteem and insecurities. I have found that one of the best ways to gain positivity and strength is through sharing and being open about our experiences. I want Imperfectly You to be that for my readers. This will be either a monthly or twice a month feature where I will feature a nail polish that has name that I think reflects a topic/theme that I feel is important to us as women as far as self esteem building. I will then share my experiences with this topic, and the comment section will be open to you all reflect on your experiences. I want to create a positive and supportive space for all of us, and of course connect it to our love of nail polish. We are all imperfect people, but you know what? That is OK, and we are enough just the way we are. 

Today's Topic: Being Brave/Bravery, inspired by Orly Glam FX Be Brave polish.

I think a lot of times we sell ourselves short. It's hard in our lives when we are under a lot of stress or pressure to give ourselves credit. We often feel weak or inadequate when our world does not go the way we expect or want it to. This is simply not true, a lot of things we do in our life are not easy, and we have to be brave to take certain actions or deal with certain emotions. These acts of bravery no matter how small or how big should never get swept under the rug.

My experience with bravery:
I lack the ability a lot of the time to recognize my own bravery. I often find that other people tell me my moments of bravery. Sadly, in the past I would dismiss this, and just say it's not a big deal. Now, I'm learning  to appreciate my moments of bravery and recognize their worth. One of my bravest moments was probably picking up and moving from Dallas, TX to Orlando, FL at 20..alone. I didn't have any friends or family here, but I knew I needed to get away from home. Home was toxic to me, and while my parents were nothing but loving, my hometown was full of painful memories and reminders of a life I wanted to leave behind. So, I left.  I never realized what a bold move that was until so many people approached me and said they could never move away alone like I did. I consider myself an overly cautious person. I don't ride roller coasters or any ride that isn't meant for 3 year olds for that matter. Flying makes me nervous.  I check to make sure the door is locked 923598 before I go to sleep, but I never thought moving almost 1,200 miles away from home wasn't anything to make a fuss about? Crazy. I used to be so hard on myself for not feeling like I'm living up to par with my childhood peers. I ventured into a new city alone. That's not easy! It wasn't easy, and now I try to remember to pat myself on the back about my bravery in regards to this.

Where in your life have you been brave?

Please share your experiences with being brave in the comments below.

Happy Wednesday!