Things Change…and That’s Okay!
A letter from Laken
People change. It’s inevitable. Our life experiences shape who we are and what we will become. What we want, how we think, our world view, and how we view ourselves will change. It’s apart of growing and evolving. How we as people change, can change what we want for ourselves and for our futures. What once made us happy may no longer serve us. We see this all the time in distancing friendships, new friendships, changes in hobbies, and even our fashion sense or taste may slowly change. Rarely do we decide one day “I am going to be a different person”. Slowly, we start to lean away from our old interests and by the time we decide to change something tangible or physical, we have already become the version of ourself that deserves that physical or tangible change.
Over the last few years, I have gone through many periods of change. I look back at who I once was and I feel so many emotions towards the younger version of me. I had an idea of who I wanted to be and what I wanted for myself. I dove head first to make that idea a reality. I wanted everything. I loved to stand out. I loved colorful makeup, extreme features, bizarre clothing, you name it. I loved making a statement. I loved to make people do a double take. I enjoyed the feeling of being different. It made me happy.
When it came to cosmetic enhancements- I loved the Mild extreme. I say mild, because I never wanted to look overdone, but I did want to strive for absolute perfection, or as close to a Barbie like appearance as I could. I wanted big lips, strong cheeks, higher eyebrows, glass skin, and a perfect jawline. And I believe at one point, I achieved my version of this. With the access to some of the best injectors in the game (*cough* *cough* Katie) I knew I could achieve this. For a while, I would constantly ask for touch ups and maintenance to ensure nothing ever faltered. But then, I started growing up.
I started cosmetic enhancements at a very young age, and I am still fairly young. At the ripe age of 24, I still have so much time left in this life to change. I will be a different version of myself next year, the year after that, and the year after that. Over the last year, I have felt a shift in my thinking, a shift in my being. (Maybe it’s my frontal lobe finishing development as they say that happens around 25? I’m kidding…. Unless?) So my view on cosmetics has also started changing. I no longer desire the same extreme in appearance. I look back on pictures where I had less and now I more closely align with when less was more for me. A year ago, more was more. Taking a step outside of myself- I have come to realize that I as a person have slowly let go of many extremes over time- and now it’s time for me to make a physical change - a cosmetic one.
Dissolving. Over the last few weeks I have dissolved so much of my filler, something I never thought I would do. I dissolved my lips, I dissolved my cheeks- I’ve been chipping away at everything. My new goal for myself is for the less is more approach. I no longer need to make a statement with my appearance. (I am the statement, duh😉) TRUST I will always have lip fillers and I will always have cheek fillers (I LOVE THEM) but my goal for what I want has changed. I want to be more simple/elegant. More obtainable if I was the average person who did not have a boss who can give them a liquid plastic surgery whenever they request. LOL. I desire a more “she has work done, but what is it?” appearance. Something that fits me more with how I feel as a person. So I am saying goodbye to the extremes, and hello to more natural cosmetic work. And I’m excited to see where this takes me.
If you can take anything away from my journey- it’s that it is okay to change. To want something different. And in the world of cosmetics, you can always change your mind. You are not stuck on a one way street. You can play around, experiment, and find what works for you and aligns with who you are. You can go more extreme if you want or you can tame it down. Change can be scary, but sometimes it’s important to allow yourself to change in all aspects of your life. You might be happier if you do.