March is my January. I usually start the year in the same way every year, mind in hibernation mode and body in automatic pilot. Past January and February, March re-borns. Always hand in hand with me.  We set up new rules, we push towards transitions, we embrace changes, we make new promises. And because promises are way stronger than resolutions, we stick to them.

7 PROMISES

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CHALLENGING MYSELF PROFESSIONALLY: I couldn’t be more grateful for my education, studying in different schools and countries definitely pushed my limits further and further every time. To meet new people, to adapt myself to different environments, to develop skills that are now helping me build my own venture. However, I am also SO DONE with studying. I feel like there is always that point where you think “enough” and where you feel completely ready to face the new challenges life has to offer. Well, I’m totally passed that point. I can’t wait to start reaching for all the opportunities out there go for what I call the Big Girl Job. I need to face new experiences, to get challenged intellectually, to be financially independent, to discover different environments and be as volatile as I can be. Workaholic mode ON.

LIVING BEYOND FEAR: Ditch the “what if it never happens” or the “What if I fail” for more positive and self-empowering thoughts. Creating and writing without worrying about likes, follows, validation or approval. Applying to Google or deciding to pursue blogging professionally, if that is what I feel like doing. Doing something crazy, saying hello even if it paralyzes me, kissing life basically. Because why the hell not after all?

BEING HEALTHY: Not just in my body but also in my mind. I am truly stunned by the fact that some people always prioritize getting a size smaller before their emotional well being. For years, I have chased weight losses in an unhealthy way without considering that my mindset also needed to change. While my body kept evolving after intense workouts, my mind couldn’t quite follow the same rhythm. Getting suck in the same rotative thoughts taught me that the change needs to come from the mind first. If your mind isn’t ready to embrace YOU with all your extra kilos, acne, white hairs and cellulite; it will just never embrace you. No matter how skinny you get, how squatted your ass looks like or if you finally achieve to look like a Victoria Secret model (how sad though). Being healthy is about finding the balance to feel good with yourself on both good and bad days. It’s about feeling confident of the person you are to move forward to an even better you.

BECOMING A NICE PERFECTIONIST: Stop pressuring myself so much regarding to my work as it often blocks me from moving forward. Being a perfectionist has helped me so much to improve my craft significantly, especially during the last year. However, it has also stopped me in many occasions from posting content that truly meant something to me . As a perfectionist, growing an audience is freaking terrifying as it means more pressure to succeed and provide content that truly correspond that audience.  2017 means to stop being a bitch to my work as well as hustling as hard as I can to make it better, more real, more me.

GROW PB: I couldn’t be prouder of all the stories I got to tell and to witness my own journey on a tangible platform. I’m looking forward to working harder than ever to see better content come to life, to working with brands that truly resonate with me, to meeting more amazing people and empowering as much as I can. That also means being more consistent and treating it more like a business than a hobby, to find the balance between what I want to offer and what my audience expect to see.

LEARN TO LET GO: Holding on to people, things, memories and past versions of myself has blocked me to enjoy the present moment. Every time something bad happens, I tend to overthink everything and automatically blame myself for it. Sometimes you just got to accept the situation the way it is and let go to be able to move on to more experiences, to take decisions freely without the guilt and self-consciousness weighting in. You can’t allow yourself to believe that things go wrong because of who you are, you can’t let your failures define you as a person. Shit happen everyday, so breathe slow and just let go.

AND.. WHATEVER: 2016 has been such a great year in terms of self-growth. Before moving to Canada, things used to affect me way too much but I learnt to focus on my thing independently of what everybody had to say about it. People often piss me off, I get disappointed and I waste energy on things that truly don’t deserve it. I don’t want the drama, I don’t want the gossip, I don’t want to pretend being friends with fake bitches, I don’t want to pretend to agree when my heart tells me otherwise. Eventually, people are going to talk, to think that they have the right to know better than you do. So whatever. I’ll just go ahead and do my thing while they keep bitchin’.

Lots of love always,

Neguine

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TODAY I’M WEARING: ZARA pants, coat and sweater // TOPSHOP boots // GUCCI bag

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All pictures by Darius Boustantchi