Looking back on childhood memories makes me nostalgic. Every memory stored in photos that I can look back at, photos that still, to this day bring a smile to my face, reminding me of the good times.
When I look back at photos of my childhood, I see my innocent younger self enjoying life without a care in the world, and it is a constant reminder for me to be grateful and appreciative of everyone and everything that made my childhood so special and shaped me into the person I am today.
Childhood memories are either the fondest ones or the ones that you dread most of all to remember. They carve your soul; they mould your being; their force has an impact greater than other memories. (LIEW, 2022).
As part of the ‘Brand Me’ module summer homework, we have been tasked with answering this broad question to gain a deeper understanding of ourselves before we emerge into industry. Understanding what our values are, how we react to certain situations, are you a risk taker? etc. Answering these questions will hopefully reveal to me who I am and how that will shape my career path going into industry.
The aim of this book is to be more informed of myself, this will involve researching myself, my childhood, my family, and in doing so, will hopefully lead me to be able to brand myself. My aim is to understand myself on a deeper level and why I am the way I am today. So, with that being said. Who am I really?
I feel like these pictures sum me up well as I am someone who will wear something repeatedly if I love it. For instance, this is an example of the attitude I have when it comes to fashion. ‘I don’t care if it’s not sunny, the sunglasses make the outfit’.
With whatever I wear, I like to stand out, to make an impression or be different. In that respect, I would say that I am someone who likes to push the boundaries when it comes to fashion. However, I would sometimes say that I am a bit too obsessed with clothes, and I know this because my mood often depends on whether or not I like my outfit.
My name is Freya Davidson, I am 20 years old and I’m from the Wirral which is where I have grown up and lived for the past 20 years. My interests lie between a mix of fashion, music and travelling, but fashion will always hold first place. Aswell as studying Fashion Marketing and Communication at university, My time is split between university, going to the gym and working on my small business. For the past few years, I have been selling clothes on resale platforms such as Depop and, recently Vinted. However, in the past year, I have taken an interest in pursuing this further as I have found this to be something of which I enjoy doing in my spare time.
A few years ago, I was diagnosed with epilepsy, which at the time was a huge shock and diffiicult to come to terms with. After experiencing two episodes (seizures), and undergoing multiples tests, the diagnosis transpired and I was immediately placed on medication to control the episodes. From being diagnosed and being placed on medication, I was unable to start learning to drive for a year and didn’t end up passing my test until the summer after my 1st year of University, this was a result of my diagnosis and Covid, which delayed my driving even more.
At the beginning of 2020, Covid 19 struck, forcing us into a global lockdown, resulting in everyones lives hitting the pause button. At first, the national lockdown felt like a novelty, and everyone seemed to enjoy this time where we experienced a slower pace of life. However, the lockdown persisted longer than we all imagined as the Covid 19 virus spread. As a result of the lockdown persisting longer than expected, this instruction to stay at home became less like a novelty and more of a worry, with reports of an increase in mental health issues related to the pandemic. Starting University in the midst of a pandemic was challenging for myself and the majority of University students, being an at home student proved to be very challenging as I felt very isolated during the pandemic. Despite Covid 19 not being a present issue currently, the pandemic has made me become very insular, and I feel as though I have become even more introverted.
How safe am I as a communicator? This is a question that I can answer with confidence as I know the answer for myself. So to answer the question, I would say that I am a very safe communicator as I am often too scared to input my opinion or reveal myself, so in that aspect I would say that I am quite reserved, particularly around new people. In this industry, communication is vital, and so my hope for this ‘brand me’ project is that I will be more open about myself and my life. I am not the type of person to stand up and be heard, I am more the type to avoid the spotlight.
On the topic of playing it safe, I would also consider myself as someone who avoids risks in most aspects of life, but at the same time, I am someone who is willing to push myself out of my comfort zone and face my fears. With risks, I usually overthink and think what could go wrong rather than having a positive outlook. All in all, I am aware that I need to take more risks and not play it too safe within everything I do.
For me, I am very much a believer in the universe guiding me in the right direction and receiving what is meant for me, one thing I always think about with rejection is that it just simply wasn’t meant to be, and that the universe has something better lined up for me. I am also a firm believer that you get out what you put in, I find that when I put time and effort into something, or I am consistent, I see results.
Since the pandemic, I have struggled with my mental health, and so, in the past year, I have started journalling to write down my feelings, I always ensure that I write down 3 things i’m grateful for everyday to remind myself that even when i’m feeling low, that there are so many things in my life to be grateful for. For me, journalling is a form of self care as it is something I do everyday to check in on myself, during which time, I am my own therapist.
I hate to say it, but I am quite a negative person, but I believe that this stems from my own insecurities, for example, I have always struggled with body dysmorphia, and because of that, I have recurring negative thoughts about myself and my body and how other people see me. I would say that I am a very insecure person, and I 100% believe that this is where my negative thinking stems from.
I personally like to surround myself with people that have similar interests to me, people who are happy, upbeat and positive, people that motivate and encourage me etc. I think it’s important to surround yourself with people who are happy and positive as it makes you want to be around them more. As much as I like to surround myself with positive people, I do however have one friend who is quite negative and complains about everything.
After asking my sister how she sees me, she told me that she sees me as generous, impatient and pessimistic. Generous in the sense that I will always share with others and I enjoy being the giver. Impatient in the sense that I tend to rush into making decisions without thinking them through. And finally, pessimistic in the sense that I have a habit of finding the negatives over the positives in any given situation. As I have gotten older, one thing I have realized is that everyone has a different perspective on life and everything within, some see the negatives over the positives, and this can be a direct result of trauma or certain life experiences etc. As mentioned previously, I believe that my negative thinking is a result of my insecurities and low self worth and I believe that this also may stem from too much use of social media.
For my strengths, I would say that I am hard working, creative, determined and caring. For weaknesses, I would say that I am insecure, sensitive, and indecisive.
I am hard working in the sense that I work hard and put a lot of effort into what I want, e.g. working towards my degree, being successful in my business venture and being consistent with the gym.
I am more of a creative person than a highly intelligent person, as I find being creative, especially within fashion more enjoyable than sitting at a desk in an office working on spreadsheets.
I am determined in the sense that when I know what I want, I will do what I need to do in order to be successful and I will not give up no matter what obstacles I face.
I am caring in the sense that I care about the people closest to me and want them to be ok. I would say that I am caring towards my mum in particular as we are very close and always have been, I like to help my mum out as a way of saying thank you and showing my gratitude for all that she has done for me over the years.
I am insecure in the sense that I don’t feel confident in myself and how I look and this is something of which I have always struggled with.
I am sensitive in the sense that I get emotional or take things too personal. I would also say that I am emotionally sensitive in the sense that I tend to get emotional when someone says something that I take to heart, but I don’t think there is anything wrong with this as it is just who I am and how I react. However, I also believe that my emotions are heightened due to the medication I take for my epilepsy.
I am indecisive in the sense that I am not very good at making decisions and tend to change my mind quite frequently. I find that my indecisiveness is due to my tendency to overthink everything and reading into decisions too much.
For my response to this question, I would say that I am both fight and flight and it would depend on the situation as to whether I would fight or flee, there are certain situations that I used to be more flight, whereas I am now more likely to stay and fight. For example, I used to be the kind of person who would flinch and run away if a wasp came near me, whereas now, I will stand or sit still and let the wasp do what it wants without trying to even waft it away. However, there are other times in situations when I would rather flee e.g. avoiding social interaction in social settings. I find that when I am entering a situation where I am worried that I will be judged, my mind is preparing me to flee because it wants to protect me from a potential threat even though that threat is irrational.
If I come across a problem within my business, say for example, something I have sold doesn’t arrive at the buyers address, I would try to figure out why and then I would solve it to ensure that the buyer receives what they are entitled to.
Overall, if I do face a problem in any situation, I may at times get a bit stressed or not know what to do, but in the end I will always figure it out. However, most of the problems that I face, I can handle.
When I look back on my childood, I see only happy memories, and to be honest, I don’t think I really had any negative experiences or experienced any trauma. From what I can remember, I know my Grandma on my Dads’ side of the family died when I was young but I wasn’t old enough to understand and grieve her death. Another childhood experience I faced was as a baby when I had to undergo surgery on a mole I was born with because there was a risk that it could become cancerous as I got older. Although I believe everyone has their own individual trauma in their lives, I wouldn’t say that I experienced any form of trauma until I was a teenager.
I am always polite to everyone. Growing up, my parents ingrained good manners into me and my sister. For example, we were always told to say please and thank you, my Dad in particular was very strict with manners around the dinner table. We were taught the correct way to hold a knife and fork, not to put your elbows on the table when eating etc. My dad was more strict with this as that was how he grew up and he also had this ingrained in him.
One thing my mum has always told me when reflecting on my childhood, is that I have always had a smile on my face and that I was such a happy and smiley baby, my Mum also told me that my nickname used to be ‘smiler’ because I smiled so much.
I have low self worth/esteem. I struggled academically in school which I believe has negatively affected my self esteem as I have gotten older. Because I struggled in school, I felt that I had been left behind and pushed aside which at times made me feel like a failure. In primary school, we had sets e.g. set 1, set 2, set 3, set 4 and set 5 which you were placed in depending on your academic level, and I found this to be even more detrimental to my confidence in school as I was placed in the lowest set which was set 5. When it came to my GCSE’s, I had little faith in my ability to pass any of my exams, but one thing I realized after passing my exams is that hard work will always beat talent and intelligence, and because of this, I started to gain more confidence in myself because I began believing in myself to achieve whatever I want through hard work, which is the main reason why, to this day I am at university studying a course I love.
As mentioned before, my childhood was filled with so many happy memories, and when I think about it, there isn’t really anything negative that I can think of when I look back on these memories. I come from a big loving family who have always supported me and loved me for who I am. My parents both had great jobs and I grew up in a lovely area, so me and my sister never went without. We had a caravan growing up where we spent a lot of time and made friends for life, whilst also creating the fondest memories. We went on lots of holidays abroad. I played football from a young age which was my passion at the time and I met some amazing people through it. All in all, I am very thankful for my parents in particular as they are the reason why my childhood was filled with so much happiness and joy, they wanted to ensure that me and my sister had the best childhood which is one of the reasons why they decided a caravan would be a good idea.
As a child in school, I was easily led and influenced by the wrong people, therefore, I was always getting into trouble. For example, in reception I used a pair of school scissors to cut my entire fringe off, I lodged toilet paper up the drains in the toilets, I crawled out of one of my lessons and I think that this was either out of boredom or it was a dare and as a result of this, I was constantly being sent to the headteachers office.
My teen years was when I began to experience trauma, and it started with my Dad falling ill when I was about 13, which was very traumatic at the time partly because I was still very young and confused. Although this was a very difficult time for me and my family, my Dad did recover in the end, but he was not the same person that he was prior to all of this, and so he was placed in asissted living where he had carers and nurses who cared for him as he was in a wheelchair and was unable to fend for himself. I understand that this was also very hard on my mum as she had to work, look after me and my sister which was an added pressure with everything that was going on, I have always admired how my mum managed to stay calm through that difficult time. After battling with his health for the past 10 years or so, my Dad recently passed away as a result of heart failure, this was a huge shock for me and my family as he had been through so much with his health in the past 10 years, but he beat the odds everytime he got ill, so much so that we believed he would outlive us all, but sadly he was unable to fight this time.
Growing up, we had a family dog called Fudge, who was a Newfoundland and is known for being gentle with children which is one of the reasons why my parents decided on that breed, Fudge was the cuddliest and the biggest dog you will ever come across, like a big teddy bear, having a dog throughout my childhood and into my teen years was the best thing ever and it brought us closer together as a family. My dog was my best friend, if I was ever having a bad day at school, I knew that I would come home and see her and my day would suddenly get better. Unfortunately, as she got older her limbs started to give way, at the time we thought she had just hurt her leg, but after taking her to the vet and having numerous scans, they told us that she had bone cancer and so they gave us the option to either put her down so she didn’t have to suffer anymore or to let her die naturally, except she would be in pain and would suffer which we thought was cruel, so my parents decided to put her down. Coming home from school to find that my best friend had gone tore me apart, it was the first time I had properly experienced loss and grief. In a way, it sounds weird calling your dog your best friend and being torn apart by the loss, but losing a pet feels the same as losing a loved one, because I loved her just as I love my family.
A while after my dad fell ill, at around the age of 14, I suffered an episode where I passed out and awoke to find paramedics surrounding me which was very scary as I was completely unaware as to what was going on, I was taken to hospital where I had tests done to check everything was ok, in the end I was released from hospital hours later. During a follow up appointment, I was told by an epilepsy specialist that everyone is allowed one seizure in their life without it being anything, so they decided to release me from their care. However, a few years later at the age of 16, the day I got my GCSE results, I suffered another episode which my mum said was worse than the last episode, so again, I was taken to hospital by ambulance where they did the same tests again, but this time I was released from hospital and handed over to a consultant neurologist who just so happened to be a family friend so I knew I was in good hands. Anyway, I underwent multiple tests including an MRI and an EEG scan to determine what was going on in my brain. After having both scans, my consultant told me in the follow up appointment that the scan results revealed a slight abnormality in my brain activity, so in the next appointment, I was diagnosed with epilepsy and placed on medication to control the seizures, and to this day, I have not had a seizure since. The diagnosis was difficult for me to process and come to terms with, but eventually I made peace with it and putting it into perspective made me realize that I had been quite lucky as I know for some people, it affects their day to day life. But for me, the only real challenge I faced was having my driving held back a year which in the grand scheme of things wasn’t a big deal.
Both of my parents come from good families which is why me and my sister have been brought up well. My Mum grew up in Liverpool with her two sisters and her Mum (my Grandma). Growing up, my Mum was the popular one out of her sisters who always had a lot of friends and boyfriends, she was very adventurous and had various jobs from owning a business to doing modelling, she travelled a lot when she was younger mainly because of her modelling which meant she went to places like Tokyo alone at the age of 18. Because she did so much when she was younger, she was ready to come back home and settle down in her early twenties. I’ve always found it weird whenever my Mum talks about how much she did when she was my age as I feel like I’m only just starting to live my life.
My Dad also comes from a loving family, however my Dad came from a family of wealth, whilst my Mum came from a regular working class family. One thing I notice are the differences with their attitudes and beliefs based on their backgrounds. For example, my Dad and his side of the family have always enjoyed the finer things in life, and have always been very strict on manners and being courteous to others. My Mum however has never been strict, and has more so been the chilled, laid back parent. I haven’t heard many stories from my Dad about his childhood and what it was like growing up, but from what I know so far, he had a very privileged life in which he attended private school and lived in a wealthy area, his Dad (my Grandad), was an architect so he built their house and a house they had in Ireland. I remember going to the house as a child and spending a lot of time in their garden as they had a lot of land and a swimming pool.
When it comes to beliefs, my Mum and Dad are the polar opposite. For instance, with regards to politics, my Mum has always been a Labour party supporter, whereas, my Dad has always been a supporter of the Conservative party, and this is a result of their families coming from different social classes, whereas for my Mums side of the family who were working class, my Grandma was a teacher so she was a huge supporter of Labour. It’s difficult to talk about who we support, as my Dad is the only one in the family who supports the Conservatives, and he doesn’t understand why we support Labour just as we can’t understand why he supports Conservatives.
Growing up, me and my sister, India, have always had a tight bond and I think that this is partly because we have always been very close as a family. Although I don’t remember how we were when we were younger, I can say that we are very close to this day and despite a recent move to London, we still remain close. My sister is only two years older than me so I think that is why we have quite a lot in common. Before she moved to London, we would occasionally go charity shopping together which is something of which we both enjoyed. Myself, my Sister and my Mum are a trio, we do a lot together because we enjoy each others company. However, since my sister moved to London, It’s just me and my Mum.
I would say that I admire my sister for some of the qualities she has, such as her laid back attitude and independence, she seems to go through life at her own pace, and nothing phases her. Like any siblings, my Sister and I do argue and disagree with each other a lot of the time, but at the end of the day, she is my Sister so we always find a way to make up.
Growing up, and even still now, I am more close with my Mums’ side of the family and I think this is partly because my Mum has always been very tight knit with her sisters, and they do everything together. It also helps that my cousins are of similar age to my sister and I, and they live close by, so we have more in common. Whereas, on my Dads’ side of the family, I only have two cousins who are much older and live further away from us. On my Mums’ side of the family, in particular, my Grandma has been a huge part of our lives, she always looked after us when we were young and she adored all of her grandchldren, she always took time out of her day to ask me how I was doing in school and what I had been up to. Because she was a teacher when she was younger, she loved hearing about how I was doing in school and she was so proud when I told her about the grades I got throughout all of my exams. All in all, she was a very important person in mine and the rest of my family’s lives. Sadly, my Grandma passed away just under two years ago from cancer and it has forever altered all of our lives because she was such a big part of all of our lives. Her death hit me quite hard at the time, but now that I have come to terms with it, I only remember the happy memories of spending time with her which has given me a lot of peace.
Personality type = INTP = The Logician
INTPs have a rich inner world and would rather focus their attention on their internal thoughts rather than the external world. They typically do not have a wide social circle, but they do tend to be close to a select group of people.
INTPs are quiet, reserved, and thoughtful. As introverts, they prefer to socialize with a small group of close friends with whom they share common interests and connections. While they may be shy around people they do not know well, INTPs tend to be warm and friendly with their close group of family and friends. (Practical Psychology, 2022).
I is for introvert. For example, I prefer to stay at home on a saturday night than go out and socialize.
N is for intuition. For example, I sometimes have gut feelings that turn out be true, unlike some people who prefer to listen to others opinions, I prefer to follow my gut feeling as I feel like it protects me in potential dangerous situations. I have always trusted my gut instinct over anything else. I am also very observant and always alert, so I notice the small details.
T is for thinking. My head is always filled with thoughts coming in and out. I would definitely say that I am a deep thinker with regards to certain topics of conversation, and I much prefer to have deep conversations than conversations that involve gossip.
P is for perception. I am perceptive because I notice things that other people don’t, similar to my intuition, I can tell how people are feeling by how they behave. Because I am so observant, I am therefore good at reading people and noticing signs of how they’re feeling.
Curious. This personality type are always on the lookout for new pursuits/hobbies. For example, I have a tendency to change my mind a lot and this is something of which my family and friends notice a lot. I am always trying something different because of how often I change my mind.
One minute, I am interested in pursuing a business venture and the next I am interested in leaving home to go travel the world, it is from one extreme to another as my Mum would say. Either way, I am someone that is excited and curious by all possibilities of what I can picture myself doing.
Analytical. I would say that I am analytical in the sense that I like routine, I am quite reserved and I have a sharp memory. With regards to routine, I like to know what time I will be doing everything such as what time I will go to the gym, what time I will eat at etc. Similar to being an introvert, I am quite a reserved person in the sense that I keep to myself a lot. Ever since I was born, I have always had a sharp memory, meaning that I remember a lot, the small details in particular.
Uncertainty. When I think of my future, the uncertainty of whether I will be successful or not is something of which I worry about and fear. Although, at the same time, a part of me finds the uncertainty of the future to be exciting.
Perfectionist. As much as I am determined to get a task at hand finished no matter how long I’ve got. My strive for perfection often results in missing out important details in my work.
Self doubt. I am very indecisive and tend to overthink a lot which leads me to find it difficult to make decisions, when overthinking, I often worry that the decision I make is the wrong one, I think that this may stem from my pessimism.
Although the qualities of my personality are qualities that I already knew I had, discussing it in detail enables me to dig deeper into my life and figure out what makes me the way I am. For instance, my personality type reveals one of my weaknesses to be a perfectionist, but when I think as to what makes me strive for perfection so much, I would say that it comes from the need for approval. I’ve always felt that If I look a certain way, then I would be accepted by more people. But one thing I’ve realised is that if everything and everyone was perfect and there was no room for improvement, then it would all be pointless. as I have gotten older, I have accepted that it’s never going to be perfect otherwise we would never learn anything or be able to grow.
Over the next 12 pages, I will be explaining my reasoning for each of the 12 images I have chosen to reflect on. I have chosen to reflect on these images on a personal level as I find it easier to explain my perspective on the image and to connect with it on a personal level makes more sense, for it is a part of the process of ‘brand me’ and revealing who I am. I think this is really important for me to let my guard down and open up about my personal life as it sheds light on my life but it also helps with my own self development. I have put a lot of emphasis on what life has taught me and different perspectives it has given me throughout the images as I think that is a crucial part of self reflection.
Figure 1
I find that this image represents all that surrounds identity, and the reason why I have chosen it is because I find that it reveals a story and has a deeper meaning behind it. from what I can see, this image represents the piecing together of ones identity.
My interpretation of the picture is that the features of the face that have been stuck on could signify that she is hiding the features that she is insecure about, the features she doesn’t want anyone else to see. I resonate with this image because I too tend to hide the parts of me I am insecure about.
I think this image depicts how in todays society, we are burdened by an overload of everything. Social media and societal expectations drain us of our happiness, so we are left feeling tired and lacking energy. I resonate with this image as I think it portrays how I feel most of the time as a result of social media. If anything, this summer homework has put a lot of things into perspective and has made me realize that I need to stop spending so much time on social media, and also realizing that I am not that happy person I once was as a child also puts it into perspective.
I see this image as a reminder to move on from things that have happened to me in the past. As they say, the only way to move on with your life, is to forget about the past and focus on the present. Whatever life has thrown at me in my life, it is important for me to accept that it happened and move on. One thing I have realised about myself growing up, is that I tend to hold onto the past, even when life throws me challenges, I tend to get caught up with them and seem to be unable to move on and forget about them.
I was intrigued by this image because I think it portrays the obsession we as a society have attained over material posessions. These days, we have way too much in the way of material posessions which leaves us craving more and more, we are suffocating ourselves in things that are damaging our attitudes/habits, forgetting how lucky we are to have any of these posessions in the first place. For me, I think this image is important with regards to putting my own buying habits into perspective and realising that when I say I need more clothes, the truth is that I don’t need them, I want them.
There has always been something so special about a flower because of what it represents, not only that, but also what they are used for, we tend to buy flowers for people who are ill, people who have just lost someone, people who have just started a new job, to congratulate someone, or to thank someone. The list can go on and on but the point is that flowers are a beautiful part of life that we use to make ourselves and others feel better. To give flowers is a way of expressing your emotions, to express your gratitude or love for someone, like when someone you know has lost a loved one, you buy flowers for them because words simply can’t express emotion the way flowers can. I wanted to reflect on this image because it reminds me of the fragility of human emotions and how flowers can create that bond from human to human during tough times and/or happy times. I think that this image in particular represents fragility more so because of the plastic bag partially concealing them, my interpretation of this is that the plastic bag is preserving the fragility of the beautiful emotions they induce.
I think this image portrays fear, concealing yourself away from facing reality, from facing the things in life that you don’t want to face, facing the harsh reality of life is what drives this fear. At the same time, I think this image could represent ones comfort zone with regards to how we are often scared to expose ourselves to uncomfortable situations so we hide or, like the fight or flight response, we flee. I resonate with this image as I too, tend to flee situations that are outside of my comfort zone. However, sometimes I do fight these feelings of discomfort as I know that if I stay and fight, then
I can grow and learn from this experience. Although, I may have been more inclined to hide or run away when I was younger, I now find that fighting the discomfort and stepping out of my comfort zone is the best thing I can do for myself.
Sometimes the best form of human interaction is via touch, this picture is a reminder that in the past two years, we faced adversity through a global health crisis in which touch was something we had to distance ourselves from. However, as you can see in this image, we found other ways to be close to one another without putting anyone at risk, we found a way to protect whilst show affection. I wanted to reflect on this image because it depicts how we got through these difficult times when all was uncertain, and if anything, this time in our lives put a lot into perspective and made us value certain things even more.
Comfort. I wanted to reflect on this image because it reminds me of all the things that make me happy and provide me with comfort when I’m going through a difficult time or having a bad day. For example, being at home with my family is what makes me feel comfortable and safe. I think this image depicts peace in your place of comfort, some people may have differing opinions based on how this idea of comfort looks, but the way I see it is that it doesn’t matter what your place of comfort looks like, if it provides you with comfort and makes you feel happy and safe then that’s all that matters.
This image is special because it reminds me of when I was a child, looking back on the photos where I would pull funny faces like this one. Childhood pictures are special and will always hold significance as it is a memory of who you used to be and how you have grown. One thing my Mum has always told me is that ever since I was born, I have always had a smile on my face, she says that I was always such a ‘smiley little girl’. She also told me that people used to call me ‘smiler’ because I would smile so much.
I wanted to reflect on this image as I feel like it sends a powerful message that speaks to the individuals who continue to ignore what fashion is doing to the planet. This image really makes me think about how long people will continue to ignore this ongoing issue, because evntually, we will get to the point where there is no planet left to live on, for us and future generations.
Growing up, I have always been very close with my family, particularly my Mum and Sister because we have always gotten on well and had a lot in common. With reference to the image, I think it portrays the hidden emotion between two people, it shows that even though they are unable to see each other, their bond remains unbreakable. Although my Dad hasn’t always been a big part of my life because of his problems with his health, he still remained to be a very important person in my life and I have always felt that connection whenever I saw him.
I think this image depicts authenticity. Distinctive human features that tend to be hidden because they’re deemed as unattractive, I think this image breaks the barriers of what is classed as attractive. What is deemed as unattractive is individuality and uniqueness. I resonate with this image because I find that imperfections in todays society are deemed as more attractive. I have always tried to hide my imperfections as they used to make me insecure, but recently, I have made a habit out of embracing them as they are what make me different, they are my unique selling point.
Usually when you get asked this question, the first thing that comes to mind are famous people, e.g. singers, actors, influencers. But to be completely honest, If there was one person that I could say I admire, it would be my Mum, and the qualities I admire most would be her strength during challenging times and her ability to maintain a positive attitude with whatever life throws her way. I have always had a very close relationship with my Mum and she is like my best friend, we do absolutely everything together and we love being in each others company. When I think about it, I’ve never really looked up to anyone outside of my family because from my perspective, a famous person may have qualities that I admire but I don’t know them personally.
Personally, I would want people to see me as someone who is passionate about this industry, someone who has found their calling to be in fashion and is excited by the prospect of stepping out into industry. I want the world to look at my work and see it as a reflection of who I am and what I stand for. But, at the end of the day, the world is going to see me the way it wants to see me and that is something that is out of my control, but for me, knowing who I am and being confident in who I am and who I’ve grown to be is more important than focusing on how I want the rest of the world to see me.
I want people from industry to see me as a hard working and determined individual who has accomplished everything as a result of a good work ethic. Aswell as the qualities that I want industry to see, I also hope that I can impress them with any skills/knowledge, and also a fresh perspective.
Not once have I looked back on my choice of university or course, which is more reason to believe that this was the right decision. At the time, when looking at different universities I knew that I wanted to be close to home, I wanted to enrol at a university in which I could live at home and commute, I also knew that fashion was the obvious choice. After looking around Manchester Met, LJMU and Chester, I only got a good feel from the FMC course at Chester.
I struggled at school, so I wanted to find a course that would suit me best and that was Chester because of the fact that it was a much smaller course in terms of how many places they offered. Chester itself was the perfect place to go to university, the fact that it’s a small city that has a lot of character and history appealed to me, but the part about it being a small city appealed to me more than anything as I think, even just going to a university in a big city can be quite overwhelming, especially when you have spent your life growing up in a small town.
Overall, this course is the main reason why I am here today, out of all fashion related courses at universities across the country, this course stood out to me the most, and it has not failed in meeting my expectations. Chester FMC is the course that will mould me into the person I will be stepping into industry, and thus far, I am pleased to say that this course has helped me grow in ways I didn’t think it could.
I stand for a world that radiates positivity. I stand for a society that recognises hard work. I stand for a society that is compassionate. I stand for equality. I stand for gratitude. I stand for believing in yourself… Everything I have mentioned are some of the values and beliefs of which I stand for. If there is anything that my past has taught me, it’s that life is short and fragile. My past traumas have changed my attitudes and my perspective on life, meaning that I now stand for living a happy and healthy life, spending as much time as possible with loved ones and looking after my mental and physical wellbeing. Although some of my past experiences of life may have been traumatic, it has helped me grow and has taught me valuable life lessons that have changed my attitudes towards how I live my life.
For this question, I began by asking my Mum what colour she would associate with my personality and her answer was brown, the reason being for this, she said was because she sees me as warm, friendly, caring, compassionate etc.
After doing some research myself, I found the colour that best matches my personality to be blue. First and foremost, because I find that with regards to fashion, blue is the colour that I am instinctively drawn to when shopping for clothes. In addition, from my research I also found that the colour blue is a match for some of the qualities of my personality. The qualities of which I found for this personality colour are reserved, quiet, determined, caring, idealistic, pessimist, compassionate etc.
Blues pay attention to detail. They take their time in their thinking and are much slower paced than reds or yellows. Blues can come across as perfectionists. Give them time to respond as they are slower paced thinkers. (How to get the best from people using their colour personality).
I’ve never been good with answering questions on the spot, as I need time to process and understand the question before I can think of an answer. In school, I used to think there was something wrong with me because of this but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve realised that there isn’t anything wrong with me as it’s just simply how my brain is wired, it doesn’t make me stupid, it just means that my brain is slow in processing information.
Blues are deep thinkers, analytical in nature, very detail focused and formal in their thinking. Blues can come across as perfectionists. (How to get the best from people using their colour personality).
I would say that I am a deep thinker because when I do think about certain things, I often get caught up in thinking deeply about it and I think that this may stem from my overthinking and indecisiveness. From researching further into deep thinkers, I have found that they are known to be introverts and therefore spend a lot of time in their heads, which is something I do quite a lot.
This question is something of which I have never considered before, but to begin with, I will start off by saying that I tend to be drawn to modern architecture. Modern architecture is designed with simplicity and minimalism in mind, it most often presents itself with open spaces and large windows which make it very transparent. Minimalism, open space, clean and neat, all of these features are what attract me to the modern 21st century aesthetic, not only that, but I also don’t enjoy history which is why traditional homes have never interested me. The clean, simplicity and minimalism aspect ties into my perfectionism, and the open space aspect draws me in because I like my space to be empty and free of anyone, I think this may stem from being an introvert and preferring to be alone and having my space limited to just me.
Upon researching the different flowers of which would match my personality best, the daisy wasn’t one that I had considered yet but after asking my mum this question, her answer was the daisy, so I began researching this flower to see if it matches up to my personality. The reason why my Mum said a daisy was mainly because of my caring and warm nature. One word in particular that represents a daisy is affection, and this is the word I have connected with as I am known to be quite affectionate and loving to those closest to me. In addition, the daisy just so happens to be Freya’s sacred flower, Freya is the godess of love, beauty and fertility whilst the daisy represents new beginnings. I would say that although not all of my qualities match up to that of a daisy, I do however possess the qualities of caring, affectionate, kindness, loyalty and honesty. Although I can be quite negative, there is a side to me that brings out the daisy, it’s just that these qualities are embedded deep within and so, are more difficult to cross paths with.
Similar to the previous questions, I found this a difficult question to respond to because it is something I haven’t really thought about before, even asking other people, they also found it difficult because I feel like it’s not the type of question you can ask on the spot. However, after doing some research, I came to the conclusion that it would be between Prada, Balenciaga and Diesel. Prada because of the modern and timeless aspect but also because I think of it as a brand that doesn’t really represent history, instead a brand that maintains and upkeeps an image of a modern and minimalistic style which I think is me because as I have mentioned before, I am more drawn to a modern style. Furthermore, I also chose Balenciaga because of the modern, streetwear and minimalism aspect which again, I think is a bit of me.
Overall, I came to the conclusion that Diesel would be the brand that I could best associate with myself. To begin with, Diesel is one of my favourite fashion brands, but my liking for the brand only came about in the past year or so as it rose in popularity among Gen Z, I became drawn to the brand as I began seeing some of my favourite influencers on TikTok wearing 2000s style clothing that I found to be pieces from the brand, and of course, much of my fashion influence is heavily influenced by the early 2000s, so if I see a fashion brand selling clothes that replicate the iconic looks from that time, I’m all over it. Since I began following the brand, It has to this day remained to be my favourite. Aswell as it being my favourite brand, I also thought that Diesel would be a good fit with me as it is known for being a brand that prefers to stray away from trends and instead be reckless and create unique designs that are based on what the brand likes. I resonate with their identity, especially when it comes to fashion as I too prefer to stray away from the crowds and dress differently to others. I love and am impressed by everything the brand does and creates, from show stopping performances at fashion week to curating nonconforming collections that appeal to the Gen Zers that are obsessed with the Y2K aesthetic. Diesel pride themselves in being different and embracing ones uniqueness and imperfections whch is everything I personally stand for.
This was an easy question to respond to because I knew straight away which magazine publication was my favourite. The magazine of which I have chosen is i-D magazine, the reason why this publication is my favourite is purely because I am drawn to their aesthetic and how they curate editorials etc. I also think that part of the reason why I am drawn to this magazine is because I like the fact that it’s very minimalistic which I have found is an aspect that I am drawn to throughout this project. I would say that it is more a young persons magazine which makes sense considering that youth culture is the focal audience for i-D.
i-D is a British magazine that was set up by Terry Jones, who decided to design a magazine not to promote fashion products or consumerism, but celebrate “Street Style” fashion and youth culture. “The idea was to break down the pigeon-holing of identity and fashion; to go beyond the facade of fashion, so you could play it as a game. So you could inject more fun into the codes of fashion.” - Terry Jones (Editor-in-Chief of i-D). Although the magazine has since evolved from a hand stapled fanzine, into a mature glossy magazine, the original mentality of “street style” and “youth culture” remains a prominent part of the magazine, separating it from all of its successors (such as Dazed & Confused or LOVE magazine) and predecessors (Vogue). (FRANCES, 2011).
In response to this question, I created a collage of magazine cutouts, and as you can see I have gone for a vintage 90s kind of vibe as I feel that this best represents me, because I am heavily influenced by 90s/early 2000s fashion. Over the course of this project, I have added more to this board so that you can see the full picture as I feel that this board on the next page doesn’t have enough depth and needs to be further developed so that it can be self explanatory.
When it comes to style influence/inspiration, my go to source is usually Pinterest, but if I was to name my fashion icon in terms of influence, it would be Bella Hadid, my reasoning for this is because I feel like we are very much the same with regards to style and the majority of the clothes I buy are influenced by her. Bella has become a trendsetter amongst Gen Z and is leading the streetwear race and Y2K revival for this generation. Every trend she sets becomes a hit, to name a few of the trends, parachute pants, uggs, cargo trousers, vintage leather jackets etc. To conclude, Bella Hadid is my fashion icon purely because I love everything she wears.
I would say that the best fit for me with regards to what market level I can see myself working in would be centred around sustainability, specifically the resale market and second hand vintage fashion as I have found a passion for this area of the industry through running my own online business where I sell second hand clothes from the 90s/early 2000s.
I am always conscious of the choices I make when it comes to buying clothes. I don’t claim to be 100% sustainable, however, I do care about it and I do try to refrain myself from buying fast fashion, which is quite easy most of the time, considering that I prefer vintage second hand fashion.
The resale market and vintage Y2K fashion in particular has won Gen Zs attention since the pandemic and so, a lot of Gen Z have become more conscious about sustainable fashion as a whole, opting to shop second hand on resale platforms like Depop rather than spending their money on fast fashion.
I for one, have become more aware since the pandemic and since shopping second hand, with regards to the impact left from simply buying clothes. Not only for the sake of the planet, but also for the rights of the underpaid workers in factories. Although I do buy from fast fashion brands every now and then, one of the reasons why I don’t agree with fast fashion is that it is built on profit over the planet. Fast fashion brands are willing to pay their workers as little as possible so that they have more money. I stand for brands that care about their impact on the planet, and on society as a whole. All in all, I think my values align with this market sector and I know that it is the right fit for me because I feel passionate about it.
To conclude the brand me part of this module, I can affirm that I have established who I am as a person and why I am the way I am today, and I have also established a market level, of which is the area of the industry that I think I am best suited to. I have really enjoyed learning more about myself and taking the time to discover the parts of myself that I have not taken into consideration before. All in all, I think that this was a fundamental part of my last year of university as I feel like I understand myself more so now, and I feel more confident going into industry knowing where I fit in.
Myself as a brand is readily established to take on the next chapter of my journey. I have grown a lot since I was a child, where I used to have little faith in my ability to believing in myself no matter what, where I used to think I would never get into university or be able to do what I want with my life because I struggled in school, to now, where I have acheived everything that I never imagained would be possible. It is safe to say that a lot of my beliefs have changed as I have gotten older and I think that believing in myself has helped a lot.
Michelle Liew. (2022, March 5). The Importance of Cherishing Your Warm, Childhood Memories and How to Create Them for Your Child. We Have Kids. Retrieved from https://wehavekids.com/parenting/The-importance-of-cherishing-warm-childhood-memorieshow-to-create-memorable-experiences-for-your-child-cl
Theodore T. (2022, August 16). INTP – Logician (Description + Functions + Examples). Practical Psychology. Retrieved from https://practicalpie.com/intp/
Kendra Cherry. (2022, August 11) INTP: Introverted, Intuitive, Thinking, Perceiving. Very Well Mind. Retrieved from https://www.verywellmind.com/intp-introverted-intuitive-thinking-perceiving-2795989
Elle Frances. (2011, December 15). THE HISTORY OF I-D MAGAZINE. Elle Frances. Retrieved from http://ellefrances.blogspot.com/2011/12/history-of-i-d-magazine.html
Sharon Howat. (2019, June 19). How to get the best from people using their colour personality. Sharon Howat. Retrieved from https://sharonhowat.com/blog/colour-personalities
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