BLOOM

This shoot was a change of pace for me, because it was my first time doing lingerie/boudoir! My friend Ashley (@byashleyelizabeth) took these photos and she made me feel safe, comfortable, and beautiful. I consider myself a “late bloomer” because I tend to experience things in life a little later that my peers. For those of you who aren’t familiar with my backstory, I’m adopted and grew up in a really small farmtown in the middle of nowhere. I was far from the standard of beauty and often times felt out of place, so it’s taken me A LONG TIME to appreciate and be proud of my heritage and appearance. I love flowers and everytime I go over to Ashley’s she always has them around. I titled this post “BLOOM” because as I enter my next decade of life I’m shedding my old skin, stepping into my power, and exploring new ways of feeling beautiful.

I appreciates depth, sincerity, and vulnerability - things that (I believe) exist within everyone but aren't always easily accessible. I feel like we're all masters of illusion, in a way. Humans are strange in the sense that we're able to reveal certain things about ourselves while simultaneously concealing other aspects, usually out of fear. Fear of being labeled, judged, rejected, misunderstood, viewed as "less than" or weak, etc. I wouldn't have shared photos like this a few years ago for some of those reasons. I've spent a lot of time kind of boxing up certain sides of myself and operating from a "don't be too this, don't be too that" mindset. I'm a blend of things, though - I'm sensitive, creative, stubborn, fiery, goofy, sultry, loving.... I'm finally learning to embrace all of those things and be comfortable with who I am ♥

Photographed by Ashley Elizabeth

Photographed by Ashley Elizabeth

Photographed by Ashley Elizabeth

Photographed by Ashley Elizabeth

Photographed by Ashley Elizabeth

Photographed by Ashley Elizabeth

Photographed by Ashley Elizabeth