Hi guys it's rage, and this is a quick word on personal style a bit of a different direction for today's chat, but I think it's a good one. I had a really unique experience this week and I thought that maybe it would be helpful to you guys cause. I had this total epiphany. That was surprising back in twenty nineteen. I got acrylic nails for the first time now gaelic. Where are we going just just stick with me for a minute this is. I swear it. This is a thing, so I got these acrylic nails. You know the ones, girls or boys who act to get manicure but like almond shaped all the legs liberties and my hip hop stars, and everybody has a really cool nails and I kept being them everywhere and I loved them. If you don't know that

about me? I freaking lava manicure, I have a private pinterest board for years were. All I do is collect pictures of managers. I will never get its so stoop, but I love being pictures of nails. I love when people are creative, I love and they do cool stuff and style. But I just think is so gorgeous are long, acrylic nails. Maybe this is because I am a child of the eighties and nineties. Maybe it's because my big sister went to school to be a nail tech when I was in high school, so she would practice on me and it just made me think: nails were so cool, but whatever the reason back in twenty,

teen. I got these nails and I had wanted them for a very long time and didn't get them because I knew it was two things one. It was stepping outside of my brand. Now in this instance, I am talking about brand in terms of public image. Twenty nineteen was without question, be most intense career year of my entire life. It was the most success I had ever experienced And I can tell you that when you go through something like that, there is no rule book. There's no one explain to you how to do it. There's definitely no ideas for how to do it. Well, your honor bucking bronco and holding on for dear life and the more success you have. The more people are suddenly around wanting part of that success and kind of everybody star

it's to whisper in your ear. Like don't mess this up. Don't do anything, don't you know, and what people want is for you to just keep doing the same thing in the same way over and over and over, and I've never talked to any guys about this. But my instinct is that this takes on a whole new layer, if you're a woman, because they don't just want you to do the work the same way also want you to look a certain way. So these nails were not part of the body.

Maybe you're rolling your eyes right now, because you are one of the most confident people on the planet and you're like. Why would you care what anyone else thinks if you love this, look right, you're so right, but not everyone. Is that confident, including me sometimes so this is for everybody else, so I love these nails, but they weren't really on brand. That was number one number two. My husband at the time did not like that look, and it has taken me a very long time to unpack. it's why I made so many choices based on what he would want, but I did. I met him when I was very young and like a lot of people, you know you want to do something that your partner thinks is cute and when you're told certain things enough, you just sort of go along with what that is, and this was one of those things. I remember it was a huge deal when I got hair extensions. It took me years

to work up the courage to do that, and then when I got my nails done, it was the same kind of thing and in those and says I wasn't met with my god they're so amazing, so great, which made me feel even more and secure about it, but I liked them enough to keep them now. I had these nails twenty twenty roles around like most of us periods being locked down, having nails that grew out to kingdom come now had to figure out how to take acrylic nails off my finger I mean you remember that when we were like getting me ass, a tone and wrapping foil and doing the half hour, trying to figure it out and are poor nail beds were destroyed because we had just yet you if you know you know so I had taken off the nails and I never got them again.

Went through like a really natural nail phase for awhile. I haven't put accrued nails ameinocles in three years, but I love and I see them all the time and there in my pinterest bore and I realize the other day, why I don't get the nails. Because some voice, in the back of my head, worries that people literally people on the internet or people on social media will see me whip, acrylic nails and think who does this bitch thinks Yes now, this is so stupid because most of the women. I know get their nails and I don't. HU. This mythical person is: who would not? want me to have nails, it makes viros.

Pence, but I'm telling you the truth. This is like in the back of my mind, and I didn't even realize that this voice was here. I just kept thinking. Oh yeah, I don't have those canals anymore, but the other night, I'm here by myself and I'm scrolling pictures of people's manicures thinking. Oh god, that's so pretty and I was away- why don't I get these and then some voice was like what are they gonna think? What are they gonna think? So it took me they re more days Hope you guys are rolling your eyes. This is so dumb to me three more days to work up the courage to go down and get nails put on and out the whole time. I'm thinking this is riddick Lesson a you know: they're gonna, look so rude,

peculiar. I'm going to look gaudy, I'm at what I don't even know, and I get these nails on and I am telling you the joy, the. I cannot express to you how happy acrylic nails make me like it's. So stupid, probably because you know I love to wear rings, I wear rings on almost every finger and when you've got a great pair of long nails with all the rings. I it is maybe my favorite book. So I get the nails and I'm just I'm loving them. I absolutely love them. I think they are so fantastic. I was walking around walking home from the nail place and I was thinking about how happy it made me to have this, but why I didn't make the choice and

looking at my hands, and it was making me happy and kept looking at them and then because I have tattoos on my wrists and my forums like a kind of see that- tattoos in the same way that I saw the nails- and here is the lesson that I got- that I hope is helpful for you guys to all of my tattoos face me gadgets just think about this. For a second, if you can look hold your hand palm up and look at your risk in your forms. All of my tattoos are on my recent. My forums are words or letters or symbols, and they all face me not one of my tattoos faces out. None of them are facing and direction where someone looking at me could read the tattoo, or I mean you can see them, but they're not for, you the tattoos are for me. They are symbols of things, I've gone through or wisdom. I want to remember or words that are important to me. The tattoos are from

me and they make me so happy. People, like oh you'll, regret gay and tattoo. I don't regret singles had two of my. I love them and I was thinking. Oh it's the same with the nails. The nails are. Me there for me, when I put my rings on there for me when I'm typing on the computer there, For me when I'm just like all look at these sexy nails, the nails are for me and I dont think that Anybody in real life, like nobody walking down the street, now is like who does she thinks she is because these tales, I'm making up a peanut gallery that doesn't exist. and not only am I making it up, but its keeping me from doing a very simple thing. That makes me

happy, and I just wonder how often we all do this when it comes to personal style. How Then do you see another woman wearing a certain outfit or a guy with his hair cut in a certain way If you see someone out there and you're like oh, that's so er, that's so sick, like that looks so good, but then that little voice is like, but I could never. I could never pull that off. I could never do that thing. Yes, you can. Oh, I could never that voice. That is your fear that keeping you from doing something that would put yourself out there. That would make you different. That would step outside of the brand that other people have come to expect. That little voice is the thing that keeps you from trying.

What my make you really happy, or even more important catch this that my actually show you, who you really are there's a quo can get like cocoa, chanel or something and probably miss quoting her, but it said- as a woman who cuts her hair is about to change her life rivers in someone or maybe you went through a big break up and chop all your hair, often all the son, you you feel like a different person. Another example: there's a great book called cyber acts, which was a plastic surgeon who discovered that when he would do plastic surgery on someone's face, even if it was a slight change that their whole life would change for the better, because that slight change way that they saw themselves made them feel more like the person they wanted to be, and now I'm wondering how many other things in my life do I I do, but I dont do because I'm

about what quote other people will think about it. Other people are not thinking about me. Other people are not thinking about you. I felt really people out there who are upset about my beautiful acrylic nails. If I stepped back and really with, unlike oh that person's crazy cosette doesn't make any sense. So why, when I can rationalize it in that way in my life? a mythical creature, keep me from just living life. On my terms, I know it's not always mythical creatures, I know sometimes or in relationships with people who actively do not like when we do something. When I got my first tat to my husband at the time, didn't speak to me, did not speak to me for a full day. He was so upset

I think one of the most upset I ever saw him because he had told me for as long as I knew him that people who got tattoos were a certain kind of person and when I chose to get a tattoo. Not only was I becoming a certain kind of person, but I also was doing something you didn't like now. Beauty of that is? I went ahead and did it anyway. And later he would go on to get. I think he had three or four tattoos when you have the courage to be your son.

wolf. Not only do you become more like yourself, but you actually encourage other people to find their truth is a lot of wisdom in acrylic nails. But that's the lesson I learned this week and I thought maybe you guys would find it helpful too.