Uncharted territory: The fashion rookie

Carlo Cruz

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'The fashion industry wouldn’t be the first thing an international relations graduate would think of entering, but I was just determined to be part of it'

I could be taking the civil service exam to start a career in the Department of Foreign Affairs, or I could be working in an non-government organization which was what I was aiming for before graduating from college.

After all, what was my degree in International Relations if I was not to use it for such jobs? But things took a turn for the better and I decided to sacrifice my degree to pursue a career in one thing I’ve always had to put in the backseat: fashion.

I may have made the decision overnight, but I could not find the words to explain how good it made me feel. Finally, I made a detrimental life decision for myself.

My parents always knew that I was bound to be in the fashion industry.

In second grade, my parents discovered that I’ve channeled my creativity into sketching complete fashion collections at the back of my notebook. On one hand, my dad was definitely surprised to see these sketches coming from his first-born son. On the other hand, my mom was just like any mother who’d support their child as long as it made them happy.

It was during one of our nightly conversations over coffee that I brought the decision of shifting career paths with my mom, and she just took it casually. After my parents separated, my dad didn’t have anything to do with the decisions I made for myself, so I did not bother advising him about my plan of changing career paths.

The fashion industry wouldn’t be the first thing an international relations graduate would think of entering, but I was just determined to be part of it. The industry provides so much avenues for the fashion savant to enter it, but I had to choose which one complimented my skills the best.

I knew being a fashion designer was too much for me to handle and being 5’5”, modeling was not an option either. I knew that I wrote papers well so I knew that a career in the magazine industry was the most fitting avenue for me to enter the industry of fashion.

I didn’t have a portfolio, I have no experience in styling, and I didn’t know how to do pull-outs for photo shoots. Though I have watched countless fashion reality shows, I couldn’t possibly write those down in my resume to prove my point. All I had to back up my desire to be in the industry was my skill to do a well-written 3,000-word research paper overnight and my fashion savvy.

The week following my graduation saw me sending 10 to 20 applications to the most credible and established publishing companies in the country. None of them replied. A lot of things went into my head upon seeing that all my online applications had the status ‘Unsuccessful’ stated below each one of them. I got to thinking that I had to build my resume around the fashion industry, and I regretted not having my internship in one of the companies I was applying for at present.

I know people at their 30s or even their 40s who, to others, might seem to be too old to be making the overwhelming decision to shift career paths, but eventually excel in it. They give me hope that as much as I am a rookie in the industry that I am to test the waters in, I still have a chance to actually succeed. All I want to prove to my parents is that this decision I’ve made for myself will be worth the sacrifice and the wait.

I also want to be like those successful people in their respective industries who never fail to say, “I can’t imagine myself working anywhere else but here.” At the end of the day, working shouldn’t be for financial growth, but for personal development. You’d want your career to be an extension of who you are as a person and not an ATM account that you just see as a source of money.

Making that big and bold move of changing your mind about your current or eventual career can never be too early or too late for you to do. All it takes is the desire and the confidence in your decision.

I wouldn’t want to be the person who at the end of a long day from work would retire in his bed and be all worn out from work. Instead, I want to be the person who makes that 9:00-to-5:00 job seem like an hour, and be enthusiastic to go to work the next day. 

Life can be as hard as you want it to be, but it could also be easy if you make it so for yourself. – Rappler.com  

Carlo Cruz is a graduate of AB International Studies from De La Salle University. He loves expressing his creativity through different media like sketching, painting, performing, and writing. 

Photo from Shutterstock

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