Thankfulness in September!

I’m a big believer in that you can never be too thankful. In fact, you should be thankful each and every day – whether it’s for something small or something big. What brought this on? Well lately, I’ve been feeling very blessed. I just came out of a rather long depression after my Grandma passed away, and I learned a lot about myself. I almost gave up my passion for fashion illustration. But with help from my twin, my mentor, and my incredible support/fan group I pulled through. I’m so thankful and glad to have each and every one of you in my lives. Even if you’re a follower, reader, friend, penpal, family member, etc – you’ve made a vast difference in my life. Many of the opportunities I have gotten recently, would never have happened without you, without this blog. If you’re currently going through something – remember “This too shall pass!” and never be afraid to send me an email at nataliebrooke.c@gmail.com.
I am ever so honored to have worked with Jennifer Lilya – she’s been a main part of the changes in my life and my motivation. I would still be in college for a non-creative education (that obviously wasn’t the right fit for me) – if it wasn’t for her.  She’s helped my confidence in not only myself, but my artwork as well. I’ve learned so much from her, and really – knowledge and a positive attitude is so much more valuable than money. If you ever have the opportunity to intern with her, go for it – she’s the most kindest, generous, beautiful, sweet, selfless lady I know! If you don’t have any experience, but your passion shows through, you just might be lucky and she’ll notice it. I am not going to waste what I learned now, and I hope I can live up to her expectations, and my own. Wish me luck.

Also a big thank-you goes out to my dearest friend (and twin!) Lindsey. She recently gave me a good wake up call about my bipolar disorder. Friends sure believe in you and help you out when you desperately need it! Even though it might not have been obvious on my blog, I was labeling myself as a lazy, non-motivated, not-going-anywhere person – and it eventually got worse as my depression did. I was putting off school, finding a job, doing something with my fashion illustration until I was stable – and hello! I was stable, I was just scared of having another manic episode and was limiting myself at what I did in fear that I’d land in the hospital again. Tears are coming to my eyes as I type this, which makes this now sound cliche. But I’m honestly so glad that my friend spoke up and brought this to my attention. I was living in fear of myself and my disorder, and it stole a lot from me. I’m blessed to have so many understanding and patient friends. Plus a mentor who checked in on me, and was more than understanding as I was basically missing in action for a bit. How rare is that in the fashion industry – many of them would just fire you right on the spot! Anyways. I’m no long holding myself back, and I’m taking all the opportunities that have come my way. I’m chasing after my passion full force and am motivated to make it work. After all, like a friend said – I may just very well be the next Coco Chanel, and I can’t steal that opportunity away from myself.

Oh, and in all seriousness – I don’t think I’ll be the next Coco Chanel, haha! I don’t want to sound conceited, but I was honestly so flattered that my friend even thought of that. It definitely made my year! Plus you need to believe that you can be and do anything – I’m learning that it helps immensely when you’re trying to make your dreams happen. xxo