(Preview of Summer time Selfies by @leemalee, out Friday Jan 17th!)
Hey my loves, how are you today?
New year may have come and gone, but January is a great month for reflection on the previous year and what lies ahead. And I've been thinking lately...
I saw a couple of posts from hopefuls about giving up their SG journey because it wasn't worth it anymore or that it wasn't rewarding without being pink. I thought about that and wanted to write this blog, specifically for anyone who feels defeated sometimes and may forget to focus on the positives of the hopeful journey... but also for those who might be feeling similar in other situations, I'm sure you can relate!
It's every hopeful's dream of becoming pink, right? Becoming an official SG after having their first Set of the day... I've been comparing that with how I view some of life's success milestones. These can often be seen as goals, or dreams beyond our control. We don't have complete power to make it happen, right? So we just hope for the best and maybe it will happen one day. Right? Maybe we'll get noticed? Right? Well, actually, wrong.
Some of the things we dream of are usually entirely possible and we can control them, at least to an extent. We just need to create a path that leads us there (not all, might I add, we can't bring back the dead or anything like that!)
First things first, we have to earn it. Hard work pays off. So things like making genuine friends, building a support network that works both ways, regular interaction, producing a well thought out set... All of these things are so important in getting us a step closer to that milestone of pinkdom. What if that doesn't work? Well, we keep going! We don't give up, we think about what else we can do that might help. Research, ask questions, ask for set critique, find out if there's anything we might be doing wrong, be a good person, have empathy and respect, stick to the rules, get involved in fun projects (what I wear underneath, socials, blog homework, group threads) ... The list is endless! I realised recently that my sets were coming out a month apart and was advised that a gap of at least 6-8 weeks was better. But did I know that last month? Nope! And was I going to take responsibility with that going forward? Hell yeah!
I also noticed that a lot of the sets of the day are shot with staff photographers. Maybe I should try working with a few more to see if that helps (of course putting the work in just as much regardless of who I shoot with!)
Also natural makeup. Natural hair. Girl next door. Eye contact. SG likes all of the above. Am I going to strive to tick all of the boxes? Of course I am!
And what if I don't get there by the end of the year? What if nothing changes? Do I give up? Hell no! Do I continue to embrace this community that I've grown to know and love and make the most of the power I have that is practically the same as an SG without the pink status? Well there it is. That's is the most important and positive thing about being a hopeful. We are practically an SG, we just don't have that title or pink in our comments. We have so much love here, so much support from people who have never even met us in person. How lucky are we to have that?!
So, in the instance of a hopeful wanting to become pink, we need to keep focused on doing things that get us a step closer to that end goal. It may be long and windy for some, others may get there a lot quicker. But it's our journey. Nobody else's to compare it to. That's another key thing to be mindful of.
And what if we do reach that end goal? Surely that's not the end? It shouldn't stop there, should it? If we hit a success milestone in life, we don't just stop there, do we? We go beyond that for even better milestones. More sets of the day. More shootfests to meet amazing people. More members to make connections with. More confidence in ourselves without having to commit social suicide. Again, the list is endless!
I see it this way: When a hopeful becomes a SuicideGirl, they become an official ambassador of the SG brand. They have, in theory, built a great (genuine) network of friends along the way, succeeded in publishing a worthy set that is approved by the top dogs, and they have won the support of the members, hopefuls, sgs, togs and staff that believed in them to get there. They didn't do it on their own and they definitely didn't just sit and wait for it to happen. So making sure to continue giving back to a community and surrounding ourselves with the friends we've made to keep an active positive spirit is something even greater, is it not? And even if we don't become pink straight away, or as soon as we hoped, we still have all of the above minus a Set of the day, right? What's bad about unconditional love and support from this community?
What I'm saying is, we can't achieve our goals if we don't do anything about it. What are you wishing to achieve this year that seems so far out of reach? Are you a fellow hopeful that feels like giving up? Are you wishing for things you might be able to control a path towards? What little steps can you take that will help you get closer to that end goal? What would you do beyond that? Have a think. And then tell me how you get on!
Please don't give up on your dreams 💖
@missy @rambo @eirenne @teal
