On Saturday my oldest sister graduated from her dual master’s program. The day made me think of a lot of things: 1) How proud I was of my sister to complete a master’s program while working full-time and being incredibly active in community groups. 2) How only a little over a year ago I had graduated. 3) How in a little under a year I’ll (hopefully) be graduating with my master’s degree. Let’s just say that #1 made me happy, and number 2 and 3 gave me some worries.

In the past year and a half, my life has been full of transitions. I transitioned from a full-time student to a full-time student-teacher, which really messes with your head in which role to take since I was under my co-teacher, but above other students. Then I transitioned into a graduate student, which sparked a whole new set of worries, but also interests and excitement. Now I’m over the half-way mark of my graduate studies and looking downward towards graduation. I’ve already started having dreams about teaching again (usually that I show up without any preparation–not fun!).

All of these transitions is why I started blogging. For me, reading y’alls’ blogs gave me something steady. Writing a blog has definitely helped me direct my energy towards positive things rather than negative worries (can you tell I’m a worry-wort?).

The dress I chose to wear to my sister’s graduation definitely showed me that I have transitioned. A year ago I would not have given it a second glance, but times have changed and I’m willing to try out fashion items that I wouldn’t have dared to wear a year ago. I used to wear all solid colors, but this year I’ve really gotten into prints, and I was surprised when I fell in love with this one.

Now I will admit, I didn’t fall in love with the print immediately. What drew me in was the shape of the dress. I typically wear a love of dress that are a-line, since my hips are a larger size than my top, but this dress seemed like it was made for someone with a body just like mine. I loved the draping of the fabric, and the tightness at the waist.

Then I looked closely at the print and realized there were shapes of flowers hidden in the lavender, gray, and white. That’s when I decided to step out of my typical style and get my first Suzi Chin dress.

Since the dress had so much going on with it, I decided to keep it simple with my jewelry and chose pieces from my mom’s dresser in a hematite color.

My sister’s graduation mostly reminded me to keep moving forward, whether that be through my education, career, hobbies, relationships. Hold on to the memories, but don’t let them stop you.

What are/were some big transitions in your life? How has your clothing transitioned along with you?

Congrats, Joanna! I’m so proud of you!