Ankara Skirt I've Been Wearing For Ten Years

Happy Style Sunday, sweeties! This is not the time to be sad and wondering what's left of the year, but to rejoice that Jesus has given us His peace for our troubled times (John 14:27.) No matter the situation, we are not going to let anything steal our joy and peace. Yeah? Yeah!

If you ever catch yourself feeling a little down, take a trip back in time so you can re-discover happy memories that perhaps you’d forgotten. That's what I do!

Style Is Timeless

I have always been a Memory Keeper. I record real stories through pictures and words and I LOVE it! I love it so much that it has become a part of my job.

Some of my most cherished moments are more about how I feel in a season or what I wore to a spectacular event or what words were spoken at a particular time. Emotional memories are the deepest for me.

In most cases, I find that clothes and memories can be closely linked. Looking at an outfit worn to a significant event can simply help you relive those moments. Our clothes have stories to tell.

I remember the stories behind what I wear, because I’m always very conscious about clothes.

If you are someone who cares about how you present yourself to the world, you are more likely to remember old memories from what you were wearing. 

When was the last time you went through your old memories? Go to Facebook.

Facebook is the best place to get nostalgic unless you'd failed to capture your memorable moments.

I visited my private Facebook last week:

I found a picture I posted on 17/12/2011 in an album titled "when she wz... a girl". The picture triggered a whirlwind of emotions. I remember . . . I remember that girl.

I remember the day I wore this Ankara skirt. I remember everything that happened. I remember the words that were uttered. It was surreal.

As I looked closely at the pictures taken on that very day I realized I've always expressed my Personal Style Statement; a creative African who enjoys being vibrant and colourful in a natural way. 

While we change and grow, and may seem to be different at various times in our lives, our basic personality style remains the same.

I'm thrilled by the way I wore my scarf ten years ago! Yes, I've actually been dressing this way since like forever (got the skirt in 2007), but the pictures were thankfully posted on Facebook in 2011. I'm just too excited I found them! The memory makes my heart radiate with a kind of peaceful joy that I cannot describe!

There is something about December, I don't know how to explain it . . . something like a bridge between the past and the future . . . like tears turning into joy . . . like dreams coming true. Something happened in 2015, in 2016 , and I can't wait to see what's in store for 2017.

Ever thought of being all dressed up for the future? As in, looking like your future? Oh my! It's Ok if you didn't get that.

Here is the rave:

Coincidentally Shockingly Miraculously, I had just worn the same Ankara skirt three Fridays ago (17/11/17) and had captured the moment with a camera. The picture was posted on Instagram with the caption;
"Everything is working together for your good. In many ways that you can't see now, you've grown. Time will show."

You can imagine my surprise when I now found an old picture of the same Ankara skirt on Facebook. I ran onto Instagram immediately. I looked at the picture on Facebook again, then looked at the one on IG over again. And in that moment I SAW growth . . . real growth.

I screamed. I sat up. I became weak in my knees. I could barely stand. So I lay on the floor. Staring at growth like this.

To literally see a girl grow up into a woman in an Ankara skirt is . . . crazy!

I grew up in 2017. Did you?

Change creeps up on you like a dream, but growth takes time. You grow everyday and if you don't keep track as the days go by, you could just wake up one morning and not be able recognize WHO you are. Lol. I have said it here before, sometimes I post things I don't understand. I have written things that sounded somewhat meaningless to me but the amazing thing is they start to make sense just after a few days, weeks, months, or even years.

While changes can come from the outside, growth always comes from WITHIN you.

* * * * * 

Something about the posting dates also strikes me.

Posted on Facebook: 17/12/11
Posted on IG: 17/11/17
Now blogged on: 17/12/17

You will come to find great comfort and confidence in knowing that your days are numbered. God has your life all planned out. (Psalm 139:16)

* * * * * * * 

Life is a creative journey - a journey about changing and growing. You will continue to discover who you are created to be and what you are born to do.

Even though I’ve been through some tough times, I enjoy looking back and seeing what God has already brought me through. The hopeless times. The tiring times. The exciting times. Because the truth is, though many of these chapters haven’t been what I had always hoped for, a lot of them are filled with blessings I also didn’t deserve.

You Might Enjoy: Ten Years After Secondary School

I am more mindful of every "ordinary" day moments now and if I want to remember who I was or how I felt or what I wore in that moment, I have to look through words and pictures.

Sweeties, each day you open and look into your wardrobe to select what to wear, best believe it is an opportunity to relive old memories and/or create new ones.

Thanks for reading.

Do you have any pieces of clothing that bring back memories? Anything to show you how much you've grown?

Posted by Nwamaka Ajaegbu 

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Heart Rays . . . giving light.