From Childhood Dreams to Realities

When my best friend since the first grade told me that she was pursuing our childhood aspiration of becoming a fashion designer, I was overwhelmed with utter joy at the fact that she never let go of her dream no matter how far fetched it seemed to our 13 year old selves. Well, say goodbye to far fetched because the things I saw at the WMU MODA (Merchandising Opportunities Design Association) 2014 Spring Fashion Show last weekend absolutely blew me away. First of all, let’s start with the venue. Downtown Kalamazoo’s Radisson is no casual location and the sheer organization put into the making of this show exuded professionalism. As I walked into The Kalamazoo Room, I felt like I was entering the real deal. A long shimmering runway extended down the length of the room with rows of chairs lining each side, people dressed to the nines swarmed in and took their seats, cameras stood at the end of the runway waiting to document the evening. The moment the music started pumping, I was transported into some mystical high fashion land, looking at pieces I could not believe were created by college students. MODA made a really fantastic choice to use women of all body types and skin colors (not to mention the wide array of tattoos) for models, which reinforced the sense of attainability that accompanied the over all glamor of the night. Something about seeing such a variety of beautiful and talented young women and men put together something of this magnitude upheld the idea that you really can do anything you put your mind to. As this all began to sink in, I felt complete confidence that this was what my best friend was meant to do and she would never let anything stand in her way of doing it. Watching the success of the night unfold was like hitting a refresh button inside of me that washed away all of the doubts and fears that accumulate when I think about my future. In the magic of that night, the ever cliched “anything is possible if you just believe” no longer sounded so unlikely.