“Happiness can exist only in acceptance.”

For myself, Rawxies has become a glorified acceptance of self. Everything about this brand represents who I am as a person and the journey along the way. Creative, colorful, non-apologetic, mainstream, healthy, progressive and much more. Rawxies has become the platform on which I stay true to the things that I believe in.

Growing up was hard for me, as I never felt like I really fit in (but really, who does). I always marched to the beat of my own drum, and when you live in a conservative town with a slightly conservative family, that can be tough. Moreover, I grew up in an age that was a lot less aware of educating and handling creative children — I’m not old, but a lot has changed in my 29 years. I hated school and yet, wasn’t a bad student. I even remember begging my mom to let me be home schooled at one point – It wasn’t that I disliked my friends, but rather, just the structure of traditional education. Moreover, I was among a ‘popular’ crowd that was much more analytical in nature than myself. I love art and that denial of self, created much confusion in my earlier years. Ultimately, I was being forced to learn, communicate and act in a way that wasn’t true to who I was and/or am.

But what’s even harder, is that I’ve always walked a fine line between artsy and not; My father is an attorney and my mother is an artist. It’s easy to place highly creative or highly analytical, so I always felt like I had to choose a side to make sense to anyone and/or be accepted. That was a serious battle for me growing up.

I remember the moment that I made up my mind to transfer to the Kansas City Art Institute after struggling with normal University for 2.5 years. It was an act and a decision that was not readily supported by my family, but I had been fighting it for so long, that I stopped caring and I started acting. I knew I would never excel in this world, if I continued to fight my creative ways in a non-creative environment. (side note: big props to fam though, as they eventually came to accept my creative ways)

What’s funny though, is I remember showing up to KCAI and thinking ‘oh no, here we go again!’, because unlike the former, I was now in a position where I was ‘too conservative’. Again, all or nothing. Luckily for me though, I could out-art most of my classmates in foundation (plus, I was a couple years older at that point), so I gained some respect via my talent… That made up for the heels and makeup

And from there, the rest is pretty much history. Hello, acceptance of hot pink lipstick, a raw, vegan, gluten-free lifestyle and entrepreneurship.

I have become confident in the fact that I (most of the time) know what is best for me – not my parents, not my friends, not society – Just me. Through this, I have learned (and/or am learning) an importance lesson of accepting unfamiliar actions of others, as just that – unfamiliar. Instead of making snap judgments on actions that I may not understand, I just choose to either accept or move on. Because let’s face it, just because someone chooses to do something that is unfamiliar to us, doesn’t mean their marriage is falling apart, that they are horrible parents, not responsible enough to run a business, etc, etc, etc… It just means simply, that they live their life in an untraditional manner.

Moreover, through this I am realizing that I can live a successful life on my own terms. Sure, it probably has something to do with my competitive nature, i.e., prove that I can run a business just as, if not better, than the analytical person next to me – but I really think it has to do with a deep seated drive to prove that success and/or happiness has no boundaries – and/or there is no rule book that we must live by. I think it’s important to accept yourself, even if you break society’s standard mold, and then in turn, be a role model for others who may be where you once were.

Open your mind, find acceptance and live life on your own terms. It’s the best gift you can give yourself.

Much Love,

Callie

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