MY WHY

Every girl I met my whole life, loves fashion. Well, who doesn’t?

This article is for all women that want to do something with her life but doesn’t have the courage to do so. Find your why and Understanding the reason behind it. I believe we can make it happened anything and everything in life as long as we trust, believe and focus on our dream. Your action is everything, a journey of thousand miles begin with the first step.

My WHY

By : Joyce Wonsono

I remembered exactly the first time I noticed a fashion trend. Do you remember when bubble skirt was in trend? Short skirt that was quirkily structured such that it created a bubble-like poof. I think I was about 10 at the time and I was so happy when my mum eventually bought one for my sis and me. I remembered mine was pastel yellow and my sis bought the pastel orange. We also bought the matching tank top. I was over the moon.

My love for clothes never stops growing. When I graduated from college, I was so tempted to apply as a Sales girl for Zara, but my ego got in the way. Everyone around me told me I am over qualified for this job and I believed it. Deep down, I was too afraid to venture out, to try and do something different. But the universe somehow keeps pointing me in that direction, for I ended up working at a garment factory instead. And lo and behold, years after my stint at the garment factory, I married my husband who owned a successful clothing store back in his hometown. Naturally, I became the buyer for his store.

Now here I am back in my hometown, trying to start my own clothing line. Yet, I am having so many questions in my head, questions that are making me take many steps away from my dream. I am currently reading this book by Simon Sinek on “Start with Why”. He made a case of all the great companies who remains great as they stick to their why. Their why is so strong that whatever they produce, it is to support the why. He made a case that people don’t buy what you do, people buy why you do it, which I believe made a whole load of sense. There are millions of clothing shops out there, awesome ones, and amazingly successful ones. They are creative, brilliant and simply utterly a work of art. Why me? What is so special about my why that people are going to buy what I produce.

Searching for the why is honestly the biggest struggle for me. I realized I kept telling myself that my why isn’t strong enough, doesn’t matter enough for it to go far. And until I find a strong why, I better not start. But I realize something is not right with this self-sabotaging thought. I keep judging my why because I don’t believe in myself and because in essence, I don’t believe I am good enough. I keep holding back because I am too afraid to try. Yet, every night, when I lay in bed as everyone is asleep, and the room is quiet, all I do is look at the beautiful clothes that have been created. And a voice whispered, “Didn’t they all start small?” And as I poured out my doubt and fear to my dearest husband, he simply asked me, “why NOT you?”

Yes, I may not know how to sew or design clothes or go to fashion school. I am not known for being an artist. But I know what I love. And as if these encouraging messages aren’t enough to move my butt, the universe showed me another one. I was teaching my daughter mandarin one day and I advised her to not leave any question blank during her test. If she writes something, or even just guesses the answer, there is a chance she might get it right. And I was thinking, isn’t that life? I might as well start and see where this is going then just leave my canvas empty.

Simon Sinek also made another point, “dream big, start small, but most of all, start” and yes, I am going to start, for why Not me?

JOYCE WONSONO

SEPT 2020

Photo by YURI MANEI from Pexels