1 In Bomb Life 101

The Bomb Life 101: You Have to Pay Your Dues

It’s not Throwback Thursday, but I felt compelled to leave a little Bomb Life 101 note today, perhaps inspired by our informative Breaking into Fashion Panel at Cocktails with Claire x Ty Hunter LA.
The premise and subject are simple: Pay Your Dues.

A lot of people might see me now poppin tags or throwing poppin parties, and perhaps forget that I’ve been doing this for over 10 years, and am just now enjoying some of the fruits of my labor.

When I first started in 2006, I was wearing broken Bronx heels (Exhibit A above). My first internship was unpaid, and my 2nd internship (which made $5.15 an hour) had me handing out faxes and opening mail when I was more than qualified to actually write. Perhaps the industry makes entrants do ‘grunt work’ to see if they really want it, and I really wanted it! I’ve slept on tubs, jumped the turnstyles on trains, and did odd jobs that I hated, all in service of this dream of mine, which I’m just beginning to realize.

I think a lot of younger people in the industry believe that with social media, you can get on the fast track to success. Yes, some do get lucky and rise to the top quickly. But most successful people you see work hard, and have worked hard for many years. The qualities of a successful person is someone willing to do the work, even if it’s unglamorous. Rolling up their sleeves to do what is needed, no matter what. Still fueling their own dreams while they build up their resume and great references so that they can make the moves they want to.

Do you think as a 28-year-old I wanted to be walking the streets of Paris all day for Paris Vogue, asking strangers for their picture (and being told no) all for a whopping 500 Euros a month? I didn’t! But Paris Vogue gave me access. It gave me a name on my resumé. It put me in rooms where I was able to meet people who could perhaps help me one day in my career. And all the while, I was able to use some of my experiences to fuel my own website. Though I didn’t get a job at Paris Vogue, I guarantee you everyone there would acknowledge that I worked hard, got the job done, and always had a great attitude. I showed up early, stayed late and did more than what I was asked to do. You should have that attitude at any job you have and you will go far.

I know when you’re younger you think you know it all. But if you have an open mind, you will listen. There is no glory or glamour without gruntwork. It will always and forever be true, and if you want the life of your dreams, you gotta work for it.
As one of my favorite Biggie quotes goes,