Welcome and thank you so much for stopping by to view my profile! Allow me to introduce myself-I am Sonja, aka "Diva" (affectionately dubbed that name by my hair clientele)-an aspiring fashion designer with emphasis on the curvy and plus-sized girls/teens/ladies. For TOO MANY YEARS, we have been disrepected by the fashion/entertainment industry and the world in general! Who Says Thin Is In??? Who are THEY to determine what is beautiful??? True beauty lies within and exudes itself outward. This is the reasoning behind my desire to design fashions for the curvy (any size female) as well as plus-size ladies. We NEED as many POSITIVE IMAGES to SCREAM TO THE WORLD that we DESERVE AND DEMAND OUR RESPECT!! We are beautiful-with our curves, our softness, and most of all-OUR HEARTS! Let me give you some insight as to why this is a passionate subject for me. For most of my life, I have suffered from self-image issues. Truth be told, I was anorexic all throughout high school AND college! It began with one small, ignorant comment made to me by a male relative when I was about 9 or 10 years old when I put on a few extra pounds. That triggered a NEGATIVE SELF-IMAGE and a BIG lack of confidence for years, even though I never let it show. At 5'11" tall, I starved myself DOWN to 129 lbs.(!) and if I gained ANYTHING past 132 lbs., I IMMEDIATELY stopped eating until I got back into my "safe zone". I even ran up and down the hallway of my mom's house 400-500 times on a regular basis! UNBELIEVABLE! When you have a mindset (like I did) that small is never small enough, it is hard for those around you who DO LOVE YOU, to convince you otherwise. I did some local modeling/fashion shows, and print ads for local department stores (teen stuff). Years of eating air-popped popcorn, half a peanut butter sandwich, and KIDS' MEALS at restaurants was the norm for me. Food was my friend, or more often, the ENEMY! There was NO GRAY AREA! Food scared me to death and to this day it still does at times! It was not until I got married and became a mom (something I've always wanted to be-I have 4, including twins) that I took my focus off of my body and placed it on my family. I gained weight over the years and think back to all the days of hiding under clothing 2 sizes too big to "hide" my girth when in all actuality I made myself look EVEN BIGGER! I finally got my weight back down (size 12) a few years ago-running 5 miles a day, eating 5-6 small meals a day and no food after 6 PM-then I was diagnosed with asthma when we moved to a new state. My doctor put me on "prednisone"-I had NO IDEA this was a STEROID!!! I put the weight back on "Quickly" and that sent me into a downward tailspin and a DEEEEEP depression! My exercise stopped and I failed to monitor my eating habits. I spent years beating myself up for not looking like this or that, and trying to live up to UNREALISTIC EXPECTATIONS!! More women in the world look just like me than the super thin model we see. It's not to put down thin sistahs at all-it's just that ideas on what is cute or beautiful has been projected on thin females and the curvy/plus ladies have not been viewed in the same way. The mindset of the world has had large ladies apologizing for how they look for years. I just want all women, regardless of size to be appreciated for who AND what they are. I REFUSE to let society deem what is beautiful! Only I CAN VALIDATE MYSELF! I used to seek others' approval, but not anymore! WHATCHA SEE IS WHATCHA GET-Take me as I am. I tell you all of this because I have heard from SEVERAL OF YOU who have had or still are dealing with similar experiences. These are the things you need to remember-1. Love yourself and remind yourself that you are one of God's Most Precious gifts! 2. Focus on being healthy, fit and toned-NOT SKINNY!!! 3. Don't let others put you down-carry yourself with CONFIDENCE, CLASS, SELF-PRIDE and DIGNITY! 4. Only U can validate You! There is room for improvement in ALL OF US-I am currently working out at the gym-I want to drop a couple of dress sizes, but just to improve and enhance what God has already blessed me with. Just remember, ANYBODY CAN LOOK GOOD, BUT EVERYBODY CAN'T (or shouldn't) WEAR EVERYTHING! Don't trash yourself by wearing "just anything"-ROCK WHAT U GOT-CLASSY STYLE-DIVA STYLE! It is another goal of mine to reach out and speak to children/teens all over the nation, as it troubles me when I hear about 6 and 7 year olds being on diets!!! They should be concentrating on school, playing and having fun-not stressing over their body image! There is MUCH work to be done to UNDO ALL of the negative stereotypes envoked by the media, videos, magazines, etc. but somebody HAS TO DO IT!!! I want girls to think positively about themselves-whether big or small- while they are children, instead of growing into young ladies who have zero confidence because they don't think they measure up or fit the mold for what beauty is. I am embracing ALL MY SISTAHS to join me in turnin' the tables in the fashion world! Curves Are Better, Baby! Bettah ask somebody...
