So it's the turn of our 5th angel! Last but most definitely not least!! Anjola makes you question if you are even enough with her inspiring level of extra-ness. I love it, love her and I hope, once you guys read what she has to say, you feel the same way!
Enjooyyyy
1. Who are you and what makes you cool?
I’m Anjola Fagbemi also known as TheBejewelledBud and I’m a fashion blogger and YouTuber! I love to say I’m an all round creative because I dabble in a lot. From photography to styling & design, the opportunities are endless. Sharing my creative energy with the world excites me; and whatever avenue I get to share it, I use!
2. Where/why/how/when did start?
TheBejewelledBud started in the summer of 2014, just before I started my Freshman year of college. It was the typical summer in England doing absolutely nothing but spending the days lounging and eating haha. My best friend at the time was continuously shopping and browsing fashion blogs. The ability to get lost in these things for hours on end sparked my interest in them. After browsing through some super stylish Nigerian fashion blogs, I dug up an old image of myself and made my first blog post! I remember my best friend saying “You better actually continue this o; I’ll be upset if you don’t” and I’m glad I’ve stuck with it ever since!
Summer of 2014 was a time of new beginning as I also made a YouTube channel! I started that because I had just learnt how to make loombands and I needed to share my new craft with the world. My channel has evolved from loombands (cringe tbh) and now holds a variety of beauty, fashion and lifestyle videos!
3. Where do you hope to get?
Ultimately, my goal is to be a happy, care-free black girl sharing her magic with the world and have the universe reward me as a result.
My current inspiration is Chiara Ferragni, a Fashion blogger and designer, who has amassed over 8 million followers and has her own clothing line. I’ve also recently fallen in love with Yoyo Cao; these two bloggers give me an insight into all the magic the fashion world could be.
In the near future, I’d love to go to a Fashion school in a small but unique city and end up landing major brand endorsements with some of my favs! I also want to start a fashion line somewhere down the road and I’m so excited for everything the future holds
4. What challenges have you faced/are you facing and how did you overcome them/hope to overcome them?
My main challenge is time management. I’m currently in school, have two jobs, run my blog and a YouTube channel; so you can say I have my hands full. I spend a lot of nights up, dreaming and working on things that spark my interest because I believe time is a gift and we have to do as much as we can while we’re still here.
I’m currently obsessed with my calendar app. I plug every single meeting, due date, and event I have in so I don’t forget. I’m also learning to recognize the need for self care, and just relaxing.
I love whipping out my silk robe, a face mask and Gossip Girl.
5. Do you think any of your challenges relate to being a women? If so how do you think we can prevent other women from facing similar obstacles?
Luckily, the blogging industry is dominated by powerful women whom I look up to. A challenge in the world of fashion and being a woman is the issue of modesty. I believe modesty empowers some while nudity empowers others, and being a blogger has given me the agency to empower myself through self-expression (using either of those means).
Sometimes, I still find myself choosing to cover up more because of what society will think, or what my mum will say haha. And this is more of a personal issue, but it also reflects how we police women’s bodies. With my sense of style I’m reclaiming that power, I’m refusing to be controlled and I’m being unapologetically me.
Another challenge is the pressure of being a “role model” to my younger female audience. My mum and aunties constantly remind me of how much these girls learn from me & look up to me, and this creates the need to have this veil of perfection. Perfection is an illusion and at the end of the day I’m still a young girl myself, constantly making mistakes; and it’s perfectly okay!
Thank you to Anjola for sharing her black girl magic, from what she wrote to her epic pictures, we have fully been blessed today, LOL!
And so that concludes the series! Really thankful to everyone who contributed and so happy to share with you the people I find super interesting. To review and look over them all just click here.
Question 5 was my favourite and the answers to all really interested me. They showed me how these awesome girls have persevered through gender discrimination and have done what they love regardless. I appreciate that all these fields are 'feminine' in nature, but I hope it helped people who want to venture into more male-dominated fields.
If any of you have more to share, please get in touch! Thanks for reading on guys, have a great weekend!!