but they can never take away our FREEDOM...

i finished my first semester of fashion school last thursday and i've been sleeping a lot since.  at one point i didn't sleep for almost 48 hours last week.  it was fun.  if i were to summarize my semester in FOUR words, i would say this:

i learned a lot.

...about fashion design, about the fashion industry, about myself and what i want for my life, and about how all that fits into what God wants for my life.

fashion design is HARD but REWARDING.  you'll often spend many hours working on a single garment until you get the fabric to do exactly what you want.  it's both fun but extremely frustrating. there are so many things to consider when designing and constructing even one garment, not to mention a whole collection. designers are thinkers.  even the most talented ones have to give their collections a lot of thought--it doesn't just come to you. i hope it becomes easier the more you do it though because i don't like the amount of time i currently have to devote to it.

like anything else, success in the fashion industry depends more on HARD WORK than TALENT, which is why i have a problem with celebrity designers: they have no talent and they don't work hard. a travesty, really.  generally, most people in the industry aren't as snobby as hollywood likes to portray them (i.e. zoolander and the devil wears prada).  although meryl streep's character in the devil wears prada is based on the real-life editor-in-chief of vogue, anna wintour, who they say is indeed as crazy as the film depicts.  i find that people like her however, are the minority. though some of the most famous designers may look crazy because of the way they dress (i.e. karl lagerfeld), i hear that they're actually rather nice people.  i guess that means i need to be nicer.

i want to eventually have my own CLOTHING LINE that is managed using Godly business practices.  i want a FAMILY.  i think being a Godly PARENT is potentially one of the most noble things humanity can aspire to.  i want to live and work in LONDON.  i think these are some of my more realistic goals.

i also want to be knighted by the queen of england, but that one's a little iffy.  wouldn't it be cool though if everyone had to address me as SIR FRED?  haha.

ultimately however, nothing is of more importance than the things of the Kingdom.  as humans, our values and the self restraint to live by these values is what sets us apart from the animals.  as Christians, biblical values are what makes us salt and light in our dark world.  in times of economic downturn, in times of war, in times of uncertainty, God is the only constant we have.  i just pray that i may be given the grace to live at all times like one who has been saved.

i'll try to post photos/scans of some of my work soon.

without self restraint, we are but animals; without God we are but dust.