Blog 2: Reflections on the Better Lives themes
During these past few weeks, on my make up breakdown classes we have been approaching the fashion mistake. Even though this theme was based on make up, it has a much bigger concept behind it. Making a mistake does not have no be a bad thing, in fact it is so importante to fail in order to succeed.
The action of making a mistake can take various perspectives on each and every individual. It can also depend on a more cultural side. In the USA, failing is a good thing in order to achieve success. On the other hand, in Japan, failing can ruin a person’s professional life and trying to ease the mistake can become a challenge.
Diversity, nowadays is crucial in the world we live in right now. Everyone is different, and most iportantly, everyone is unique. Whether it can be through socio-economic status, religious beliefs, or even sexual orientation. No one should be seen as a failure, and failing should not be seen as a dreadful action. Making a mistake can makes us realise something we did not know, it can show our true feelings, it can wake us up. Furthermore, the most important feature is that failing can makes us more humble, educate us to value forgiveness and value ourselves, inform us more about the others and remind ourselves of our humanity!
Onto the sustainability issue on make up, I am so much more aware of how this industry affects the planet. From now on I will only use cruelty-free and eco-friendly products. In this way I am trying to be more social responsible while being aware of my actions. In fact, a lot of things are changing on the beauty industry, for example: L’Oréal USA achieved carbon neutrality for its plants and switched the distribution centers to renewable energy in order to reduce the emissions and pollution.
This theme changed my way of working but most importantly, my self esteem and my social responsibility when it comes to my actions. I was constantly afraid of failing, of making a mistake and being made fun of. From now on I feel confident, I do not feel alone, I know myself better and look after the others. Realising that making mistakes is a good thing made me enjoy the work I am doing and build up the person I am today. As Paulo Coelho once said: “There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.” Using failure as a benefit for my mental health made me feel better about myself and made me feel unbeatable, and that is exactly how everyone from every part of the world should feel about themselves.
References:
Sue Bryant (2019) ‘How different cultures deal with failure’, Country Navigator, 5 August. Available at: https://countrynavigator.com/blog/cultural-intelligence/failure-across-cultures/(Acessed: 25 April 2020)
Ekaterina Walter (2013) ’30 Powerful Quotes on Failure’, Forbes, 30 December. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/ekaterinawalter/2013/12/30/30-powerful-quotes-on-failure/#617a0fbd24bd(Acessed: 25 April 2020)
April Long (2019) ‘How the Beauty Industry Is Becoming More Earth-Friendly’, The Oprah Magazine, 15 March. Available at: https://www.oprahmag.com/beauty/skin-makeup/a26826590/beauty-industry-eco-friendly/(Acessed: 25 April 2020)