my belt.

Today I am reflective. I am sitting here thinking back to when I first purchased the belt I am wearing. I remember it so vividly it seems like yesterday. . . but it was 13 years ago…how does this tie into my life now is very interesting….so here I go..

I bought this belt at Express; which at the time was very trendy, yet over my price limit as a college sophomore. I remember it was 20% off, which in my world I usually didn’t even look at (a true sale to me isn’t anything less than 50%!) The belt was, I think, $34. OK, no big deal, but what is a big deal is that I bought it. AND I bought it with the money I had just gotten from my first real true gig as a model.

The event I bought it for was special; it was a bachelorette party for one of my best friends. The belt matched perfectly with the tank top I was going to wear and the matching pants I bought. Keep in mind this was 2002 and fashion was a little bit different than now…the biggest thing was that this belt matched these shoes I also bought. Everything (minus the pants) was camel colored…I thought I was KILLING it! Ha ha ha, that night was a ton of fun, we had a limo, went club and bar hopping and it was a blast….HERE is the funny part…

This was before I was officially found in snow banks. THIS is when I FIRST got sick. I had passed out a couple of times up to this point but I had no diagnosis, I had no medications, nothing. I remember vividly how awful I felt that whole night. I remember putting on a huge smile and pushing through the night so that no one could tell I felt like I had the flu. I remember everyone else was drinking and staying at a hotel but I had to go home. The whole wedding weekend was like that. I always felt like a party pooper because I had to go home and rest, I got exhausted, I felt like crap. It was my POTS.

So, back to the belt…I have worn it a few times here and there since then, but today I put it on. Today is another one of those events where no matter how craptastic I feel I am going to show up and show out. LOL. I actually am feeling somewhat human today so it’s not huge issue. This belt somehow became symbolic in my closet. It was the first thing I had allowed myself to “over spend on.” Laughingly, yes, $34. LOL.

So, that’s my belt.