December 7th, 2009

I didn’t have a look-of-the-day entry yesterday because I was finally working on set (it had been so long since I last stood in front of a camera , you know, with all the video-posts and all). I got a small part on a short for Bravo called “I want to be a Desi” where I play a “rocker-chick” on a dating game-show. In preparation for the scene, I was “transformed” into a person I could barely recognize in the mirror. It’s incredible how much people’s perception of your identity is moulded and directed by the visual codes we chose to present. It only took three sticker tattoos, a fake nose ring, dark lipstick, punk-hair, and a bunch of quintessentially rocker accessories for “me” to be completely lost in this limiting exterior. While I support all aesthetic self-expression, my concern is that making such harsh, permanent statements as tattoos might stifle long-tern possibilities for creativity and change. Its quite limiting to assume that your identity is concrete and fixed because it rarely is (if ever). When I was in high school, for example, my style went from exclusively sexy to preppy and ended up somewhere in between. In this look-of-the-day entry, I have included pictures of last year’s Valentine’s Day and a picture from yesterday’s shoot. Just look at the drastic contrast. Your daily clothing, make-up, and hair choices say a lot about who you are. Allow yourself the freedom to be as flexible and far-reaching as your imagination because, when considering their long-term consequences, some aesthetic choices may someday act as a closed door.