We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Aspen Brown a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Aspen, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.
I would say, my confidence and self-esteem definitely developed most in college when I was starting to become the woman I am today. Learning what was for me, discovering what my passions were, finding hobbies that were for pure fun but that put me in my element. Then my mid-twenties was when I learned how to be more independent, and my self reliance reinforced them. After that, it’s all about knowing what your true purpose is and walking in that alignment, knowing that what is meant for me is already mine was the final piece in developing my confidence.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
For college, I went to Virginia Tech and studied architecture, which is a five year program. I would say I have always been a fairly creative person so I definitely enjoyed my time there, and upon graduating I worked at AECOM for about 5 years designing sports venues and stadiums, as well as spending some time in the disaster resiliency sector – which was some really fulfilling work. However, COVID impacted many people differently. For me, life slowed down enough for me to realize that my goals and aspirations were all based around my career, which I already knew I didn’t want to do for the next 20+ years. This is when I started shadowing and assisting a friend from college who did photography because it had always been a hobby of mine. I was considering starting my own business and wanted to make sure it was something that would generate enough revenue to be worth pursuing. What I didn’t realize was that I missed being in front of the camera more.
In high school one of my dreams was to move to NYC to become a model but I doubted myself, I didn’t have my family’s support and I lacked the confidence to even try because I wasn’t the industry standard model. But I knew it made me happy, so in 2020 – to get out of the house and still feel connected to people I started doing photoshoots with local photographers and realized how much of myself I had given up on. How many dreams I stopped dreaming. But I was finally at an age where I didn’t need to rely on anyone to get me
from point A to B; I can trust my instincts on others characters and know who are people that are trustworthy to work with and so on.
This rediscovery of myself, my goals, my passions is driven by all the years that I let pass me by. Whenever someone asks me why or how I work so hard – I tell them just that. I wasted too much time not believing in myself or my dreams. Now I know I am exactly where I’m supposed to be as the more I pursued dreams, the more these opportunities arise, and the more doors open.
Since then I have done countless photoshoots for brands big and small, attended a plethora of castings, walked in numerous fashion shows for RVAFW, NYFW, Miami Swim Week, and Sassy Jones, as well as participated in the Miss Bikini US pageant last year. As for this year, I am headed to Arlington at the end of the June to compete in the Miss Virginia USA pageant with the Miss Short Pump USA.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I would say the 3 most important qualities, skills, and/or areas of knowledge would be knowing my worth, setting boundaries, and finding my purpose were the most impactful on my journey. I would say the best way to improve on any of these skills is learning to be self aware. I used to be so much of a people pleaser that I would give so much of myself, my time and energy to other people and would be depleted when it came time to take care of myself. So I had to discover my worth, and have the confidence that if a person or a situation doesn’t see my value, that doesn’t change my value. I had to learn HOW to set boundaries. Again, as a people pleaser I always wanted to make sure everyone around me was happy and by the time it was my turn to focus on me, I would be miserable and wonder where I went wrong but it was honestly because I forgot to put myself first ever. You can’t pour from an empty cup, so make sure you water yourself first. And last but not least – find your purpose. I remember all of my friends being so excited about their careers and feeling fulfilled, but I was going through the motions everyday, doing the tasks to complete them, which will start to take a toll on you. So if you feel like you’re drowning and don’t know where to turn, find what centers you, find what you love to do, find what brings you happiness, and sometimes, find what scares you to do because you might be good at it. These will all lead you to the alignment on your journey.
What would you advise – going all in on your strengths or investing on areas where you aren’t as strong to be more well-rounded?
I think it’s more important to be well rounded by investing effort on improving areas you aren’t strong in because you will never grow without experiencing being uncomfortable. I think we all have room to grow honestly, and this one perspective has always stuck with me once I heard it from a podcast. I forgot where it was, but they were talking about how sometimes the things you are most afraid of are the things that are your actual talents and gifts. And if you’re too afraid to lean into them and embrace them through the fear, you will never know that it is a skill or talent that you have and can share with others.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.AspenOnLife.com
- Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/aspenonlife
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aspen0nlife?mibextid=LQQJ4d
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aspen-brown?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
Image Credits
Image 1: Jermaine Dabney Headshot: Antonio Lomax White Dress w Sash: Jermaine Dabney Runway: Jermaine Dabney
