Meet Chariti Dawson

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Chariti Dawson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Chariti, we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?
I really love this question because my confidence and self-esteem has evolved tremendously over the last few years. I was always the type to have so many different friend groups and I would be in and out of relationships, I was involved with a bunch of people who served no real purpose in my life for the sake of not being alone. As I started maturing I realized that every person in my life at the time were just a bunch of distractions. I didn’t know how to be alone because I didn’t know what that meant for me or what came with that because I didn’t know myself and I didn’t even have the patience to figure that out. I didn’t really give myself a chance to exist authentically by showing up as my true self in the world. I only felt comfortable with myself when no one was around. So I would really show up as everyone’s favorite version of me which was honestly my least favorite. I had a bunch of people in my life who didn’t really know me and I felt so uncomfortable being myself around them. I grew very tired of that, I wanted to be myself outside of everyone’s influence. Even growing up in my family I was always told who I was so that’s what I became, I would always be spoken for instead of being asked anything and given the chance to speak for myself. In my early twenties I decided that I wanted all of that to change. I tuned out all those voices so I could hear my own, I got rid of every distraction so I had no choice but to face myself and be in my own presence. I didn’t want to feel like I needed the company of others to have a good time and enjoy myself, I wanted to do that all on my own. So I started doing the work, I started doing things like meditating, journaling my thoughts which came with a bunch of harsh truths, I started reading and really expressing a lot more of my creativity. It was a very uncomfortable transition but I was determined to be just as committed to myself the same way I had been committed to so many people for far too long. It was the many small things that I incorporated in my daily life that brought me closer to myself. The more I learned about myself the more I began to love me even the parts of me that weren’t necessarily my favorite I learned to love them because I’m not perfect and I don’t want to be. Imperfections are pure and they make me more of who I am than the obvious, surface level traits. I had to learn how to forgive myself and extend myself so much grace along my journey to keep me going so I wouldn’t give up. I’m beyond proud of how far I’ve come and I know I’ll get better and better with time. The work never stops but I don’t plan on quitting any time soon.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
For starters, I’d like to introduce myself as Chariti Sinae because that’s not only who I am but it’s my brand. I’ve been a certified makeup artist for 7 going on 8 years now. My love for makeup artistry began when I started wearing it to express myself. I’m very creative and I love showing up as my authentic self and makeup is one of the ways I choose to do so. I’ve never believed that makeup had to be worn to cover up a blemish or hide any sort of flaw. I believe that makeup is art and can be used as a creative expression. Just because you wear makeup doesn’t mean you’re not confident, makeup is also a form of artistry. This is all a part of my brand. I love making people feel good and in the beauty industry that means helping people look good. However, I don’t force society’s very simple standards on anyone. I believe beauty is best represented by individuals who aren’t afraid to show up as their true selves and because that is something that I’ve learned how to do I want to help others do the same. I’m also a writer, I must say that poetry is my first love. I’ve always loved writing and reading poetry. It took me longer to become confident in it and comfortable putting myself out there because poetry requires vulnerability and it is so sacred to me. It’s not easy putting something out there like that for anyone to see. It’s a huge goal of mine to write my own poetry books, I believe my words hold power in a beautiful way. I feel like I’m a very relatable person, I’m very expressive and very vocal so I know that I can be a voice to those who struggle to find their own.

I am currently attending school to become a licensed esthetician so that’s what’s next for me and I’m looking forward to it. Soon I’ll start offering facial services in addition to my makeup services. I’ll be able to provide the full experience by taking care of your skin by keeping it healthy and maintaining it underneath your makeup and then giving you a beautiful makeup application, after all, makeup does start with healthy skin.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

The most important thing that I’ve learned so far is to be patient!!! Give yourself time to learn and grow as you go. You aren’t meant to do it all at once and you don’t have to know everything right away. As much as I thought I knew, that’s nothing compared to what I know now. With time you gain experience which comes with so many lessons. You never know what you’re supposed to learn or discover along the way until it’s right there in front of you. Everything that I’ve learned so far are a bunch of lessons that I’m grateful for which helps me understand why the journey is so important. I no longer try to skip steps or rush my process because I know that there are still lessons to be learned and experiences to be had that will speak on my progress. Just because you aren’t where you think you should be doesn’t mean you won’t get there. I’ve learned to be ok with life happening the way it’s supposed to because it’s going to do that anyway with or without my permission. My parents have always told me to come up with a plan and put it in writing, “your plan is there to hold you accountable but that doesn’t mean that everything will actually go according to your plan” is what they’ve always told me. Life will always take its natural course and I’m still learning how to be open to that. What helps me is knowing that the possibilities are endless and whatever I envision for myself can happen in so many ways rather than just my one.
I’d also like to mention the importance of individuality, knowing yourself is so important. Along my journey I found myself comparing my circumstances to others without even noticing most times. In today’s day I know it is so hard to not get caught up in the hype of social media and how quickly things become so big. Trends come and go! I have to remind myself quite often that my life is my own and everything that I am meant to do will happen, what is for me is already mine and no one can get in the way of that. What makes me different is knowing who I am and choosing to show up as myself every single day while living in a time where it is more accepted to do what’s hot and trendy. Popularity means nothing to me, I’ve only ever wanted to do things that I’m passionate about, the things that I love and whatever brings me the most joy. If it’s going to cost me my happiness and my peace then it’s not worth it anyway.
Discipline has been a major theme for me this year. I heard Will Smith once say “self discipline is the definition of self love” and I immediately thought of all the ways that I had not shown up for myself, I did so with grace and forgiveness. For me, self discipline is a constant practice and it is not easy. This year I told myself that I will do more of the things that I don’t feel like doing. I started doing things like eating better and working out because I’ve become more aware of the fact that dreams don’t just align with one area of my life, it’s the bigger picture. So I started asking myself questions like, how does that bigger picture look for me? How do I see my future self? The more I sat with these questions I started to realize that my career is more than just skin, makeup, writing and poetry but it’s also how I choose to show up each day and represent myself. I used to think that being productive was just waking up and filming a makeup tutorial and calling it a day but I’ve realized the importance of a daily routine. I have found different ways to take care of my overall health, going inward and tuning into what’s going on inside of me like my emotions, my mind, paying attention to how my body feels. I have transitioned out of the mindset of thinking that once I reach a big milestone in my career then everything will be fine, now, I show up for myself in all areas and that is what makes everything fine. I no longer feel like my circumstances need to be different in order for everything to start aligning, instead, I choose to be in alignment with everything I envision for myself. I’m getting better at asking myself if certain things actually serve me in a positive way or does it align with everything that I’m working towards. I’ve gotten so much better at controlling my own self rather than trying to control the journey. By making that change in my mindset I have a more positive outlook on life,  I’m able to acknowledge the progress that I’ve made and I am so much happier and accepting of my life’s journey.

What’s been one of your main areas of growth this year?
My biggest area of growth in the past 12 months has been self love over all because that comes with acceptance, patience and gratitude. My perspective of love has changed, I look at love as the bigger picture instead of summing it up to just one thing or boxing it in completely. To me, love is the grand scheme of everything over all. I love myself enough and my career to not cheat myself out of anything. Everything happens for a reason and where I am in this exact moment is for a reason and I don’t want to miss out on any given moment that I’m blessed with. I’ve learned to not be so fixated on a particular outcome because it creates all these small expectations which can lead to one big disappointment and that doesn’t feel good at all. Releasing my strong need for control is something that I’m most proud of because it hasn’t been easy. I’ve gotten so much better at accepting things for what they are and making the best of it. I’ve learned how to be happy and find peace even when my circumstances aren’t exactly what I thought they’d be. I’m working with what I have, where I am and I’m making the best of it.

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