Marisa (or Maris or Reeses, as she appears in my phone) has been in my life since we were 14. You know how certain part of your life happen in slo-mo? The first time I saw Maris it was my first day at St. Andrew’s. I barely knew anyone, and I was kind of taking it all in. Then she came running like a hurricane over to this kid I was kind of checking out and threw her hands over his eyes. He guessed who she was by her watch, she complimented his Lilly Pulitzer tie, gave him a hug, and off she went. I have no idea why I remember that specific moment, but I do.We were in different advisor groups and, at the time, different friend groups, so I didn’t give her a whole lot of thought until I heard rumors that she was dating my ex after he broke up with me later that year. I didn’t like her because of that because I was 15 and terrible. I don’t even really know if it was a true.
I’m not sure how it happened but she and I slowly became friends, and I’m so glad we did! (So are my parents- they always loved her!) I think it was because we were in Les Mis together but I really don’t remember. All I know is that the older we got, the closer we got, the weirder we got together. She went from ultra-preppy to boho and beyond. It was kind of fun pushing the limits of our dress code- there were a lot of peasant skirts involved I can tell you that much. We listened to a lot of Panic! At The Disco and she got me into Boys Like Girls. One time, she literally ate all of the cheese in my house. On a more serious note, at a moment when I was really scared, she drew a cute portrait of me including labels to make me smile and laugh and know how much she was behind me.
We lost touch in college, but she was a solid part of my original crew. We reunited at our friend Casey’s wedding last year, and I have loved watching her business blossom. Dirty Hippy Swag is so freakin’ Marisa and I love it! I mean… did you see my awesome pants yesterday?
I’m so happy for my courageous, creative, beautiful inside and out friend, and I cannot wait to see what Dirty Hippy Swag has in store for her!
10 Songs For A Perfect Sound Track:
- Bad and Boujee, by Migos feat. Lil Uzi Vert
- Online, by Danger Incorporated
- Diamonds, by Danger Incorporated
- Classic Man, by Jidenna
- Instinct, by Roy Woods feat. MadeinTYO
- Bounce Back, by Big Sean
- Chanel, by Frank Ocean
- Antidote, by Travis Scott
- L$D, by A$AP Rocky
- Left, Right, by YG and DJ Mustard
In all honesty, the entire Danger Incorporated album Are you Afraid of the Danger Boys? Is already my perfect soundtrack.
9 Words That Describe Me:
- Bold
- Creative
- Fearless
- Funny
- Ambitious
- Courageous
- Respectful
- Determined
- Thoughtful
8 Reasons I Love My Life:
- Working for myself has been incredibly fulfilling because all the company goals come from my heart and my motivation to succeed is infinite.
- My boyfriend, Frederick has completely transformed my human experience. Since childhood I’ve had Major Depression and PTSD an it wasn’t until Frederick and I fell in love a couple years ago that I began to discover the joys of being alive.
- Living in the forest. We live in the middle of the Redwood Regional Park and our tree house is by far the most beautiful pad we have both ever lived in. I love living in the forest because I literally wake up to the squaws of Eagles. No joke, when I first moved in I thought my neighbor had an Eagle sound as a text message alert because I couldn’t fathom a real Eagle actually squawing in my yard.
- Animals. I’ve been volunteering and feeding an 18 year old horse named Tosca once a week for a few months now. One afternoon, while feeding Tosca on the top of these bright green rolling hills I saw a family of deer, several adorable rabbits, 1 curious coyote, 3 newts, 2 wild turkeys, 1 bald eagle, 2 hawks, and the herd of 14 horses Tosca is apart of. Nothing beats that!
- Friends. I’m lucky to have incredibly down to earth and creative friends.
- Art and Design. I love painting, beading, laser-cutting, modeling, photography, graphic design, web design, and everything art and design. I love designing screenprints and jewelry for Dirty Hippy Swag and always have a blast laser-cutting the wooden pendants.
- Food. I’m obsessed with food. My favorite thing to do is eat.
- Living in the Bay. The Bay Area is filled with opportunities to go on epic adventures, work for great companies, meet interesting people, and make dreams happen. I love living here!
7 Essentials In My Closet:
- Sweatpants
- Dirty Hippy Swag white hoodie
- Quantify Thy Sad black hoodie (I literally wear these top 3 things every single day. it’s hard to get me out of sweatpants and my Dirty Hippy Swag hoodies)
- Sports bras and bralettes. I’ve been boycotting underwire bras for years now.
- Sterling Silver heirloom hoop earrings from my Aunt Candy and my fake gold triple hoop earrings from Goodwill.
- Slip on black sneakers
- Summer dresses
6 Non-Electronic Things I Can’t Live Without:
- Eggs
- Extra-sharp cheddar cheese
- Coconut Oil. I use coconut oil every day to moisturize my body and monthly to deep condition my hair.
- My Passion Planner is honestly the most amazing non-electronic thing I own. It’s a calendar planner customized for the dreamers.
- Pooh Bear. I might regret publicly admitting this, but I’ve been sleeping with my teddy bear since I was 10 years old.
- Crayola markers. They make to-do lists a party on a piece of paper!
Anti Social Club – Fine Jersey T-Shirt
5 People Who Have Impacted My Life:
- Don, my dad, a fountain of eternal love and my greatest inspiration
- Jocelyn, my sister, my rock and my best friend
- Frederick, my boyfriend, my oak tree and my soulmate
- Candy, my aunt, my soul sister, my greatest role model
- Brian, a saint, my hero who taught me everything I need to know about operating an animal sanctuary.
4 Place I Want To Visit:
- The center of the earth.
- Outer space.
- An alien spaceship.
- Any beach in Greece.
3 Unpopular Opinions I Have:
- I don’t believe in the popular saying “seeing is believing” because I’m 100% positive aliens exist. I’m just impatiently waiting for them to appear above me one day.
- I believe that most animal species should be legally recognized as sentient beings.
- Equal rights equal fights. (gender equality)
2 Things That Scare You
- Spiders for sure. A couple years ago I called Frederick at 10:30pm terrified, crying and begging him to drive (30 minutes) to my house to discard a massive spider from my bedroom wall. He came.
- Heights. I am absolutely terrified of heights.
1 Quote I Live By:
“One love and fuck you.” – Diabolic, Self Destruction (Outro)
The first time I heard Diabolic say “one love & fuck you” became the last time I ever felt misunderstood. In essence, this is how I truly feel on the daily: every single living being on this planet deserves unconditional love and kindness, but I also need to set strong energetic boundaries between myself and the outside world in order to protect myself.
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