Community

Fashion is often reduced to simply being about aesthetic enjoyment, but it can be so much more. It can bring women together and encourage us to support each other, inspiring each other instead of being in constant competition. I never realized the power of clothes until I noticed how happy they could make people. It's more than just appearance, it's finding connection with strangers, moments of intimacy that are harder to find in a digital world.

I used to view social media as a distraction from true connection, but I recognize now that in the right hands it builds community. I once felt so alone and ostracized in my quirky hobbies and fashion sense, and in the past few years I have found that I am far from alone. Even people I've never met that live across the globe share many similarities with me, especially when it comes to sustainable clothing options and buying from small businesses. We can connect through our appreciation of nature and desire for slow living. Then we can support each other as we make our lives unique to ourselves, rather than letting drudgery overcome us. Such hope and it all started with a simple photograph.

Who am I?

As we begin our journey through the year, I thought you might want to know a bit about the person behind the words. My name is Anastasia, like the Russian princess, not because I'm Russian or Greek (the original language of the name), but because my mother was a ballerina. A great start to living as a mythical creature, right?

We'll get more into my origin story later. For now, I'll start with my day job. Less than a year after getting my Bachelor's in Linguistics and German from UC Berkeley, I somehow managed to land my dream job as the linguist for saawanooki (Shawnee Tribe), playing a vital role in the revitalization of saawanwaatoweewe (Shawnee language). I do everything from manage an online language dictionary to curriculum creation to language teaching to grammar research. I love my job because I know I am making a difference while also getting to dive deep into the language and culture of my ancestors.

While I enjoy my day job, there are a few passions that it doesn't fulfill. Mainly, the creative outlets that my soul yearns for. Hence why you find me here, seeking to free my creative spirit to recharge my batteries for my important work. Like any other human, I have many interests, but here I'll focus on fashion, mythology, and language.

As a multilingual linguist, the expressiveness of language fascinates me, and language is always connected to culture, hence the mythology portion. I myself practice paganism, so nature, ancestry, and mythology are essential to my spiritual practices. I believe all cultures have a right to exist and be preserved, since the weaving threads of diverse cultures are what make humanity special. Another added perk of my day job aligning with my beliefs!

Now you may be wondering, where does fashion come into the picture? I've always been interested in unique styles and figuring out what fits my personality. I find that fashion can set the tone for my day, but it also allows me to explore historic clothing styles. It is almost like time traveling from one day to the next. And what could be more fun than traveling through time by just changing your clothes? Well stepping into a fantasy realm of course. And so we take the first steps of our journey.

meniweeskikkato!

Happy New Year! Humans sure do love the cycle of time, a simple change of the clock to midnight from one day to the next is celebrated with explosions in the sky and lofty goals for the year to come. So much power in a simple calendar year. As I myself am human, I made a goal for this year to return to writing. Once a great passion of my youth, it faltered due the stresses of school and work. Now I am finally in a place again to put my thoughts to paper, or in this case to a screen. In case you are wondering, the heading means "Happy New Year" in Shawnee, the language that inspired my career in language revitalization. Stay tuned to learn more about me and what I have to share with the world!