FEATURE FRIDAY!

Creative of the week: Lewa

IG: @itslewababy

Lewa styled and shot by me

Lewa shot and styled by me

Interview

Me: "For today's first feature Friday I'll be interviewing the beautiful Lewa. Lewa and I have done a couple shoots in the past and always enjoyed each others creative visions. I thought it'd be a great idea to get her to be my first feature for my blog! Thank you so much for being my first interviewee babe. So, lets get started! What is your name (preferred name) , age, where were you born & where do you currently live?"

Lewa: "My name is Lewa, I'm 21, born in Nigeria, raised in Boston, living in Brooklyn, New York."

Me: What is your current relationship status?

Lewa: "I'm single"

Me: "What are some of your goals, aspirations and what are you currently doing in your creative field?"

Lewa: "My biggest goal since I was young has always been to graduate college and get my bachelors degree. I'm in my senior year at NYU and I'm looking forward to graduating next year. Since moving to New York, I've also rediscovered my passion for fashion and am aspiring to be a fashion model."

Me: "Why and how did you get into what you're doing? (modeling, fashion, etc)"

Lewa: "I'm where I'm at right now because I didn't listen to the people that told me I couldn't do it. I've gotten a lot of 'no's' and had a lot of people underestimate me or my dreams but I didn't let that stop me. I worked my ass off to get into college and now I'm gonna keep working on my modeling career and I will also achieve my goal of getting signed by continuing to persevere."

Me: "How would you describe your look and aesthetic?"

Lewa: "Something like Sharpay meets Brooklyn. My aesthetic is cute and nasty, pretty but hard. I feel like my confidence is also a huge part of my aesthetic because no matter what I have on, I wear it like I'm on a runway."

Me: "This next question is something I'm gonna ask all my interviewees. I think it's a beautiful thing to remind ourselves of our beauties and just spreading that self love. So I ask you Lewa, what would you say your best feature is and why?"

Lewa: "I would say my skin because I've been told for so long it was one of my worst features. I got bullied when I was younger for having dark skin and it actually just haloed my build for my confidence and now I love myself so much, it doesn't matter what anyone has to say about me."

Me: "Period Pooh! That's such a beautiful thing to truly say fuck yall, I'm me and I'm actually that bitch, despite what you people think of me. I love that for you Lewa. That confidence and beauty is definitely shown by you through your aura and pictures, and I think that's a great thing for women that read this to see.

That kind of leads into my next question. How does it feel to be a black woman in living in NYC?"

Lewa: "I feel empowered because I see myself in so many other black women here. The community of black women I know in New York love and support each other. There's a seat at the table for everyone and most opportunities that I get come from black women. It can be hard at times being a young black woman in New York but my sisters got me."

Me: "That last sentence had so much power in it. Did yall hear that? 'It can be hard at times being a young black woman in New York but my sisters got me.' Imma just leave that there, marinate on that.

So lastly Lewa, a question I'm gonna ask all my interviewees, if you can leave the people with any words of encouragement, what would it be?"

Lewa: "Do it because you want to do it and don't stop even when it gets difficult. You've got to keep moving to get out of the storm."

Me: "Welp, there you have it ladies n gents. Last words of encouragement from the beautiful Lewa. I hope you all learned a lil something about this young BLACK woman. It was a pleasure Lewa, thank you for being a part of this journey with me."

I'll see you all again next week with our next guest... TBA! -Sanauva-Nique