Upon joining the World Race, one realizes that they are entering a yearish-long lifestyle of abandonment. And indeed, one abandons a lot during those months… some things of little consequence but other things that require greater intention of letting go. What these are, I will not go into great detail as that is not the purpose of this blog. Also some examples escape me at the moment. Rather, the purpose of this blog is to state that the abandonment lifestyle need not include one’s personal style.
First, I’ll explain my personal beliefs on the matter of style. Beliefs that indeed have been challenged and further determined by this year. I have always liked pretty things. In fact, I said this once to the women’s ministry of our Nepalese church and the pastor’s wife who translated for me paused, snickered, and told me, “yes I know, we see that.” My reaction to this was a mix of slight embarrassment and slight compliment as it meant that she had gotten to know me well enough to observe that fact. But to me, enjoyment of pretty things was never solely related to the physical appearance of beauty, although that has merit in of itself. Rather, I enjoy feeling beautiful, and pretty things help with that. It’s the reason me and my best friend aka fellow feminine comrade in the male-dominated college of engineering would dress up for each exam in undergad… “Look good, feel good, do good” we would say. It’s the same reason I feel wonderfully confident when I wear heels or get my hair cut and styled. To feel beautiful is to feel empowered within one’s self. But then I come across verses in the bible that warn against braiding of hair and adornment of gold jewelry and wonder if my enjoyment of pretty things is considered a sin in God’s eyes. As I stated above, I have been challenged by this a lot throughout the past months. But as I brought the topic to my Father above, He proceeded to give me a new perspective on the matter allowing me to develop my beliefs on style altogether.
I believe that style is an outward expression of one’s identity, an identity that should be founded in Christ, our Creator. The danger comes when one’s identity is founded in their style and it no longer becomes an expression of one’s identity, but their identity altogether. But coming from a girl who has struggled with guilt (note I use the term guilt and not conviction) from style envy in Europe and multiple sari purchases in India, enjoyment and appreciation for style is not altogether bad. It’s all dependent on the degree of importance a person places on it in their life.
So to my ladies and gents that are wandering the world with limited space for a closet; there will be times when you will hate everything you have. There will be moments you may even want to burn all your clothes. There may even be some days where you struggle to come up with an outfit even though the selection makes it quite easy. And that’s okay. Let yourself buy a few shirts in a fancy mall in Johannesburg to spruce up your closet. Enjoy picking out vibrant fabric for a custom-made Punjabi in Ongole. When you get to cold Mongolia or even Romania in the fall, have fun shopping for scarves and hats and boots that will keep you warm. It’s okay to consistently turnover your closet, or in my case just add to your closet. And it’s okay to fondly remember the clothes you left behind at home, unless you sold them all for funds. Do not feel guilty for any of this. Because I have determined that there are a lot of days on the World Race where you just need to feel like yourself, and personal style is in my opinion a great avenue to do so, which brings me to my next point…
Allow your style to remain as you leave to venture on this adventure. As Christ expands your understanding of identity in Him, a change of heart may not require a change of wardrobe. Instead, perhaps you will find ways to outwardly express qualities He is affirming in you like grace, boldness, even meekness. If your World Race experience is anything like mine, the Lord will lead you into more and more of who He created you to be. And as that integrity of character grows, allow that integrity of self to also show up in personal style. But remember that one’s worth is not found in their outer appearance.
And now, my advice in more practical terms:
-When packing, packing clothes that you love and wear often, but are not upset to let go of. I promise you that if you don’t wear tshirts in real life, you won’t wear tshirts on the World Race. Same is true with sneakers, or skirts (unless, that is, you are required to wear skirts by the culture). The only exception to this in my opinion is flip flops. Bring flip flops. At least on pair. But back to the point, if you don’t wear it at home, you won’t wear it on the Race unless demanded by cultural dress code.
-Start with minimal clothing. Pack only as much as you think you need. And then as you travel, it allows you to pick up clothing as you go. And as you buy clothes in those countries not only are they certain to be culturally appropriate but also it becomes a souvenir.
-Speaking from a personal experience, I only packed neutral colored items. My thinking in this was that all my tops can be matched with all my bottoms, optimizing number of outfits, prolonging the development of an inevitable hatred for my closet. Disclaimer; this is a reflection of my closet back home which is also dominated by neutral and gem tone colors. Contrarily, my friend brought a packing cube resembling a rainbow as each item is a different vibrant color and she matches outfits just as well as I.
-Allow yourself one or two luxury items. Otherwise known as those items you really don’t need but would love to have. For me, that was a French press coffee mug to make real coffee wherever I go (regardless of how long I’ve been away from America, I will never become accustomed to instant coffee). For someone else, it was a ukulele. But really it could be anything; a hair straightener, manicure supplies, a Christmas candle, ideal cosmetic line, sketchbook and water colors, etc.
-Pack whatever you want, but know that you have to carry what you bring. My Dad used to tell me, “one should never pack more than they can carry…” Thus I learned to carry large, dense suitcases at a young age and was stubborn to do it myself to prove that I was sticking to this point. Well, this truth is amplified on the World Race. With that said, shout out to all the guys on my squad that have loaded and unloaded my pack onto buses and have been surprised at its weight compared to its smaller size.
