Hello lovelies, Diablo Rose here again!
This
week I wanted to talk about something incredibly exciting that's
happened to me, I'm a finalist in the Miss Viva Las Vegas Pinup Contest
at the Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly weekend, in, yep you guessed it, Las
Vegas! YAY! Not only is this an amazingly fun thing to be involved in,
for me, it's actually a major accomplishment not just in my pinup
career, but it's a major accomplishment for my own personal self belief
and courage. Through my social media I've spoken many a time about my
love of helping ladies find their own inner confidence and self
expression, in whatever kind of style that might be. I've also talked a
little about my own struggles with social anxiety and how I have built
the confidence to style myself the way I do in spite of these feelings,
so today I thought I'd speak a little about why it took me so long to
enter this contest, and how effing incredible it feels to have finally
done it!!
Overall I've been to Vegas 4 times now, and April will be my 5th visit over there. I went for my 21st birthday, to promote my business, as a celebration for successfully winning a copyright infringement case and the 4th
time, I got engaged, so Vegas has a pretty special place in my heart! I
don't know whether it's the shininess, the lights, the kitschness, or
just the craziness of the place that I love more but I do know the way
it makes me feel. I feel completely at ease in Vegas, I've had some
quite awful experiences in the past with people who did not appreciate
my look, which dramatically affected my anxiety and confidence which I'm
still learning to overcome, but over there, they seem to melt away. I
think it's because everything is so OTT there that I feel like I'm not
the odd one out and I just feel so comfortable just being me!
Each
time I've visited I think I've brought more of that comfort back home
with me and learnt to not listen to that silly inner voice in my head
that brings up doubts or insecurities. I feel like I've definitely
learnt a lot about what it is I truly love about the vintage and pinup
style and I've married that up with what makes me feel good in my own
skin too. So my love for Vegas run pretty deep because of all this, so
much so that whenever I see people at Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend
I'm suuuuper jealous, I always follow the hashtags and stalk everyone
over there, watching all the fun and swooning over the outfits and
hairdos, especially the ladies who have entered the Pinup Contest! I've
wanted to enter this contest for 5 years now, ever since I first watched
the show in person, I've even written up my application two times for
previous years but I'd always chickened out of entering for many
reasons. There's the usual 'I can't afford the travel' reasons, but I
think the main reason I hadn't entered is because I just didn't feel I
was good enough, and I don't mean that in a self depreciating way, I
mean it in the way that I didn't feel I was ready to be able to truly
represent myself and the pinup community in the way that I or it should
be. I love being a cheerleader for my customers and people I meet
online, helping ladies get started within the vintage and pinup world is
one of my favourite things, and I love encouraging them to find what
makes them truly happy, and what makes them feel beautiful, in their own
image. But sometimes I wasn't actually following through on my own
advice for myself! I'm very guilty of putting things off like the
contest application or new ventures because I didn't think anything
would come from it, or that anyone would be interested, which now I know
is completely ridiculous, because how are we going to grow confidence
and learn from things if never just go for it and put ourselves out
there!
2017
was a weird year for me, there was a lot going on with my anxiety
flaring up, personal goings on and other things that I won't bore you
with here, but it came to a head in late November when I had a bad ass
pep talk with my wonderful sister Lynsey who said I should just focus
2018 on doing all the things I'd either put off, thought I couldn't do
or the things that scared me, that same night, all pumped up with female
empowerment, I went home, opened up the saved application form I'd been
writing since September and just entered the contest I'd been dreaming
about for years! It felt incredible, just hitting that send button, it
was a wonderful rush of excitement and nervousness and I felt liberated!
It may sound like such an over the top reaction to something so small
but to me it felt like a huge win for my personal
belief! Regardless of whether I got through or not, I'd finally just
done the damn thing! And now that I'm one of the first 6 finalists and I
get to actually be on that stage, well I think you can tell just what
that might mean to me already, in a nut shell, I feel incredible. Yeah,
there's a lot of nerves and wondering where the hell I'm going to find
the travel funds and outfits, but with that, comes this overwhelming
need to get my hustle on and really work for what I need! So if you feel
like your stuck, lack the courage or motivation or just feel like the
need to do something just for you, then please, please go for it! I can
assure you, after the initial nervous panic, this amazing rush of self
confidence and empowerment will make it all worth while, and if it's
something you really want, then god, it'll feel even better!
Let's do this!
Diablo xx
If
you enjoyed my little story, I'm actually going to document my whole
experience with this lil' journey I'm on right now as I look towards the
Miss Viva Las Vegas contest so find me on instagram @diablorose if
you'd like to read more!
The Miss Viva Las Vegas Pinup Contest is held on Saturday 21st
April, hosted by Rockwell DeVil. If you're attending Viva this year
PLEASE come and find me, or I'll find you as there will also be a public
vote to help pick the winner! Thank you xx
