IM BACK BABIES!! So I took a month off doing drag, to give myself space to complete my dissertation, to allow my body to rest and heal and to give myself space to check in on my self and my mental health. I didn’t know how much I needed the latter. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately, about who I am and where I’m at. My work as a drag queen really only took off this time last year and since then it has flourished to which I feel so lucky and grateful, I truly love what I do and I am so happy that people love watching me do it. However, it hasn’t always been easy. And I have struggled to find my own worth in the drag community. This past month I have realised that a lot of my being and the way I act or sometimes talk about people, even people I don’t really know, or my jealousy or my paranoia is linked to how I have felt about myself for a long time, and that feeling, is shame. Shame I realised is not something we talk about very often and I don’t like who I am when I’m in the ‘shame pit’ How I feel shame I’m not entirely sure, it’s something I’m going to have to continue to work through. But I guess this is me opening up about it. I read the first step to dealing with shame is to practice compassion, connection and empathy and so along with working on giving that to others I need to be able to give it to myself. Learning to be calm, still, patient and to let go of control are all qualities I really struggle with but this last two weeks especially I have begun to understand how wonderful I feel when I practice those qualities. I’m really looking forward to this year, and all of the wonderful things I’m lucky to be a part of and I get to share it all with so many amazing people. Working on yourself is constant huh? Sorry for the novel, but thank you for staying 💖 _____________________________ 📸 by the gorgeous @mtyparks 👗 by the incredible @miss_jake 💇🏼‍♀️ by the amazing @stevenaustinhairartist