Walk Tall

Walk Tall

Nu ma intereseaza barfele despre mine, nu ma las doborata de mentalitati invechite, nu cred in “nu se poate”. Pasesc cu incredere pentru ca stiu ca merit pe deplin tot ce am. Tot timpul am spus ca o femeie e mai frumoasa atunci cand e fericita, si cred in continuare asta. Numai ca fericirea in stare pura e doar un moment, o clipa. Asa ca revin la aceasta sintagma si spun ca o femeie e mai frumoasa atunci cand are incredere in ea.

 

I’m not interested in gossip about me, I won’t let myself be put down by obsolete mentalities, I don’t believe in “it’s not possible”. I walk tall because I know I fully deserve everything I have. I have always said that a woman is more beautiful when she is happy, and I still believe that. It’s just that happiness in a pure state is just a moment, an instant. So I go back and I say that a woman is more beautiful when she has confidence in herself.

Cand pasesti cu incredere intr-o incapere, cand iti sclipesc ochii si colturile gurii se ridica aproape insesizabil in sus, cand stii ca meriti sa fii in locul ala, sa ai job-ul ala, cand ai incredere in educatia, experienta si intuitia ta unica, atunci esti SIGUR mult mai frumoasa! Acesta este mesajul noii campanii elmiplant, a carei ambasadoare sunt: Paseste cu incredere – Walk Tall.

E ciudat cand mai aud pe cineva spunandu-mi: “Dar tu ai mereu incredere in tine, tu esti mereu cu zambetul pe buze…”, pentru ca eu stiu ca lucrurile nu sunt intotdeauna roz si ca de-a lungul celor 30 de ani am trecut prin multe necazuri sau prin multe momente in care stateam destul de prost la capitolul incredere in mine. Am si acum o gramada de temeri, pe care tare mult as vrea sa le uit cu totul, caci stiu ca nu fac altceva decat sa imi stirbeasca increderea si, implicit, sansa de reusita. Dar, de fiecare data cand ajung in astfel de momente, incep sa ma gandesc la motivele pentru care totusi pot si trebuie sa am incredere in mine.

 

Si pasesc cu incredere, adica #walktall, pentru ca:

• sunt mama unei minuni de baietel, care rade intruna
• am o cariera de 27 de ani
• sotul ma iubeste
• sunt inconjurata de prieteni adevarati
• mi-am facut parintii sa fie mandri de mine
• stiu ca am muncit pentru tot ce am
• am rezistat filmarilor la minus 18 grade in rochii de vara
• am calatorit in India cu trenuri incomode
• port o pereche noua de pantofi
• la 30 de ani arat mai bine decat credeam la 18 ca voi arata
• nu am nimic de ascuns….

Motivele pot fi multe, doar sa le facem loc in noi printre multitudinea de temeri, prejudecati si mentalitati care ne limiteaza. Pana la urma care sunt factorii care ne fac pe noi, femeile, sa ne pierdem increderea in noi? Hai sa ii luam pe rand:

Pai in primul rand teama de esec – cand de fapt ar trebui sa ne bucure traseul, drumul, nu rezultatul. Apoi toate prejudecatile si mentalitatile care incep cu “femeia nu poate/nu are voie sa…” –  sa ce?!  Sa vorbeasca atunci cand are ceva de spus?! Sa poarte ce haine vrea ea, fara sa ii fie teama ca barbatii pe care ii va intalni pe strazi seara sunt niste animale scapate din custi?! Sa calatoreasca singura sau sa iasa in oras cu prietenele in timp ce sotul sta cu copilul?! Cine sunt oamenii care cred in astfel de lucruri? Cumva aia care atunci cand ajung patroni stabilesc salariile in functie de sex, nu de competenta? Desigur, ar mai fi teama de “ce zice lumea…” – care oricum va “zice”, indiferent daca alegi sau nu sa …pasesti cu incredere. Si teama ca nu implinesti nu stiu ce bareme/tipare/standarde ale frumusetii, cand de fapt trebuie sa ai incredere in frumusetea ta naturala, cea “imperfecta”, care te diferentiaza de restul lumii.

Asa ca va provoc sa ne vedem pe data de 7 mai in Mega Mall si sa vorbim despre ce inseamna increderea in sine, despre conceptul #walktall si despre misiunea campaniei elmiplant. Acesta ar fi primul pas. Trebuie sa aveti incredere in mine ca intalnirea va fi una cu surprize frumoase. O sa revin curand cu detalii, doar sa va puneti deja steluta in agenda!

 

Asta da proba de curaj! Ce vreti mai mult?! Unii se uitau destul de ciudat la mine in statia de autobuz, asa ca m-am oprit o secunda si am zis “ok, ce fac? Cobor privirea si plec cu coada intre picioare de aici?” NU. Asta sunt eu, asta e meseria mea, asta e corpul meu, astea sunt hainele mele, asta e sotul meu care ma filmeaza si asta e felul meu diferit de a fi. Asa ca…Walk Tall.

Pana la intalnirea noastra, va rog sa imi scrieti care sunt motivele voastre pentru care pasiti cu incredere, dar si care simtiti ca sunt factorii care va limiteaza in societatea noastra.

E un pasaj in “Jurnalul lui Adam si a Evei” de Mark Twain care vorbeste foarte frumos despre momentul in care Eva a descoperit frica: “Adam era suparat pe mine si pentru altceva. Fiindca incercasem sa il conving sa nu mai treaca prin cascada. Si asta pentru ca focul trezise in mine un sentiment nou, complet diferit de dragoste, durere si altele, pe care le aflasem deja: Frica. E groaznica. Mai bine nu o aflam niciodata. Imi aduce clipe grele si imi strica fericirea. Ma face sa dardai, sa ma infior, sa ma cutremur. Dar nu am reusit sa-l conving, pentru ca el nu a descoperit inca frica, si deci nu are cum sa ma inteleaga”. De fiecare data cand rostesc pe scena aceasta parte a monologului Evei, ma gandesc la momentele in care mi-e frica (de exemplu frica groaznica pe care o am pentru noul rol dintr-un lungmetraj) si imi zic – “vezi?! Nu e buna la nimic frica asta… Ti-e mai bine fara, Dana!”

Hai ca eu am scris aici un manifest intreg legat de increderea in sine. Acum e randul vostru sa actionati!

In poze port: capa, pantaloni scurti si bustiera toate Parlor by Veronica Zaharia, palarie Kristina Dragomir, pantofi Zara. Make up: Dana Argeșan.

EN: When you walk into a room with confidence, when your eyes sparkle and the corners of your lips are slightly pointing up, when you know you deserve to be in that place, to have that job, when you trust your education, experience and unique intuition. Then SURELY you are much more beautiful! This is the message of the new elmiplant campaign, whose ambassador I am: Walk Tall.

It’s funny when I hear people say: “But you always have confidence in yourself, you always have a smile on your face…”, because I know that things aren’t always in pink and that along my 30 years I have been through many troubles or moments when I really lacked the confidence in myself. I still have a lot of fears, which I would really wish to forget about, because I know they only harm my confidence and therefore the chance to succeed. But, every time I get to such moments, I start thinking about the reasons for which I can and must have confidence in myself.  

And I #walktall, because:

• I am the mother of a wonderful little boy, who is always laughing
• I have a career of 27 years
• my husband loves me
• I am surrounded with true friends
• I made my parents feel proud of me
• I know I worked hard for everything I have
• I have hold out against -18 degrees shootings in summer dresses
• I have travelled through India in uncomfortable trains
• I am wearing a new pair of shoes
• at 30 I look better than I would have ever imagined when I was 18
• I have nothing to hide

There can be many reasons, we just have to make room for them among our many fears, prejudices and obsolete mentalities which limit us. In the end, what are the factors that make us, women, lose confidence in ourselves? Let’s take them one by one:

Well first of all the fear of failure- when we should actually be enjoying the road, the trip, not the result. Then there are all those prejudices and mentalities beginning with “the woman can’t/ isn’t allowed to…” – what?! To speak when she has something to say?! To wear whatever she wants without being afraid that the men she meets while walking on the street in the evening are some animals escaped from their cages?! To travel alone or go out with her friends while the husband babysits?! Who are the people who believe in such things? Possibly those who, as business owners, calculate salaries according to sex, not competence?  Of course, there’s the fear of “what will people say…”- who will “say”, regardless if you choose to walk tall or not. And the fear that you don’t fit into classifications/types/standards of beauty, when in fact all you have to do is trust your own natural beauty, the “imperfect” one, which differentiates you from the rest of world.

So I dare you to meet me on May 7^th in Mega Mall and to talk about what self-esteem means, about the #walktall concept and about the mission of the elmiplant campaign. This would be a first step. You have to trust me that the meeting will be with beautiful surprises. I’ll get back to you soon with more details, until then just save the date!  

Regarding the video: Now this is a test of courage! What more could you wish for?! Some people were looking at me funny at the bus stop, so I stopped for a second and thought “ok, what am I going to do? Do I look down and sneak out of here?” NO. This is me, my job, my body, these are my clothes, this is my husband filming me and this my way of being. So… Walk Tall.

Until we meet, please write to me what your reasons for walking tall are, but also what you feel are the factors that limit you in our society.

There is a paragraph in “The Diary of Adam and Eve” by Mark Twain, where the moment when Eve discovered fear is described beautifully (not the original quote): “Adam was upset with me for something else. Because I had tried to convince him to not go through the waterfall again. I did this because the fire had woken a new feeling in me, completely different from love, pain and others I had already known: Fear. It’s awful. It is better I had never known it. It brings me hard times and ruins my happiness. It makes me shiver. But I couldn’t convince him, because he hasn’t discovered fear yet, and therefore he cannot understand me.”  Every time I am on stage saying this part of Eve’s monologue, I think about the moments I am scared (for instance the terrible fear I have for the new role in a motion picture) and I say to myself- “you see?! Fear isn’t any good…You’re better off without it, Dana!”  

I have written an entire manifest about self-esteem. Now it’s your turn to take action!

 

I wore: cape, short, top all from Parlor by Veronica Zaharia, Kristina Dragomir hat, Zara shoes.