LIM College

by Tailor Barnes

Tailor Barnes is a graduate student in the Visual Merchandising MPS Program.

I grew up being the only girl out of two brothers and 13 cousins. Yep! I was a tomboy. I was born in Oklahoma but raised between Oklahoma and Texas.

Texas is where I learned how to play basketball. My mom would sign me up for AAU Basketball every summer until I was 18 years old.

While living in Texas I would spend most of my time with my cousins who were professional bull riders and participated in local rodeos. Texas is where I watched my mom work hard to become the teacher that she is today, but Oklahoma is where I call my home.

It's where I go home to ride horses, help my aunt in her garden, and pull out my sewing machine and start a project with my Grandma. My grandma is a tailor, that's how I got my name. She inspired me to pursue my dreams in fashion. I went to school for Fashion Merchandising in Oklahoma at the University of Central Oklahoma and in Texas at University of North Texas.

Some ask when they hear me say that I am from Oklahoma/Texas, "How was your experience coming from a small city like Oklahoma to a big city like NYC? I always respond with, "I am a go-getter. When I want something, I go get it." That's my mantra.

I knew that I wanted to be in NYC when I started pursuing fashion. I wanted to learn from the best so I left my family and pursued my dream with only $1,200 to my name, just like in the movies. Some would think that a small town gal like myself would think NYC would be too much to handle, but I fit right in. When you are the only girl out of 15 boys you learn how to stand your own.

So you can say I was prepared for the Big Apple. The life lessons that I learned as a child growing up in the south have prepared me for a time such as this. My mom has a saying, "Never despise small beginnings." I'm not where I want to be, but I'm not where I use to be.