Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Brielle Gines. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Brielle thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the kindest thing anyone has ever done for you?

The kindest thing someone has ever done for me was telling me that I am human. I was 19 at the time when someone told me and all of my life I had never been told that. It was refreshing to me as I was going through a tumultuous friendship breakup and doubling down on myself for the mistakes I had made during the ending of that relationship. It’s very easy to forget that idea as this world is fast-paced and we’re expected to live and be like machines. But that idea is unrealistic and being human we are going to make mistakes and cause disappointment but that’s just how life can be. So, being told that I was human made me extend grace upon myself because I can be someone that strives for perfection and want my ways to be detailed and outlined and that’s okay in some cases but with being a human there is a subjective nature within us where we change, our emotions change, our thoughts change, and I shouldn’t have to give myself unrealistic expectations that I am not adequate yet to live up to.

Brielle, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

GAWSY started with a story of me being negatively impacted by a comment a peer made about my physical appearance. I was in middle school which is a pivotal time for youth in their development. During this time we are figuring out who we are or at least who we want to grow to be internally and externally. I recall being in homeroom and a friend was doing my hair and a boy came over and took my fake Claire’s boutique glasses off. At this moment, I was exploring styles of what I used to call ‘geeky chic’ and I loved it. So when he took them off he remarked, “Now I see why you wear these” with an unattractive look on his face and in that one moment it changed the entire trajectory of the way I viewed myself. I internalized his comment about me and questioned whether I was attractive if I did not have glasses on. And up until my senior year of high school, I never took my glasses off again. I would have panicked if my glasses were not in sight or if I lost them because the glasses began to represent a mask for me to hide behind.

Looking back now, it made me realize just how much someone’s words can negatively impact you and can stick with you for years. But more importantly, it’s up to you to continue being a slave to the words people write in your storybook or it can take control of the narrative and begin taking your life back. There came a moment in December of 2020 when I was sitting in front of my window sill it was golden hour and I began to admire myself without my glasses and took selfies to commemorate that moment. And from there I took my story back and declared “I was beautiful” and most importantly I believed it confidently. No longer would I want to use the glasses as a mask but embrace the appearance I was given.

GAWSY was started in January of 2020, a month later and the idea came about one Sunday when I was at church and my apostle prophesied that God had seen me in the writing field. And I kid you not later that night I had a dream about creating a magazine. The next morning I woke up and got the dictionary word of the day and it was ‘gawsy’. And the definition of ‘gawsy’ is well-dressed and of a cheerful appearance and I thought to myself how can I use this definition with youth today? And that is currently our brand here at GAWSY. We want to make sure that youth are well-dressing themselves with traits on the inside so a cheerful appearance radiates on the outside.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson I had to unlearn and still unlearning to this day is to get out of my way. I have figured out in cases that I might lack knowledge and education in areas that surround the human experience and as long as I am going to be on this Earth I have to get out of my way. I inhabit this Earth with many different individuals and being able to learn from them and take what I learn and mold and shape a life for myself has been extremely important to my existence as a human being. Ignorance is something that I was intimidated by as I thought the word made me inferior but in most cases, its root is a lack of education. And this education can be about anything.

An example of the backstory of this question would have to be me sitting down with a friend or a peer and learning something new from them that I had a strong bias or unconscious prejudice about. I learned that I needed to become level-headed enough to fully take in everything I was learning. I did learn too during this time just how much social media paints pictures and ideas about certain topics but doesn’t fully educate or state facts about the material they are broadcasting. And so unlearning what culture chooses to dish out and having educated conversations with individuals has helped me to unlearn many conditioned responses and has skyrocketed my zeal to learn and become fully educated.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Coming into college, my major was Kinesiology Pre-OT and for the most part, I was content with this route and was going to pursue being an Occupational Therapist for the rest of my life. However, when my second year of college came around I began questioning whether I would like to have my magazine be a side hustle or if I would want to pursue it full-time instead. And well, I decided that I want to be a magazine owner for the rest of my life. I found joy in creating this magazine and the dream that God had given to me and I want to carry it out and see the full fruition as I continue on this journey.

And so, I was nervous about telling my parents about undergoing a major change because I wasn’t sure what they were going to say and how they would take it. I had spoken with my supervisor about it first and she was supportive of the change and even mentioned she had questioned why I was pursuing OT when owning a magazine and being a lover of writing was something I was passionate about. I enjoyed our conversation and from there was ready to tell my mom about the change. So, I called my mom and told her that this was something I wanted to do and she was supportive of the entire thing. I stated my claim in confidence and she knew that this decision seemed natural and understood me completely. I was very happy and fully confirmed in my decision to make this change for myself. The major I ended up switching to was Business Administration with an Entrepreneurial Focus and I was nervous because I did not know what to expect in the change but overall I was happy making the switch and pivoting my focus to what I am passionate about.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.gawsymagazine.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gawsymagazine/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/GawsyM
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLGJhW5S7QHc-eyqLBljtmA