As a teen in the late 1980’s, I would read Seventeen and Vogue for hours in my room. I must have seen an ad or read something, because I wanted/NEEDED a Gucci purse SOOO badly. My parents are very hardworking & my mom didn’t even have anything fancy like a Gucci purse. Although decades ago, I remember it like yesterday…there was a Gucci counter in Macy’s at a nearby mall. It was fancy & intimidating. I walked by slowly quite a few times. I got the courage to stop and ask what the price of one particular bag was. I remember it was a lot. I got a part time job at Burger King and worked all summer until I’d saved enough up to buy that purse. And you know what? I still have that purse. It’s hard to explain & it might sound weird, but that purse gave me confidence. The following summer, as a college student, I interned at Essence magazine in Manhattan. Sometimes, there is a moment in life where we move outside the comfy box in which we’re placed, which can be scary and the most random things help us overcome! I’m now a mom and recently highlighted my beloved Gucci purse on TikTok.