Every August we celebrate a gleeful occasion: the birth of our community. Since 2008, Doe Deere Blogazine has been a place of positivity, inspiration, and encouragement to young women everywhere. We are a community of girls of all ages & walks of life, all uniquely different but who have several core values in common. We incorporate self-expression into our daily lives and have a taste for all things edgy & slightly odd. We find inner strength through outer beauty by making a statement to the world with our clothes and makeup. We each possess a special gift that we’re eager to share with the universe.
We are not perfect. Sometimes we feel angry, insecure, and make mistakes, but always find a way in the end. We are tough but girly, considerate but driven, love ourselves but care about each other too, and see a silver lining on even the darkest of clouds. I am proud to be a part of a community that doesn’t judge, supports each other, and is filled with forward-thinking women. If you ever wondered where all the talented, creative girls hang out, this would be the place. ;)
Doe Deere Blogazine is designed with you in mind. Unlike other blogs, it’s not a one-way narrative but, instead, an ongoing discussion where readers’ comments are as valuable and valued as the posts of the author. Five thousand deerlings log on every day to read, learn, discuss and pass the glee on to others.
In recognition of the fact that the blog is a collection of its readers as much as it is its author, I invite you to participate in a special Anniversary Box of Delights!
Doe Deere’s Box of Delights: Anniversary Edition
What is a Box of Delights?
It’s a mystery box filled with hand-picked goodies I put together especially for the winner. Lots of love goes into these, but this time I’m making it extra-special! The only way to find out what’s in a box is to win it.
How to enter:
Tell us in comments: what makes you, YOU?
You have until August 19th to submit your answers. Winner will be picked at random & contacted by email. Good luck!!!
Our winner is Abby (comment #39)!
What makes me ‘me’? My love for all things Spider-Man, for one! My shameless appreciation for the Bee Gees. My overflowing make up cabinet which my boyfriend bought for me for my 21st and helped me paint robin’s egg green/blue. http://www.flickr.com/photos/lanirowell/4707911170/in/set-72157623528663335/
I am proud of the fact that I wear bright make up because it makes me happy and I embrace my curves :) I run a fledgling business selling cosmetics (including Lime Crime!) singlehandedly and it gives me such much joy and self-confidence. I’m so happy to be me!
What makes me, me…. my ability to clumsily fall down, trip over things, run into walls (both physically and metaphorically), have catastrophic accidents and be able to pick myself up each time and laugh about it. As long as I keep laughing at my mistakes, I won’t be afraid to try new things and risk making another!
Sydney Reply:
August 16, 2010 at 12:42 pm
Hahaha, You sound JUST like a Kelsey I know!
What makes me, me?
* I am peace loving and I avoid conflict as best as possible
* I don’t fear being different, I love old music even if it sets me apart from most people my age.
* I don’t feel the need to wear makeup at all times, I wear it to have fun!
* I wouldn’t change anything about my appearance or personality. I may not fit the standard definition of beauty but I’ve learned throughout the years that its much easier loving yourself than trying hard to change yourself.
* I’ve never felt the need to do something just because everyone else is doing it. I know what I like and what I don’t like.
I never ever back down, and I will always speak my mind. I want to stand up for what’s right, even at the detriment to my own life – I’d rather screw things up for myself, than let other people get hurt.
Overall, I care far too much!
What makes me, me =
Wanting EVERYONE to be happy, being Rat obsessed, being Disney Princess obsessed, cross-dressing one minute, wearing pink head to toe the next, not being afraid of being different, noticing the small things in life, getting on with life when times get rough, wanting to do something new every day
I think my answer is a bit strange, but I have to say: my boyfriend. I know this sounds stupid, but he helped my uncover my inner self like nobody has ever done before. He helped me step out of the false self I created for myself and he supports me in my search for the real me. I hope this doesn’t sound too melodramatic – I haven’t been suffering before either, this is a subtle process and I don’t think many people would even notice a change as they do not know me closely enough. But I see a change and that is more important to me than anything. I find confidence in areas I would write off in myself immediately. And with this new confidence I’m a much nicer person to be around – because I am finally figuring out who I am and want to be. I think everyone has to go through this at some time in their lives and I am lucky to have the best guy I have ever met helping me :))
(And I hope he doesn’t read this, because I don’t want him to be too full of himself ;))
Sàya Reply:
August 12, 2010 at 6:00 pm
oh my god, I relate so much :3. It’s amazing, something like that, isn’t it?
I think my stubbornness is the biggest factor that makes me ‘me.’ I do what I want, and if you tell me I can’t do it or shouldn’t do it or won’t do it… that makes me all the more likely to do it just to prove you wrong!
What makes me ME is being constantly against the current, always going my own way and not giving a damn what anyone thinks about it :D
What makes me me?
I could list a thousand things, good and bad, but if I was going to sum up in just a few words, I’d say that a small part of what makes me me is my passion, my want to see the good things in the world and in people, my quirkiness, my amazing collection of costume jewellery and my flick of cat eyeliner.
Love this blog, and have stuck by you through the ups and the downs. Never stop blogging because it always brightens my day. <3
I suppose what makes me, me is my outlook on life. I have no religion, so I’ve made up my own moral code and I stick to it as best as I can. It’s a collection of all the life lessons I’ve learned and will continue to learn as I grow.
What makes me me? Everything! from my bare feet to my unique mindset. I wouldnt want to be anyone else
I don’t waste time being angry or sad — why be upset when there’s so much in the world to make you happy? I always try to make others happy because of this (with varying results!)
Brittany Reply:
August 12, 2010 at 7:05 pm
I have to say, I have meet about a dozen or more people who have the same name as me (its very popular) but I think this is the first I’ve seen someone spell it the same way as me^_^ Interesting!
I don’t really talk much or do much, I’m not even sure I like myself most of the time. But occasionally something will click and I’ll have just the right thing to put into a project or make someone laugh. Those tiny moments when the weird unfiltered thoughts floating in my head can come out and do something for someone else make me happy I’m who I am.
Congratulations Doe! You’ve had so many milestones this year.
I’m not sure how to answer this question except that I’ve always been different, unconsciously and in an understated way, and it’s finally a quality that is complemented by a feeling of being self-possessed and evolving positively. Lately I’m so happy to be me.
I am my own person, with my own beliefs, thoughts and emotions. I am separate from those who would lord over me, save for the One Who Saved Me. I am free of the oligarchy which ruled over me in my old life, and their harsh beliefs and accusations. I am a woman now, and I will make my own life choices. I am a Christian, for I believe in God the father, the Holy Spirit, and His son, Jesus Christ, and the salvation of believers. I am not swayed by the legalism of religion, but I will believe in Christ my own way, and I will worship Him as I choose. I am free of the deceptions of my youth. I am in love with life, and my friends and family, but they will not choose my path for me. I am free from the fears and bonds of yesterday, and I live in the today, not longing for the past or the future. I am beautiful. I am not chained to others’ ideas of beauty, or to their approval of me. I am not on earth to be judged by them, nor will I bend to their beliefs. I am an individual, and I will not be swayed. I am loved: by my friends, by my family and by God. I am not alone, and I am not unprotected. I am who I am, and I will change for no one.
This is my personal code, and it makes me who I am.
I always try to make everything better
What makes me “me” is generally my off-the-wall sense of humour. If you can figure out how to make me laugh, chances are I’ll be your friend pretty quick.
I am me. Everything that stumbles over my way influenced me to be who I am today. I learned to respect and love myself. I’m lazy I’m hyperactive – I am the glitter from my eyeshadow that somewhoe managed to land on my husbands face. I am the art that I draw. It can be fun at times and sometimes I am terribly down in a dark hole but still I will manage to get myself back up and be me!
I’m a larper! As in Live Action Role Play. Set in a magical medieval time we weave our own stories, we become villains and heroes. I love to create characters and act them out. To apply make up and sometimes prosthetics and to put on costumes. I become surrounded in magic and theatre and can play whoever I want to. I’ve played elven druids to crazy necromancers to a thief and even a cannibal. I love being a larper and I love all of the people I’ve met through my hobby, all the special costume pieces that fill me with glee, and the memories that I’ll always cherish. The next adventure is just around the corner! In fact, tomorrow I leave for another larping weekend. What magic awaits tomorrow?
My friends, my family, my dog, and my general knowledge of myself and the things I am aware of about myself, both good and bad, make me me.
I used to define myself by what I wanted to do-I recently was accepted into a nursing program after almost two years of applying, but the semester is about to end and I realized that I haven’t been happy in a long time. Health care and medicine are fascinating, but I don’t think they’re for me anymore and it’s taken me a few months to understand that. Now I’m about change my major to elementary education, and I haven’t been so excited about something in a long time. I’ve always loved kids, and I’m incredibly passionate about learning and teaching. It’s taken me four years of college, but I’m really glad that I’ve finally found the career that’s right for me! Furthermore, I’ve learned that I don’t need to define myself but what I do, but how I act and treat others. I’m a helpful and compassionate person, and that’s what I’m proud of the most! :)
What makes me me is that I have courage. I’m not brave, because I am constantly afraid of things. I’m afraid of failure and success. I’m afraid of people, I am afraid of…everything.
But, I do the things that scare me because in the end, I know I will be better for it. I know that if I jump in and do my best, in the end I will be alright.
I am also me because I am a friend to the end. I will never stop loving you or defending you, no matter what you have done to me. Because I just…I love. I don’t know how to hate, and by all accounts I should. But I don’t. I am someone who was put on this earth to love and create. Not hate and destroy.
I think people genuinely struggle with this question throughout their lives. What makes a person unique in a world of over 6 billion?
So here goes. The fact that I come from a Japanese/Bohemian and a Jewish/Slav. The fact that I am secure with being indecisive and gullible. The fact that I studied math in Uni, am a girl, and was great at it. I am as in touch with my creative side as my intellectual. I am unflagging honest and I have given up anger for the rest of my life.
These are just some fo the things that make me who I am.
What makes me, me?
All i am is myself. Im short, i love to sew, but i can’t sing. I can hardly run three laps, but I can design clothing in my sleep. I am in a constant state of jealousy, i want to bve taller, thinner, prettier.
But I am also incredibly self assured, and happy with who i am. I may never be a model, but I WILL be a designer.
I think being “me” is just accepting all my own shortcomings (including my height) and embracing it, and loving it. and making it work for me.
That is me.I am not just my nice clothes, or my appearace at all.
I am me.
Being a mix of polar opposites. I’m a little bit of Marie Antoinette and Hit Girl.
What makes me, “me”. Well, I am a mother, an academic, and a control freak. I am neurotic and confident at the same time. But, most of all I have my own mind and I don’t let anyone tell me what I can and can’t do… I believe in myself and my abilities…Finally, I think I rock for being 35 !
what makes me me is my heart. I love to love – my boyfriend, my family, my friends. I love to meet new people and to go new places. my dream is to change the lives of many for the better; to love as many people as I can, and to have that love returned :)
What makes me be ME is my red hair, my glasses, my pale and freckled skin, my diastema. In short, everything most people said, throughout my life, that was ugly, but is what makes me beautiful and a different person!
My ‘obsession’ with anything ‘other-worldly’, that includes my vision of ‘alien’ life, planets, space in general and the future. It’s been mostly evident in my artwork, which I think sets it apart from a lot of the same stereotypical sci-fi and space art because it also has an air of spirituality to it.
What makes me me is my strength to always get up after being knocked down. I’ve suffered medical condition after medical condition, fell off a trapeeze, chronic pain for two years and every moment I was pushing to get back to where I was…and you know what? In two weeks I’m going for my black belt…it’s been my goal since the day they told me I’d never get better, it’s what I thought about when I had to lie down because it was too painful to stand or swallow mothfuls of painkillers.
I train three times a week in karate, also train in plyometrics, Mixed Martial Arts and fencing. Like I told the doctors – “no one tells me what I can’t do”. I like karate because it’s not about what you wear, what you do, what your gender is or how much you earn…it’s refreshing to take off my girly dresses and make-up (that I adore) and put down my books of fairytales and be judges purely on my inner merits.
I couldn’t have done it without the support of my family and friends…so I guess what makes me, me is the amazing people that support me.
what makes me, me is my honest personality. no matter how I plan to dress today or tomorrow, you ask me a question, I’ll give you my honest answer!
I try to make the best of any situation, and enjoy myself. Even if the people around me aren’t having fun, I try to make light of things and make them laugh. There’s no room for unnecessary sadness in my life!
The colour red. Nail polish in shades that people would never wear, and possibly more than one shade at a time. Funny underwear with cows, teddy bears, bunnies, polka dots and much more printed on it. Photography. All of the mistakes I made as well as all of the right choices. My being stubborn and going against everybody else’s opinion to stay true to my own. Singing, and music in general. The way I get all hopelessly passionate about the most random things and can’t seem to live without.
My unconditioned love for all things stated above, for my boyfriend, my closest friends and my brother and for my life really makes me, ME.
I’m not afraid to be myself anymore. No longer am I crippled by my insecurities whether it be about how short I am or what people will think if I go out in public wearing xyz. I’m done being scared. I go to work in bright red lipstick everyday because it makes me happy, I say what’s on my mind, and I take risks. I’ve honestly never been happier.
I’m me because nobody can put me in a box. I wouldn’t describe myself as different or original, I think more that I’m just a little bit of everything! That makes it hard to label me.
What makes Me me? I think it’s the way I carry myself. I try to be strong, confident, and energetic in everything I do.I have a lot of very dark things in my past that still affect me- I learn from it, accept it, and I don’t think I would be the happy, intelligent girl I am without the things I’ve gone through. :)
What makes me ME, is my hairstyle(:
It’s different every day and I love wearing different accessories in it. Whether up or down, curly or straight, headband or bow, etc. It’s always unique compared to other people at my school. Plus its so much fun:D
I constantly change the color of my hair because I crave change. I live to help others feel beautiful, whether it’s with makeup, photos, or my jewelry. I don’t have one style, but a lot of styles and this confuses people. I have an odd obsession with mermaids, a lot like how Doe loves unicorns. My individual qualities are not unique or special, but the combination of them all into one is what makes me who I am and there is only one me. :)
My running imagination has shaped my life from an early age. It’s turned me into a very theatrical actress who isn’t afraid to say what she’s thinking or to be bold. My imagination is what makes me me…
What makes me me is… a lot of things. I’m creative, open, free, happy, uninhibited, always willing to help someone. I learned these things the hard way, by not experiencing these things as a kid from one of the people that should’ve supported me the most. My dad abused me as a child, and this has really shaped me into the person I am now. I appreciate everything because I know how easily it can be taken away.
Life shapes us into who we think we are but essentially I am my unique soul.
When i read, what makes you, YOU, i immediately tried to find something unique and different and special compared to all these ladies.
But the wonderful thing is, anything i type here will be unique. Because we’re all unique right?
So the thing that makes me , ME is that i’m young. I’m very young, and i don’t care that i shouldn’t be allowed to wear lipstick, or dress in a vintage vest that i altered myself.
Being myself around other 13 and 14 year olds (yes, i’m that young), makes myself so noticeable.
And truth be told i like having the spotlight on me!
My heritage and my experiences so far make me who I am.
Congratulations Doe! Here’s to many more years.
My passion defines me, my passion IS me. I do not do anything in halves. When I take a liking to something, I LOVE it and tend to go a bit overboard. By overboard, I mean things like watching two seasons of Supernatural in the space of five days, owning a mini golden egg necklace from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, stealing your little brother’s starship Enterprise toy because he’s so over Star Trek (not to mention going to the Star Trek exhibition in San Jose), watching every single movie or show by a certain actor, picking up every stray animal I see and caring for it, dedicating my life to the pursuit of artistic expression onstage, and loving one guy and one guy alone for years. I seem quite soft-spoken, but when presented with the right subject, I open like a book. Throughout my life, my passion is the only facet of my personality that hasn’t changed and probably never will.
Positivity makes me. I am smiles, adventure, random, creative, calm, understanding. I see the world as a great big opportunity. I can do everything I want and I will! I am lime-green, haha. My apartment is a great big lime-green mess in a organized way. I am colorful. Strong, enthusiastic, a bit crazy, cuckoo, catloving. Finally I can say and believe that I am a designer. I am a redhead right now. I’ve done purple, blue, pink, brown and blonde. Addicted to learning about new things and salty candy. I am me.
Staying true to my self, not backing down…
Always saying the truth to the ones I care for, they’ll understand my excesive honesty :D
I seem rather unremarkable on first inspection, but let me show you how awesome I can be ^_^
The best definition of me is “creature”.
Never afraid to show a little flair, I’ve tried on many identities in my life. I’ve been a punk rocker, a goth chick, a glam rocker, and even a bit of a light metalhead nerd girl. The thing I’ve learned over the years, though, is this: I can’t be shoved into a category. There are parts of me that fit into all those labels I mentioned, just as there are parts of me that fit into an unlimited number of other categories. I feel most comfortable just being me, and liking what really speaks to my soul, which is an array of beautiful, obscure eccentricities.
Always fascinated by the idea of history and past lives, I spend a lot of time combing through thrift stores and antique malls, finding inspiration in old things. Antiques are full of mystery because they have previous owners, previous experiences, previous lives. I love the thought of putting my clothes into a dresser that had once held the clothes of women of previous generations who kept their secrets hidden beneath their bras and panties. I love the thought of wearing a hat that saw a completely different world from my own, all just by being nestled on the head of a woman born so many decades before me. I love uncovering the history in objects. I like that things have a story to tell, and I always want to give those stories the respect they deserve.
I am fiercely independent, and I work hard to make sure I’m the best I can be, so I will never feel caged. I see beauty in rebellion, and I have a deep infatuation and connection with the flapper culture of the 1920s. I’ve always admired that the flappers were liberal and rebellious in a time where that sort of behavior and mindset in women were unheard of. They were strong and glamourous. They were true revolutionaries. Flappers inspire me to work hard, push boundaries, and take risks for what I believe in.
I work hard, but I make sure that I nurture my spiritual side too. I practice meditation and mindfulness, and regularly enjoy nature in order to achieve the balance I crave in this unnatural, fast-paced world we live in. I enjoy the teachings of Wayne Dyer and Deepak Chopra, and through their writings, I have learned to become a constant observer, viewing the world in a way that helps me better see relationships, connections, and the reasoning behind everything. I seek to cultivate positive energy, and I let it radiate to everyone who touches my life.
As an earth-sign Taurus, I am dependable and responsible. Friends and co-workers know they can come to me when they need someone who will really listen and give sage advice. I am honest, and they know I’ll tell it to them straight. I’m not a brash know-it-all, though. I’m open-minded, and I deliver my messages with love and kindness, because it’s important to me that I make sure people know that I truly care, and that my heart is open to connect with them and the universe around us.
What makes me, ME is probably my sense of style and love for animals! :)
I have 6 pets. All rescued!