Juju's Truth
Tell me about yourself.
Juju: As of right now I am a freelance creative, so I’m basically taking care of everything myself, which gives me power to be in control. So I take advantage of that and I have passion for being able to rule the content I put out, being able to say what I want to look like, what type of content I want to put out and how I want to do it. Within the past year I’ve found the hobby of writing becoming a part of my purpose. I started posting “Daily Intentions” on Twitter and have now turned them into my blog subject: “Weekly Intentions” I religiously post them every Sunday. If you like to read self help books and get personal perspective on real life situations you should check them out! I have goals for my writings that I’ve chosen to keep a secret until the time is right.
Are there things that you encounter that others do not?
Juju: I would definitely say one being size because more than likely WOC are going to be more curvy. I was never able to lose my athletic body shape no matter how skinny I tried to become and now I am 100% confident and accepting of it. That is a constant challenge but not so much anymore. Another was my hair because I usually wear it as a big, curly, afro. It's always been kind of a discussion to whether you are able to do my hair or I am not getting booked because of my hair. I think sometimes when brands, clients, or photographers see a WOC, they kind of think okay am I able to deal with all of that. I’m honestly not too wrapped up into the whole race vs. race thing in the industry because I like to stay clear of all of that when I can. I intentionally support creatives and brands that show diversity in the work that they do because the fashion industry could never be great with just one race. I just do my best at being my authentic self and if we have the pleasure of working then so be it.
What is one of your earliest experiences with beauty?
Juju: I started doing pageantry which I found out is not my cup of tea. But with that and the pageant that I was apart of was actually a really good experience within the realm of beauty because they incorporated talent seminars on confidence in all types of women. As they wanted to teach lessons and be open to all instead of preaching to just one type of beauty. An experience I can vividly remember was when I started breaking out very badly and all I wanted was for my face to be clear. This was about two years ago and I honestly thought my modeling career had come to an end. After a lot of trial and error with products and diet changes I came to realize it was more than just the face wash that I was using. I started paying special attention to how I treated my time, the relationships I held, and the attention I spent on self care. Then came yoga, vegetarianism, and affirmations daily. All of those things are still daily ritual and make me feel my most beautiful.
What are your beauty struggles?
Juju: My eyebrows. I found the perfect person to do them, now it's just about maintaining them. There’s things on your face that only you notice, maintaining the eyebrow look is very important to me. A huge beauty struggle for me use to be but I’ve gotten over it this year actually is acne.I had to take a break from working to take care of it. Right now I deal with natural scarring which thankful is almost gone. It took a lot of research time and consistency, it was always a huge struggle.
What does beauty mean to you?
Juju: This is going to sound cliche but it comes from within I think it has a lot to do with so many different characteristics that a person holds. For a person to portray beauty it comes from them being accepting of themselves, and accepting of all because I feel like you can express beauty and you can be beautiful but by accepting and being confident you have to accept all to be confident. The energy of being beautiful enlightens others it reciprocates from person to person. It starts with your mind, how you think about yourself, how you think about others, how your accepting, how your confident.
What is the importance of community to you?
Juju: Perfect example, I just started my brand NuWav. I actually have a community of people that I keep up to date with, share my intentions that I post. NUWAV. originated from my name WAVYYJUJU and wanting to start something new for my platform specifically. NUWAV. is in place to be a community and a brand, derived from myself I want it to reflect onto beautiful like minded individuals. I try to speak my philosophy to those in need as I’ve learned having a community was by far one of the best things I could’ve ever done. I’ve learned that giving more than you even hear the words “thank you” sometime will give yourself the gratitude that you deserve. At the end of the day I can be this well known model but I have a lot more to offer, why keep it all for myself it's’ not for me to keep, its for me to touch people and heal, help and advise, I cannot grow without people. I want to be apart of what I can.
What makes you feel unstoppable?
Juju: I know I do not have control over everything but I do have control over myself. What I know I can do and have done with limited resources or no resources at all, changes the thought process of not being in control of the moves I make. Just knowing and reflecting back on experiences that I have gone through, I am still living and being able to produce my best work and be the best I can. There are something’s that I would’ve never guessed I would be doing or people I never imagined working with and having relationships with. When we take the time to reflect and become grateful of all for achieving such things the love we encounter is limitless. I like to remind myself that evolution within self is most important and that is why I will never be stopped.
What is your favorite song right now?
Juju: Honest- Chase Aaron
Instagram: @wavyyjuju
Twitter: @wavyyjuju
Website: www.wavyyjuju.com
YouTube: https://youtu.be/2swPPQoATOc