When Onika Maraj, better known as Nicki Minaj, hit the scene, she also reinvented herself in order to truly develop her craft. The diva who graced the stage then, with her stilettos and sexy attitude, was something separate from the seemingly shy Beyoncé of yesteryear. Beyoncé became Sasha Fierce back in 2008. Of course, I’m not the first person to adopt one of these psuedo-personas. By creating an alter ego - and by that I mean, adopting a new name and the confidence to go with it - I was able to forge new territory on my personal journey towards self-love and body positivism.

And her warrior cry - keep slayin’ - was just as much a reminder to the regular old me as it was a message of empowerment for women everywhere. Where simple Sarah-Jane was riddled with anxiety and constantly picked at self-appointed flaws, Sarah-Jane Urbane - the alter ego I created after starting my blog - was the opposite. That was the day I realized that this - whoever I was now - wasn’t Sarah-Jane. Sarah-Jane of 2014 would have never been OK with this. I didn't give a second thought to the early bird gym-goers who'd see my size 18 body through the window lumps and rolls on display.Īs I slung my robe over my shoulders, I couldn't help but laugh to myself. on a crisp March morning.įor a fleeting moment, I didn't care that I was in a public area at my apartment complex, turning my partner into an Instagram husband while I posed like a supermodel - a half-naked supermodel at that. This was the sixth swimsuit we had shot, and it was only 8 a.m.

I scurried over to the camera, still hanging from his neck, and eagerly swiped through hundreds of photos. Fashion blogging is a foreign world to him, after all. He shrugged because he had no idea what I was talking about. The morning I realized I had created an alter ego started a little something like this: 'Wait!' I adjusted my bikini top, bent over, rustled my hair, and snapped back up, letting a mane of highlighted locks fly around my face.

Alter ego game+ eat as much as you can