Caroline, Carol, Caro, Care, Lina, Finelli. These are the names I am addressed as. All are fine, except Carol, which my boyfriend calls me simply because I’ve told him a million times not to. Though each name is addressed to the same person, they all have a different meaning.
Care is a young girl, who bounced around from sport to theater to sport to theater. She is not a master at any one thing. She learned the basics of almost everything: ballet, equestrian, sailing, tennis, soccer, kickball, go-karting, track, and pickle ball. She was naturally talented at singing and participated in the school plays. Her voice coach told her she could train to become an opera singer which turned her passion into a chore. So she moved onto the next activity. However, nothing stuck. Her family loved to travel and when it was time to take a weekend trip here or a vacation there, weekend practices and games were out of the question. Making friends was easy, but keeping them was hard. She missed out on seeing her school friends when she moved away to Rhode Island for the summer. Similarly, she left her summer friends right as everyone started to reacquaint themselves.
Care and Caro are twins. They were interchangeable names given during middle and high school. There is simply no deeper meaning or connection to those names other than her childhood best friends still calling her them to this day, nostalgically. Care and Caro were eager to leave “Little Doms” and head to greener pastures. Within one year at “Mercy” they were eager to hop the fence again. Fashion class, boyfriend drama, sports night, theater and shopping on the weekends became their life until it was time to grow-up again. They had their sights set on The Tide.
Lina is in her college era. She loved going out on the strip, dressing up and pregaming on the quad before the football games, and her political sciences classes (especially comparative politics). Yet, Lina still didn’t know who she was. She joined a sorority hoping it would help her easily make friends like she did at her all-girls high school. Pushing herself out of her comfort zone was a top-priority. She was outgoing in high school…so why did it feel so hard to translate that same confidence to the college social scene. Lina learned a few things in those 4 years:
Drinking and going out every night of the week isn’t what life is about. Bingo Monday, T-shirt Tuesday, Wine Wednesday, Thursday date parties, Friday bar nights, Saturday game days, and Sunday Funday made her feel weak, tired, unhealthy, and more self-conscious. Her weight gain and extreme weight loss made her feel insecure, her skin felt dull and dry, and her mental health suffered. Your life can be fulfilling even if you miss out on a night with everyone. FOMO is a disease. Focus on living for and taking care of yourself. Your body is not a temple, it’s your temple.
College boys don’t equal soulmate and future husband. They were a learning experience. A way to test the waters and see what she liked and disliked in a relationship. A few toxic boys along the way made her realize what her standards and expectations were for herself. A few kind ones made her understand what it means to be committed to another person.
Fashion = Passion. Working for Molly was a dream come true. A realization that the fashion industry was a path in life that Lina wanted to pursue. Shopping for and styling clothing, keeping up with runway shows, collecting designer pieces to last a lifetime, writing about trending people and items. They all brought her a sense of joy and made her feel inspired.
Your true friends are the ones who make you feel at home even when you may not be. She cherishes the friends she made in high school, college, and in internships. True friends make you laugh, make time stand still, and make the world feel at peace. The people you surround yourself with are the most important. Their goals, ambitions, and habits impact your own. Choose your friends wisely.
Family is everything.
This brings us to Caroline. Who is Caroline Finelli? She is 23 and still doesn’t completely know who she is and that’s a wonderful thing. It important to still question who you are. If you didn’t, that would mean that there’s no room for growth. Caroline stays home with her boyfriend (they believe they’re soulmates) on Friday nights. They make popcorn and open a bottle of saké, and plan their dream vacation to Japan. She spends peaceful weekends in Newport with her family, going to all of her favorite restaurants and sun bathing on the boat. She works for Rodeo. It’s an amazing job that gives her a creative space and allows her to make time for passion projects on the side and studying for the LSAT. She attends mass on Sundays with her family and boyfriend, a practice that makes them feel connected to a higher power, one that loves them without fail and provides them with guidance. She goes on coffee dates and girls nights with her friends to recap on their lives and disconnect from reality. She shops online and shares it on her instagram because its fun. She posted on Substack to write out her thoughts and share her journey, wherever it may take her. I hope this becomes a space that is fun, stylish, and liberating.