Chicken Soup For the Soul with Jeannie Mai..and a lil something for you.

If you haven’t thought about what you’re gonna get yo mama yet for Mother’s Day in 7 days- start thinking.

Now I realize writing this that not everybody has this type of relationship with their mama. Trust me, growing up with a young and overly sassy mom was um.. a little hard for me. (“No, go ahead mom, you and my friends get out and I’ll drive around to look for parking.” to reading the occasional “Wow!” or “I don’t like him either” written in purple ink over my diary entries.) Howevs, Mom was a necessary nut that made me the delicious peanut butta I am today. (UM..did u MISS my blog about what Mom did in Vietnam??) Well, because I rave so much (no glowsticks needed) about mai beautiful making the woman I am today, Chicken Soup for the Soul actually approached me to share a story about mai mother, Olivia Mai. I did, and it was published! So I’m going to share my submitted story here below and encourage you all to grab this year’s Mother Edition of Chicken Soup For the Soul called Thanks Mom. It’s SO adorable and has the most unexpected celebrity contributors that will make you see a whole different side to them thru their stories.

And guess what? I’d like to gift 3 free books to the first three friends of mai blog that can tell me why THEIR mom rocks and a picture of you both. Email me at jmail@iheartjeanniemai.com. Mai picks will be posted next Sunday, Mother’s Day. Good luck!

PS. I get that it’s a Hallmark holiday. Yes I celebrate her everyday of mai life, but I’ll be damned if my mom drives around our hometown of San Jose seeing flowers at the stoplights for sale and friends asking “What did you get for Mother’s Day??” without knowing I love her like a fat kid loves cake

Chicken Soup for the Soul Entry

Olivia Mai rocks. She’s my mom, and because of her, I learned that fashion is powerful.

Mom’s daring, playful, and unconditionally loving personality were three qualities that taught me being attractive has nothing to do with good looks- yet had everything to do with great style. Growing up was a show with my mom- and not for anybody else but us. We glittered it up for grocery shopping, gave makeovers to friends who stopped by, and had fun with style to stay current because of creativity, not money or trend. Mom believed looking good said two things- 1) I care about myself and 2) I want you to care about you. It’s very weird how it works that way – taking intentional time to dress yourself builds a confidence to feel good, therefore making you give your best to everyone. People seeing your positive energy through your style will think about the way they look, and by being confident with love you invite them to celebrate themselves without saying a word. Fashion is powerful.

For the first few years of my life, everything was cupcakes and cashmere. I had no problem being me, and had the most enjoyable time decorating my moods each day. It was the first day of school where I had no idea I would have to learn how to stand (out) on my own two feet.

All month Mom and I had been preparing for the first day and I had everything set the night before to walk in and make some new friends. I had decided my first day color had to be a powerful purple, and sprung outta bed that morning ready to throw on my purple and grey plaid jumper with my fave tee underneath that spelled “J-E-A-N-N-I-E” in bold black letters, funky fresh pink fishnet stockings, and glossy purple rubber galoshes that my mom had purchased for rainy weather. (It was 74 degrees and sunny that day.) She helped me with the finishing touches of sparkly bangles to my wrist, gave me a wet kiss on my cheek, (careful not to smudge my glittery Wet n Wild lipgloss), and walked me into school for my very first day.

The moment I walked into my classroom and took off my coat, every single kid stared. Parents, too. Mom saw Mrs. Clark, my new teacher, and left my side to say hello. Immediately I felt the eyes all over the room pan head to toe over my outfit. Several of the parents raised an eyebrow, while many of the kids pointed and laughed. For the first time, I felt the emotion of insecurity. Scarier, I felt like I’d rather be anybody else but me. I saw that everyone else had slicked smooth hair, barrettes, matching dresses and socks, appropriate sandals and shoes. I sat down wishing I could take off my galoshes and hide.

By midday I was known as Jeannie Weenie Wild. (Thanks Tory Millen.) At lunch nobody sat by me, and at the end where new friends waited in pairs to be picked up, I waited by myself. When Mom rolled up, I lunged myself in the backseat, kicked off my boots and headband, and slouched low in my seat. I didn’t even wait for Mom to ask what was wrong. Through tears I wailed about why she let me go to school looking like that and why didn’t she buy me clothes like the other kids and why did she name me something that rhymes with Weenie and why-

At that moment Mom immediately pulled the car over, took off her seatbelt, and turned around with the most thrilled elated expression of joy that I wondered if I was in the right car. “They already know your name?? The kids??? What did they say?? That’s WONDERFUL!!”

I sat there dumbfounded like, “Did you hear what I said?? NO!! I don’t want them to know my name! I hate school! I’m never going back!! Everybody is too mean and I hate my clothes!”

The next words my mom said I never forgot: “Con”, (which means my child in Vietnamese), “this is the best day ever. I raised you to stand out and be something to talk about. I don’t care what they’re saying, as long as you are noticed and unforgettable, you are my daughter and I am so proud!”

Those words changed my life forever. That very second her words slipped into my ears, I understood the difference between “owning it” and “being owned”, a philosophy I advocate today when adopting new styles. Never again, would I let anybody else tell ME, who I was. She had spent those years teaching me to celebrate myself, and now was my turn to learn how to make a statement. And its built the wall of protection I have in this business for anything said against me- because I know as long as my actions come out of love and a fun spirit, I’m a “Do” all the way.

Thanks to Mom, I use that confident foundation to stack the rest of my personality upon to influence others through fashion.

And just so you know, I wore those purple galoshes the next day, too. J

source: http://iheartjeanniemai.com/chicken-soup-for-the-soul-with-jeannie-mai-and-a-lil-something-for-you/