Nothing can dim the light that shines from within.” — Maya Angelou
What we wear can say a lot about us. Sometimes it is about how we want to be seen. Sometimes it is simply about what makes us feel good. And sometimes, the clothes are just the backdrop to a much bigger story about who we are, what we believe in, where we come from and the life we are trying to build.
For our Knitwear Campaign, we wanted to go beyond the cardigan and meet the women who embody the spirit of Grass-Fields. They come from different places, have different stories and are building completely different lives, but there is something familiar and similar in each of them. Their confidence, story, creativity, ambition and the way they carry themselves.
They reminded us of the women we design for; we wanted to get to know them beyond what they were wearing. To hear what they are building, what inspires them, what matters to them and the women they are becoming.
For the first edition, we sat down with Morika to talk about ambition, identity, style, and the quiet discipline of choosing yourself. Across five looks, she opened up about what it really means to build a life on her own terms, and gave us a masterclass in Guyanese hustle along the way. Here is what she had to say: 
What does "building" yourself, your career or your life, mean to you?
When I imagined building something or building myself, I imagined an endless canvas where you are painting for a lifetime and when I say painting it's like you're investing in things that can better you physically mentally and that's also can mean pursuing your goals, educating yourself doing things that take you one step further to being the best person individually you can be. And then also in terms of building a career or a business or an empire that's constantly pushing yourself to wake up, to go against the grain, to not feel emotional and just move one step forward into achieving your goals; this could mean be doing research, educating yourself on how to do something that you're not well versed in or picking up a book or asking for help and reaching out to people who've done what you haven't accomplished yet, but they've achieved it. And it's just building a community, building the shape of how you imagine your life to be.
How do you stay grounded when things aren't moving as fast as you'd like?
When I feel like things aren't going the way I want it to or it's not moving at pace or the speed I imagine it would be, I just always think back to what it is I want to accomplish and in every goal it's not about the speed, it's about the journey, it's about how you get there, what you're learning. And it's the journey that essentially makes you qualified for that greatness or for that role or for that achievement. So you can't miss the process because the process is part of the end result.
What does "choosing yourself" mean to you, personally?
To me choosing myself means choosing things or making the choice every day to pick what makes me happy and as easy as that sound it's actually quite a difficult thing especially if you are a people pleaser which i can identify myself as sometimes but you're choosing things that make you happy, choosing things that bring you peace of mind, choosing things that make your day lighter and easier.
And I feel as time goes by and the older I get, you generally become better at it. Like you generally get better at saying no and sticking to your boundaries and being comfortable with being uncomfortable and being uncomfortable with people seeing you in a different light. Because you're not going to make everyone happy if you choose what's best for yourself. You're bound to upset someone. So that's okay. It's okay to put yourself first.
And I feel one of the things that make me really happy is just being in spaces or being around people that generally add to my energy that makes life a little bit lighter, laughing easier and makes life worth living and that that can be just a picnic that can be we're traveling together or that can be sometimes my alone time where i get to sit down and reflect or i can just be still be myself and let my thoughts go and that to me is happiness and really it's in the small and simple things majority of the time
What does it mean to you to be a Black woman?
I've been asked this question before and it's always a different response but still quite similar on what it really means to be a black woman and I think it's always or similarly it's always a challenge. We generally have to fight to get into spaces that we are generally not invited to or people make it hard for us to get into. We tend to be more empathetic and we have this tendency to take on people's burdens when we don't need to. And then generally it's just the need to just be a stone, a rock and the glute and the center of the family or of a family, shall I say.
But it's quite interesting because we're seeing things differently. We're learning in this day and age that we don't need to be all that. We just need to be ourselves and do what essentially makes us happy and brings us peace. And again, it's choosing yourself. And I think within my culture as well, women has done that a lot but I think something that I would like to carry on which is a positive it's kind of just a juxtaposition it's a positive from what I've just mentioned but it's just like women being able to carry on and pick things up make things happen like true hustle culture and that's a Guyanese person for you.
How does your culture shape that identity?
I'm sure it's many other cultures, but me speaking on my identity, I am a Guyanese woman. And no matter where you go in Ghana or who you meet, you will find that that trait is very common. You just meet hustlers, you meet people who make it happen. Just because my community wasn't particularly rich, are well off so it's been ingrained in us to get up take take each step take each day as it is and yeah make it happen make our dreams come true and want better for ourselves.
How would you describe your personal style?
I would describe my personal style as a bit quirky but then versatile because I like to switch it up. I can be in baggy trousers one day, you'll see me in a gown another. I can be dressed as a tomboy. Very versatile. And then the third word would be daring because there are times that I'm like, okay, this doesn't necessarily go but I want to wear it because I like it and I like how it makes me feel and I like the material on my skin. So yeah.
And I think...If I'm to analyze myself, I generally always dress for myself. There was a time where I didn't, but currently now I always dress for myself. I enjoy dressing for myself. I enjoy dressing up, going out. I think it definitely adds to my mood. It makes me feel beautiful. It makes me feel more of a woman and it makes me feel...Like, I'm expressing myself in a different form and it's a type of release because you're identified different from the next person that walks down the street with you because of what you're wearing...no two persons are wearing the same things. And I don't believe there is any type of fashion rule.
How would you describe yourself as a woman?
I think I'm a woman that's very ambitious and very hardworking. I have big dreams so it's like I always want to learn and better myself and essentially learn from people and be surrounded by people who are great and well, not even just that I can learn something from. And I think that has always lead me to places because as well as being that type of woman, I think I am also very much a traveler. I love traveling. I love going to countries I've never been to before. I will happily go on a trip by myself, which I've done quite a few times already. So I am not scared. I'm very brave and courageous.
And I think I will just always strive to live a life without limits and I think that's just the experience I want to have. There isn't any particular experience like going and bungee jumping or skydiving. I just want to have no limits in terms of what I can do, where I can go, what I can buy, dare I say, and how I can live. So yeah.
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Women of Grass-Fields is a community and a space for women to exist fully, be seen, and be celebrated in every stage of their becoming. Tell us in the comments: what part of Kathy’s story felt like your story too?
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