A Glimpse at the Journey of a Skinny Caribbean Girl

A few weeks ago I had an opportunity to share my story with Voyage Dallas. Looking back at my life I marvel at what this timid, Caribbean girl has accomplished. Many times it seemed as if the deck was stacked against me. As if someone had taken all the trump cards out of my deck of cards. Yet, somehow I keep finding ways to win with the hand I’m given. Here’s a snippet of what I shared with Voyage Dallas.

The Skinny Caribbean Girl

Niqui, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My journey started on January 6th, 1994. That was the day I stepped off the plane for University. It was my first trip to the US. I was born and raised in the Caribbean and came to the US for college. I have a BBA and an MBA with a marketing concentration and I’ve been in that arena for several years now.

A year and a half ago, my daughter said she wanted to start a fashion blog. I told her I’d do it with her!! Thus fashNcurious was born. We’re both very into fashion and love everything about that world. I do about 95% of the writing and she handles the photography and the edits. I do a lot of blogging for my day job so writing comes naturally for me. Along the path, I’ve dabbled in fashion writing and I’ve written several pieces for Raine Magazine.

I’d never had imagined that this skinny Caribbean girl would be a fashion blogger and be featured in Instyle Magazine.

Has it been a smooth road?
Oh no. The road is never smooth, is it? Paying for college was a struggle. I came to the US with $6,000 to cover school, food, everything. I didn’t know where my second year’s tuition was coming from. I had to work hard to get scholarships to pay my way through college. Even after I graduated with my MBA, it took a while for me to get my dream job. It was easier to get an internship, so I went back to school for an MS in IT and did the internship route until I got a full-time job. My advice for young women would be to hold on to their dreams and fight for them. Even if the path does not look like what you’d originally pictured and you’re seemingly veering from it… don’t take your eye off the ultimate goal. Be your own biggest cheerleader and advocate. Mirror talks help.

To read what else I shared head to Voyage Dallas!