Wearing white after Labor Day has been up for debate over the years. For me, I stopped taking this as a mandatory rule. I love white, and it looks great against melanin, so any chance I can wear it, I will. I’ve been living with the wear what you want mantra for some time, but last year things changed a bit and wearing white was not an option.

Now I know your body changes as you get older, but I was experiencing longer, heavier periods. It happened over time. One month I would be fine, the next extremely tired, and then the next back to a lot of pain. I was out in Atlanta for TCF while I was on my period. No big deal right? Wrong, after 5 days my period would not go away. I had an appointment scheduled with my gyn so I was going to go in and ask a lot of questions. By the time I visited her, I was on day 10 of my period. It was heavy and I just felt like my whole body was out of wack. I told her my issues, and she set me up for an ultrasound. I asked her could it be fibroids, (cause I was googling my symptoms trying to figure out something), and she told me it’s possible or it could be cysts. Though nervous, I needed to know what was going on with me and scheduled the ultrasound.

I found out I have not 1, but 3 fibroids. I was told they vary in size from 1-3 cm’s which are small, but I was still concerned. I thought once I received confirmation they were fibroids that would be the end of it, but no. Limit my stress, and change up my diet, simple enough. The ultrasound also showed a thickened uterine lining, so then they required a MRI because that was not normal for someone that is not pregnant. Here it is day 21 and I’m still bleeding. I attended Curvy Con with cramping, and a full blown cycle, but I made sure I rested and took my vitamins to keep up my strength. It’s hard dealing with something that you don’t really understand. One minute I would be fine, the next painful cramps and heavy bleeding. I avoided wearing anything light colored. I was constantly running to the bathroom. I’m not going to lie. I was scared. If my fibroids were small how could they be causing all this havoc on my body. I got the MRI, and it didn’t show anything. Well isn’t that wonderful- I felt like I was back at square one. Yes I knew what was causing issues, but having a period for a month at that point was cruel. I was mentally and physically exhausted at that point. My gyn decided that it could be time to switch my birth control. She felt that trying a birth control with a lower hormone would be better . Also, the last test she wanted to me to get was a uterine scrape. Yes you heard that right, a scrape. They scrape a sample from your uterus and test it for irregularities and cancer. I was not looking forward to it, but you gotta do what you gotta do. By the time I went to take that test my period finally stopped, and I was starting to feel better. The biopsy came back negative, so for now its about keeping these fibroids small by taking care of myself. I have been working on limiting my stress, and walking more, and getting more rest.

It’s been a couple of months since my diagnosis and I feel confident again to wear light colored clothing. I was soo afraid of having an accident I was avoiding everything. When I saw this cute set on Target’s website, I was at first not going to get it, but I knew I had to stop living in fear and go back to wearing what I want. The set was soo cute that I could not pass it up, and I went ahead and ordered. Who What Wear has been cranking out hits. There is always something from their monthly drops that I love. I got the sweatshirt in a 1X and its a great comfy piece to wear any time. The matching sweatpants are equally comfy and have a stretchy waistband. I do wish they had a drawstring, just cause sometimes waistbands can start to give, but regardless I still like them. Both pieces will be in heavy rotation. I decided to go all out with white and pair it with my white moto from Eloquii. I can safely say that this moto addict has the full spectrum of the rainbow (and I am not in the least bit ashamed about it #shopaholic). I ended out my look with my flatform oxfords from the Atlantic Pacific x Halogen collaboration from Nordstrom and a cute pom pom hat (both are sold out unfortunately).

I figured for this look, I would shoot it in front of an ice cream shop. Ice cream and wearing white has been associated with the summer, but now no one cares. Wear white, enjoy some delectable ice cream in the middle of January. For all my fellow women dealing with fibroids, don’t let them stop you from wearing what you want. Go to your doctor and seek alternatives, because you deserve to live your life without fear. I know this post was longer than most, but I really wanted to share my story. I know that I was scared and it was with the support of my friends and boyfriend, and a doctor that listened to my concerns and not tell me that my weight was to blame for my issues that I am able to get back to same old Jami.