“Beauty is what you feel about yourself… not what you see in the mirror.” -Unknown
For nearly 20 years, when eyeing her reflection, KC Sullivan didn’t like the woman looking back at her. During this time, she ran the gamut from a size 18 to a size 0… jostling back and forth, all while yearning to find peace. She admits she struggled with self-confidence, self-doubt, and depression. Despite her experience in the field of modeling, fashion design, wardrobe styling, and even runway shows, it seemed as though the personal beauty – and contentment — which she sought was always out of reach. After a decade of trying to overcome “the angst of not feeling like [herself]”, she realized that her professional experience and education provided her the tools she needed to help herself – and others – by focusing on methods to finding inner beauty and building confidence. The result? She left the typical 9-to-5 to forge a way to help others through the services she provides in her startup business, Curating Confidence.
Sullivan says “I know the futility of placing your internal value and worth on your ability to conform to external and random standards. I know how to still the voices in your head which denigrate and shame.” In teaching people how to build up their confidence, she helps them develop a positive self-image and shape their identity around their true beauty. In addition to people who are concerned about body size, she has helped women who have battled cancer and/or undergone a mastectomy. She also aids veterans post-deployment as they return to their roles as spouses, parents, etc. “Veterans often have a unique and unparalleled struggle returning to civilian life after service. What I realized in conversations within my business is how often one of those struggles is being able to find value, worth, and self-confidence in themselves beyond the uniform. What happens when your whole identity and worth is tied up in your image of yourself as one particular thing… and now you’re asked to go back to civilian life like nothing has changed? When internally, everything has changed.” Sullivan helps identify the barriers to confidence that their self-image presents, helps them rebuild their confidence, and gives them the tools to present that internal peace outwardly through their wardrobe. She says that the “opportunity to connect with veterans and be able to offer them something like this service feels like a gift. I grow better with each interaction and conversation and I only hope that someday I can look back and say I was able to positively impact this community that has given so much for all of us.”
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