THE BLUEPRINT FOR A BOLD AND AUTHENTIC LIFE
Daring - boldly unconventional | State - frame of mind | 声, Koe - a voice
ABOUT DARING STATE
Daring State Co. is a multimedia lifestyle brand and blog featuring topics on fashion, beauty, mental health, and the arts. It is creatively directed, curated, and edited by its passionate founder, Grace Ellice May, a lover of life, art, good music, and delicious food.
Our mission is to empower individuals to lead authentic and fulfilling lives through the transformative power of vulnerability and storytelling. We aim to nurture a bold frame of mind, seek the courage to soar to infinite heights, and excel in both life and business. We believe that life is an art form and feel called to create something beautiful and monumental from the simplest of things. At Daring State, we lead by example and set a standard for excellence and integrity across all media platforms.
Daring State Co. is an enterprise made for the 21st-century era and beyond.
ABOUT GRACE ELLICE MAY
Grace Ellice May is an educator and digital entrepreneur who creates and manages platforms that empower and uplift diverse audiences with engaging and inspiring content. Grace has a passion for branding, blogging, content curation, and special education, and uses these skills to make a positive impact in the world.
As the founder and creative director of Daring State Co., a multimedia lifestyle brand and blog, Grace curates and edits topics on fashion, beauty, mental health, and the arts, while also overseeing the business strategy and operations of the enterprise. She has grown the blog's readership and reach by delivering high-quality and relevant content that reflects a bold and brave mindset.
Grace is also the founder of The Stellar School of Thought, a research forum where she educates and advocates for mental health and learning disabilities. Through this platform, she shares her personal insights, discoveries, and challenges on living and functioning in society as an individual who struggles with a mental disability. Her goal is to serve as a beacon of hope and light, and to spread awareness and eliminate mental health stigma and discrimination in the global sphere. Grace leverages her skills as a blogger, educator, and screenwriter to communicate and advocate for this cause, as well as to promote a culture of inclusivity, creativity, and wellness in everything she does.
WORDS FROM OUR FOUNDER
An individual without a voice is no individual at all. But an individual with a voice is a person with an identity. We define ourselves in this world by who we say we are, by what we do, and most of all, by how we live. To have a voice means to matter in some way, to have an impact. One does not have to possess an enormous amount of financial or material resources before an impact can be made. Change is something that begins in little ways. It occurs slowly over time. I want my life to be significant, but I don't want my significance or importance to be defined by the way others see me. I am seen, even if only by me. And because I value myself, I matter anyway. But, if I stay silent and inactive, and kill my dreams because I think them impossible, then, I limit myself from discovering the person whom I ought to be - my true myself, the best version of me.
I am not chasing any grand purpose in life. I desire to live simply and diligently, staying true to who I say I am, and doing what I love most in the world - telling stories. I practice different art forms (many of which you will come to know soon enough) and I try to do my best at all of them. I don't aspire to become a 'master' or 'the best'. I only want to do my best, and if I can achieve that, then, that will be more than enough for me. I am on a journey of learning to appreciate the little things in life. Everything in life is art, and art is something that can be interpreted in different ways depending on the viewpoint you're looking at it from, be it yours or someone else's. Also, art isn't only a painting. It can be a poem, food, nature, a piece of writing, the way an outfit is put together, a film, music, etc. Art, I believe, is anything that tells a story. It is the ability to give life to even the most inanimate or insignificant of things. Art is anything that is impactful. And if anything makes you feeling something, then, you have experienced art, and that art (whatever it be) has served its purpose.
Little things matter. I don't have the strongest voice (that usually only comes out in a fit of temper), but I possess strong emotions, and all my life I've never really known where to put them. But, thank God for art, and the ability that we all have to create something from nothing at all. I am still finding and creating my own way in the world, and discovering my own true voice. It won't be easy, and I might be silenced every once in a while. But, just because my voice differs from someone else's doesn't mean that what I have to say doesn't matter or is less important. Before I am black, before I am a woman, before I am anything that the world chooses to define me as, I am Grace Ellice May, and my voice matters simply because I have one. I matter simply because I am alive, and so do you.
I created this platform to use this voice of mine as a way to take up space, fearlessly, and indulge positively in the things I love. I am still afraid, but I'm doing it anyway. It will be clumsy, and I'll make tons of mistakes along the way. But, because this is my first time living, mistakes are okay. It's alright to falter, and it's alright to get it wrong sometimes. Because getting it wrong is how we eventually learn to get it right. Self-compassion is the remedy for our imperfect humanity, and I will give lots of it to myself along the course of this journey. Thank you for visiting me in my safe place. You are always welcome here.
Take care, be well, and dare to have a voice. Use the one you've got. You matter.
Warmly, Grace.
P.S. The theme song for this blog is "Brave" by Sara Bareilles. Have a listen to it whenever you're feeling down and need a boost of confidence. Good luck!