To Love Somebody (feat. Express)

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Every post I will include the song that inspired me to build a post around it's title

What I'm Wearing: Jacket, Shirt, Chinos, Glasses - Express Men, Boots - Apt 9 

"To Love Somebody" (Feat. Express)

Dear readers,
I set goals for myself to go out into this world and do everything with love. One of my main goals in life is to experience love in all ways and share the love I receive with a world that truly needs a little more. Through my whole journey every up and down has been filled with love. Not just love in a relationship, but love for the idea of love. Since I was little boy I wondered what it truly meant to love somebody. As I continue to grow and get older each year, I learn more and more about what the truest meaning of love is. Recently I was approached by Express to showcase some pieces off of their new lighter pre spring collection. As winter winds down, i'll be mixing a lot of lighter colors with the dark. Let's face it I have gone through enough darkness, I deserve a little light in my life. As I selected the pieces that I wanted to wear, I thought about the subject of love. Valentine's Day is around the corner and I want to share as much love as I can these next few weeks. There is no better way to kick off a series of love stories than with a lighter classic denim look from Express. 

As I browsed through the new pieces Express released on January 16, 2018, I fell in love with the mixture of light and dark colors. I saw this Distressed Denim Trucker Jacket and knew it was the right centerpiece to go along with one of their Flecked Jersey Crew Neck T-Shirts and Skinny Chambray Chinos. When I saw the whole outfit put together with the final touch of the Blue Tinted Browline Sunglasses, the topic of love became more clear for me. I have a thing for denim jackets. I'm an LA boy with island roots in San Fransisco and denim jackets is kind of a huge staple for guys like me. When I first started dating my best friend P in 2016, there was this plaid denim jacket that became a staple in our relationship. Til this day P claims it, I have it here for whenever we see each other next. The distressed denim jacket reminded me of those butterflies I felt when I first started seeing P. Sometimes you see pieces of clothing and they take you back to those feelings you first felt. My relationship and status of my relationship can be tricky sometimes. One thing that is for sure, what I continue to learn from my evolving relationship with P, is nobody will ever love P like me. I know that is saying something, but there is a certain kind of power in this kind of love. There is a light, a certain kind of light that has never shone on me, until the day P walked in my life. The last 14 months has been a learning experience for both of us. As I said earlier, I wondered what it was like to love someone when I was kid. I never understood it until I became an adult, until the day P came along. You find yourself feeling different. There is a way everybody says to do each and every little thing, but then you begin to realize it does not mean a thing if you ain't got the love of your life with you. You have moments when you shut your eyes and all you can see is the frame of this person you live and breathe for. You start to understand that your feelings for this person is stronger than any other feelings you have for anyone other than this person. I may be blind in one eye, but i'm a man and I know i'm being seen for who I am. A relationship takes 2 to tango. Sometimes the other person doesn't understand the extent of your love, until one day you have to tear it all down and build up all over again. They don't know what it is like to love somebody like the way they are being loved. Love is patient, love is kind and sometimes we have to continue riding the rollercoaster and picking out pieces of clothing that take us back to the start of the line. Sometimes we have to get off the ride to get back on and start again. We can do some of the same things, but we can change a lot of things and do it better, do it right. This outfit from express symbolizes my willingness to start over and begin again. Hopefully we all can learn what it is like to love somebody like the way I love P and always will. 
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As the month of love quickly approaches, I want to reflect a lot on love and what love has done to contribute to my personal journey. It is important to write about my feelings because they are always changing and growing. As my heart continues to beat, the blood in my veins heat up to fuel that fire in my soul. If a little piece of love can inspire people to love a little harder, then I know my feelings are doing their job. I feel like we should love with no regrets. We need to fall in order to rise. So i'm going to keep falling and falling so I can keep finding a way to rise and be better. I have love for P, my family, my loved ones. All that love comes from the scattered pieces of my heart and the willingness to never give up on love. Love can break us, but it can also heal. As I continue to heal my brokenness, I want to love somebody like they have never been loved before. I want to feel love that is bigger than the thoughts of love in my brain. I want to love "tenderly" and sweet because love is built on kindness.  For a moment in time, I just want the power of love to take over. The world needs a little more love. Maybe if we all learn to love somebody, then we can learn to love one another. Then we can begin to heal the hurt and brokenness within the world that surrounds us. 

Love, Dom 

Photographer: Joanna Wheeler  ​

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Stories From My Life - Chapter 5