Welcome, I’m so happy you’re here!
Hi, I’m Ranait (pronounced Ra-Nate) — and welcome to The Environista.
Rather than filling this page with a bullet point list of “who I am” or “what I do”- where I went to college or which city I currently reside in, I’d rather tell you why I’m here and how The Environista came to be…
I created this space in January of 2021 while recovering from spinal surgery. I had just finished my freshman fall semester of college while simultaneously experiencing the most difficult and life-altering two and a half months where I, in ways, was completely forced to start over– relearning to walk and all. I spent most of my days sitting in the same chair, staring out the same window, and at the same computer screen.
After being assigned to watch a documentary for my Fashion Fundamentals class, my glamorous perspective of the fashion industry I thought I was entering into completely changed. In just an hour and a half or so, I realized there was a lot of internal and external change that needed to happen. What was most alarming to me, is if I never would’ve taken this class and been exposed to this documentary, I never would’ve known of this space that so greatly needed some TLC…
So, my interest in conscious consuming and sustainability within the fashion industry was born. As I dove into this sector, I very quickly realized a toxicity within it. It always felt like one was shouting at another and never just a safe space for learning, development, and overall growth – for thought sharing and conversation. The moment the environment gets mentioned, somehow things become very polarized and this odd shame game comes into play.
In today’s world, “sustainability” has become a buzz word, and pollution and keeping the earth clean has become political. Full transparency, I don’t have any interest in lecturing anyone about carbon emissions. I’m just a girl, who grew up in a town with a population just over 1,000, where there were mountains, lakes, and fields galore. It was heaven.
I spent most of my childhood outside- tent camping with my family from the time I was an infant, hiking and skiing as soon as I could walk, fishing with my dad, taking bike rides into town when we needed a stick of butter from our teeny grocery store – the list only continues, but the moral of the story is, my love of the outdoors was instilled in me at a very young age and has only grown since. There is something about nature, fresh air, and the outdoors that provide an immense amount of peace within myself.
So, when I learned the industry I was so joyously entering into and had dreamed about from a young age was negatively impacting this beautiful natural playground I grew up on and had fallen entirely in love with, I wanted to learn more and do the same for others in a digestible and friendly manner. I didn’t (and still don’t) know everything. Far from it actually… but as a fire was ignited inside of me, I found myself passionately sharing my findings with those around me (family, friends, etc.), and no matter what industry they worked in or area they studied, there was a certain fascination I noticed they found in the topics as well – oftentimes admitting, “I never knew or thought about that.”
So, one cold, snowy, January morning in my childhood home where I was still recovering, in that same chair… I opened my computer and within a day created the space you currently have stumbled upon.
Ironically, the girl who had despised essay writing and pretty much all English classes growing up, founded a blog space and over the years has fallen in love with creative writing. Funny how that works…
Over the years, The Environista has been a lot of different things and is still ever evolving- just as I am (and we are, no matter how old we are)! What started as a very fashion heavy, earth-conscious space, has now turned into more of a reflective life-sharing journey about a wide assortment of topics including but not limited to travel, faith, and a whole heck of a lot of storytelling in many ways whether it be literally or creatively.
Fashion, mindfulness, and conscious consumerism will always be at the core – my core – but ideas, philosophies, and interests change as we continue to learn. I’ve never really liked being put into a box when it comes to who I am, and I feel the same about The Environista. It’s not just one thing, and it never will be.
But if you’ve made it here – to the end of this long-winded “about me” rant of sorts – first, thank you. Second, welcome! I’m excited we’ve found each other and I look forward to sharing stories and bits of life together.