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Name: Aba Forewa

IG: @abaforewa

Agency: Seeking Representation

“I completely changed as a person. I had a big momentum before I got pregnant and now it just came to a dead stop.”

In an exclusive interview with HelloBeautiful Aba Forewa was unafraid to say the thing millennial moms are never supposed to say. The first generation Ghanaian-American model and Everything Rrogue brand ambassador admitted that she was finding it difficult to snap back in more ways than one.

Like many contemporary models Forewa began her career working with her fellow creatives on social media. Together with photographers, creative directors, and designers from her home state of New Jersey she developed body positive content that expressed her personal style and confidence.

“It was really random,” she said about her journey to landing in front of the camera.

“I met a group of girls who had ended up starting this platform called Embracing The Crown to celebrate you know black women so they were doing their launch and they asked me to be a part of it,” she recalled.

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She came to Jersey City for the photoshoot and afterwards she was interested in recreating the experience. The universe sent the perfect person to make it happen one day as she was at an open mic night. “This girl ran up to me and she was like ‘You don’t know me my name is Kaila Bouleware. This is my business card, you’re so beautiful, we should shoot. Are you a model”?

Boulware and Forewa worked on a “impromptu shoot” to promote body positivity shortly after. “I’ve always been confident in my body,” she stated.

Taking that stance was a risk in suburban New Jersey.  Forewa maintained her confidence despite not fitting in with the Abercrombie and Hollister clad blondes at Montgomery High School. She wore what she wanted and shaved her head determined not to yield to the standards of anyone but the person in the mirror.

While she wanted to shoot to lend her perspective to the body positivity movement, she hadn’t intended on attempting to make a career from her image. In fact, she wanted to study the business side of the fashion industry at FIT. But because she was only seventeen, she would need the support of her parents to study international marketing outside the state, something she did not have. Her parents literally tossed her applications for out-of-state colleges in the trash.

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“I come from a Ghanaian family. I’m first generational so it was like a big uproar. Everybody was like ‘Do medical field!’ They didn’t support what I wanted to do. They did not allow me to apply for anything out of state.”

The theme of the shoot shifted unexpectedly during production as Forewa got word that she was let go from the day job that sustained her while she worked on her creative endeavors. Several short video clips taken from that day’s set depict her displaying an extreme vulnerability as Solange’s “Cranes In The Sky” plays in the background. The clips and other content she created with Bouleware and other photographers directed attention towards her.

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Even without an agency or management Forewa was able to secure major opportunities that offered her visibility and experience. She appeared on daytime television segments and in runway presentations. She attended events and connected with makeup artists and creatives who were also making their way in the industry.

She walked in New York Fashion Week, the inaugural Newark Fashion Forward event, and worked with designers like Melody Asherman, and boutiques like Off The Hanger building a substantial portfolio in the process.

When she became a mother her approach to pursing her goals changed. After making the difficult decision to terminate a previous pregnancy Forewa was certain that she was ready to become a parent.

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“We both just knew,” she said of her and her partner’s choice to bring life into the world. Her stance was, “I love this man he loves me we’re gonna have this baby.”

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The young family was filled with love, but it was not without challenges.

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“Now that I’m 25 and I have a child I’m an advocate for living your best life until you’re ready,” said Forewa. Becoming a parent has not completely subdued her sense of self. “I’m still fighting for myself,” she asserted.

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“I got pregnant at the peak of figuring out who I was, and then I got pregnant and all of it came to a complete halt.” That halt is lifting slowly but surely. “I’ve been to a few different castings,” she revealed. “I’m going full force again.”

Currently she is adjusting to how motherhood has impacted her decision-making process. “I’m not as spontaneous as I was, I’m a lot more calculated,” she explained.

She intends on returning to school with a renewed viewpoint. “I decided to be creative and figure out what I wanted to do and leverage that,” she added.

“I’m always trying to make the best choices for me and my son.”

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