Not Just a Copy of the 2011 Dakota Rose Phenomenon
STORY By Maddi langweil
Lips ablaze with red lipstick, partnered with a pair of keen eyes outlined in thick, black eyeliner are two of Phuong “Dakota” Le’s notable features. Drawn to her bold colors, people often see her donned in a fluffy white coat, making her presence stick out amongst the flocks of Red Fox gear.
However, this confident appearance didn’t come naturally. Le generally wore grungy and bohemian outfits with a muted color scheme when she was younger. This appearance and “pessimistic” outlook on life during her years at a boarding school in Florida mostly stemmed from being separated from her family and home in Vietnam.
“The entire time I was there I was very uncomfortable with myself. I was uncomfortable in the skin that housed who I am. It's just like, ‘I'm always sad’ [or] ‘I'm always depressed.’ And it was just a lot to handle,” she said. “I was like that partially because of myself and also partially because of the environment I was in.”
It was the vast change in environment and people that shocked the 16-year-old who recently left everything she knew and loved.
“I was uncomfortable mostly because of my insecurities specifically about my physical appearance. In Vietnam we have different standards, like beauty standards, and amongst people who look like myself who have the same experience [and] who have the same culture and everything,” she said. “When I came to [the] U.S., it’s like a melting pot. It's a cultural hub where I see different people. That's when I started comparing myself to them and the different standards that the U.S. upholds and that's when I get insecure.”
Instead of letting her environment dictate how she should act and feel, Le told herself that while her current atmosphere may not be for her, when she moves to college, she can begin to transform herself.
“When I graduated from high school and moved on to college I decided, okay, this is a new environment. This is where nobody knows me [and] I don't know anyone else. So, I can rebuild myself. I can do something differently,” she said. “That's when I chose to be more positive and to be more outward looking.”
It took time to get to the positive mindset that she has today. For her parents, she was also not always the easiest child.
“I may seem chill now but growing up I was a very rebellious kid; I was not easy to handle,” Le said. “[My parents] have gone through a lot, I would not be able to handle a kid like myself. So, I'm really grateful for that. They support me regardless.”
A lot of energy, patience and time has gone into supporting Le and giving her the opportunity to follow her passion. Now aged 22, graduating from Marist College with a Bachelor of Arts in advertising and film, Le has come a long way from where she began.
Illustration by Madison Lisowski
Originally from Saigon, located in the southern part of Vietnam, Le has vivid memories of her childhood that make her feel whole inside. For Le, it was the location of her childhood that she remembers as the center of all of her joyous moments with friends and family.
“Saigon is where I have spent the majority of my life and that's where I have all my friends [and] where most of my stories and memories are made,” she said. “That's why I considered my home a specific memory that I think of, it's not really childhood.”
There was this nostalgic realization after visiting her home for the first time after studying in the U.S. for some time. The park, no more than 10 minutes from her house, was the place where Le and her friends would run around, play and talk about their dreams.
“I remember we were climbing on top of the monkey bars, and we just talked about life, catching up, [and talked about] our past, our present and our future,” she said. “They are just monkey bars [but] it’s one of my favorite places in Saigon. It's not a tourist attraction, it's just some place that has a really close attachment to my childhood and my upbringing.”
With an appreciation for her heritage, Le makes an effort for other people to feel proud and connected to their own Asian culture as the President of the Asian Alliance Club. With about 80 people involved, members are able to share their experiences and feel a sense of pride in their journeys.
“I like to go further and create a platform where people can have the same experience that I did,” she said. “Like being able to tell their stories and talk about their countries.”
In her first year at Marist, she had the opportunity to be a presenter for the Lunar New Year event where she talked about aspects of herself that make up who she is. After her presentation, a senior student also from Vietnam came up to her and shared how much her talk made him feel at home.
Le, however, feels as though she isn’t doing enough. “I feel like what I'm currently doing right now is just, I guess the bare minimum for myself,” she said.
Illustration by Madison Lisowski
While not all legacies and marks on the world are tangible enough, as Le believes, to make a difference, her current energy and mindset might say otherwise. Sometimes the best kind of impact is from those who do not expect anything in return. The beauty Le sees in her Vietnamese culture has served as her inspiration to capture other beauties in the world that she has seen through her travels to Spain, Czech Republic, Portugal and Hungary.
“I love traveling. I've always been a wanderlust. I love going to new places, visiting new sceneries and making new friends,” Le said. “The thing about traveling is that you constantly move around like when you don't travel, you go home or you go to different locations, so I want to capture the memories that I've made there as a mental image in my mind.”
Besides taking a mental image of where she travels to hold onto, Le has a desire to share a story visually appealing to other people. After being exposed to technology, she was always amazed by how stories can be told visually. The idea of making a story aesthetically appealing to the eye is how Le began to love film.
Film, in the minds of others, can be seen as something tangible or something just thrown on for a movie night. But the energy and time that go into making a movie for other people to enjoy is the goal of many directors and producers.
Dakota exerts the same energy and time into the gifts she gives others. “When we talk about gift giving people, I don’t associate it with materialism, like you did something concrete, but for me I find joy in it because I like to find the perfect gift that not only suits them but also they find practical,” she said. “I love finding that perfect gift.”
In a perfect world, Le would be living in a studio apartment in New York City working for an advertising agency, but for now the soon-to-be graduate will be interning for a marketing agency as an account intern this summer.
While she is afraid of failing and not being able to succeed in life, or even repay her parents for all that they have done, Le has fulfilled her parents' goal of being happy and doing what she loves. It is really not living up to her own expectations that she is afraid of.
But when Le came across Dakota Rose, a 2011 viral American makeup artist, she chose to give herself the unique nickname “Dakota.” While this name stands out from most names, Le has made it clear she doesn’t fit the basic mold and will do what makes her happy.
“I would say my life has definitely had a lot of ups and downs, but I always try my best to see the good in everything,” she said. “I try to see the positivity of how things turn out regardless.”
Even on a rainy day, one might catch a glimpse of Dakota Le in her fluffy white coat and red lipstick, giggling with a smile under her bright rainbow umbrella. Even with the storm clouds in her path, her darkly lined eyes stay set on looking for the sun.
Photography by Nick Spina & Chris Smith