CREATING MY BEST LIFE

As many of you know, I fell in love with writing at a very young age. It wasn't just writing that I fell in love with, it was creating. I went through several seasons of creativity. My goal is to share my story and why I create to encourage others to do the same without fear of judgment.

Growing up I did years and years of theatre. This was my way of openly expressing who I was as well as my love for public speaking. I had several good years of plays and musicals that taught me how much I loved speaking in front of a crowd. Not only that but it also sparked creativity into my being at a young age. It was a path I knew I always wanted to follow.

Navigating my way through college, I made a home for myself in a city I had only visited a couple of times. Grand Rapids, MI was a place I got to call home for almost 5 years of my life and became one of my very places to this day. College taught me so many things. It shaped me, molded me, changed my perception again and again but I always came back to my creativity. I studied Hospitality & Tourism Management with an emphasis in Meeting and Event Management which allowed me to shine in the career path I was most passionate about. In college, I was able to publish 3 books all that spoke to the challenges I've overcome. The goal I originally had with my books wasn't to sell millions. My goal was to help another that stumbles upon my story. Not many people are able to beautifully craft and understand what they are going through to put it into words. I am proud of myself. I am proud to be wise by my experience and not my age as many would say. The best compliment I have ever received was, "you are wise beyond your years." This meant more than an average compliment. Everyone likes to be called beautiful and kind but being wise in the seasons I have dealt with is something I am extremely proud of.

In the last year or so, I have started finding delicious recipes and putting a twist on them. The twist is to substitute ingredients that work well with my diet being gluten and dairy-free. My parents, mostly my mom, was the one who would cook dinner at home growing up. I never showed much interest in learning, until I had to. When I was diagnosed with celiac disease, I needed to start to learn. About 2 years ago, I started to become infatuated with creating this "twist" on recipes. Some of my favorite recipes are from Tieghan Gerard from her website, Half Baked Harvest as well as Audrey Roberts from her website, Mama Knows Gluten Free.

A cringe-worthy photo of me in 2012 as the Wicked Stepmother from Cinderella

When moving to Charlotte, I knew I wanted to make more of myself. Live for a purpose, live for me. I started taking part in a therapy program that changed my life called EMDR. For those of you who don't know, EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It is a form of psychotherapy that allows those who have dealt with trauma to reprocess all of their thoughts, emotions, and several other sensations following the trauma. I was so scared to face my fears but I knew this is what I needed. I've learned you have to drive straight through the pain, not around it. It will continue to resurface and disrupt your life until you unravel it. I have grown so much in the last year just from this therapy alone. I will post a blog soon solely on EMDR and all of the resources that have helped me get to where I am today. I will also share with you the teachings and lessons I have learned throughout my time in the program. EMDR not only saved my life but also reintroduced the creative side that I had lost for so long. It taught me I wanted to do more, live more, love more. I wanted to share more, to create more.

If you have a project, a book, an album, any bit of creation that you want to share with the world, I encourage you to do so. Put everything you have into those passions without fear that someone will judge you. Find your creativity drive, discover what you love. I will leave you with one of my favorite quotes by John Quincy Adams, "If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader."

P.S. I love supporting small businesses & creators. If you ever want to collab, I'd love to showcase your work :)

Thank you for reading my words as I accept + learn to love the little things ♡