Stepping into Adulthood: Chasing Childhood Dreams
Hi friends; I haven’t been on social media for quite some time now but I had to reconnect my accounts for work so I guess ya girl is back! Though I still don’t plan on posting online much, I did want to take a chance to share with you some of the things that have happened in my life lately.
Over the summer I celebrated my 26th birthday, and I’m officially closer to 30 than I am 20. I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting over the past 6 years of my life, what I’ve experienced, my travels, accomplishments, and dreams, and the amazing people that God has filled my years with. So to summarize: it’s surreal the amount of growth and change I’ve been through since the turn of the decade, and I can only begin to imagine what’s in store for the remainder of it. But I do know I’m thankful for the gifts of wisdom, peace, and self assurance that I’ve stepped into over the recent years. And a faith that continues to carry me through even the most uncertain of times. I pray these continue to grow and guide me in the years to come.
At the start of September, I accepted a job with my alma mater, Georgia Southern, working in the dean’s office for the College of Arts and Humanities. An opportunity I can truly only describe as an answered prayer; a tangible manifestation of relentlessnessly clinging to what I knew in my being was for me. I am so grateful for the chance to begin my career and am looking forward to pursuing further educational and professional goals within academia.
Additionally, in October I took another huge leap of faith. As some of you may remember, back around the start of the new year in 2019, I created social media platforms in hopes of having a place to share my poetry until I could self publish. Not even months later, I deleted all of it. I was full of doubt. I was scared, unsure, and to be completely transparent, embarrassed. I had allowed the fear of what others may have thought of me or my art or my poems to shake my confidence in a dream I had wanted to chase since I was a little girl. Questions like “What if it's not good enough? Why me? Who would want to hear my words? Who could I move?” kept flooding my mind.
Over the coming years, my commitments to other goals filled my time, but the passion I had for creating this online space never faded. I kept writing. I kept collecting inspiration. I kept building relationships with other artists and writers. I kept fanning the flame. I kept my focus on the vision. And that vision shifted. Time and time and time again. I knew what I wanted to accomplish, but I didn’t know how, and I didn’t know when. And then it hit me. In October of 2021. I kept hearing a couple of lines of prose play over and over again in my head.
“You and I are one
A known story ingrained into our very being written a thousand times over again
It starts with our collective stardust
born out of the darkness
with boldness”
I couldn’t leave it alone. I stopped everything I was doing and started working on that poem. A poem that became the catalyst of a momentous perspective shift. After that moment I knew that the time was now. The details could be worked out, the aesthetics could change, and maybe no one would read anything I shared, but if I wanted to pursue my dreams, I had to be the one to believe in myself enough to actually take action. To know one failed attempt didn’t define me or my dedication or my passion. To simply believe in the act of beginning again.
And so I did. I reached out to a core group of people I trusted and loved, and began to visioncast. And in October of 2022, I launched The Collective Stardust.
a collection centered on the human experience.
a community for creative spirits craving authentic connection.
a safe space for emotional beings.
a collaborative journal.
a place to share openly and authentically.
somewhere for those
that pour passionately from the heart
however they choose to share.
for the life-livers and deep feelers
the community builders and
community seekers.
the people hurting,
the people healing,
or anyone at all
who wants to help
create a space where
people can feel just a little less alone
with their pain or heartache
or struggle or sin
or shadow.
a place for people that have a story to tell,
an experience they can't shake,
words that can save, move, or comfort.
for people that crave connection
rooted in authenticity,
in the collective human experience.
for people that desire community
that inspires compassion,
empathy, acceptance,
and freedom.
2022 has absolutely been a year of change. of embracing uncertainty. of stepping into the unknown. of believing greater things are meant for me. of knowing that closed doors are almost always the sign of new ones opening. of trusting that even though the voices of anxiety and doubt are unbelievably loud, and often debilitating, faith is so much more powerful. The past few months have definitely been full of some great moments and have been a whirlwind of shifting grounds and uncertainty, but the simple, slow, and peaceful moments have continuously proven to be the highlights of my day to day life, and have humbly helped me stay both grounded and grateful.
I’ve spent many years trying to make the little girl in that first photo proud, and I think I’ve finally found my footing. I wouldn’t trade the journey here for anything.
I’ll leave you all with this. If no one else believes in you, believe in yourself. You are so much more powerful and capable than you know. Chase your dreams, you’re undeniably worthy of them. And that so many of the beautiful parts of life are found in little moments of magic disguised as mundane.
