Category: career

EMPOWER NOT TOWER: The Tortoise Doesn’t Care About the Hare… Be Like The Tortoise

Published on by The April Diaries1 Comment

When I get tangled in a hurdle of anxiety, after tripping and ultimately tumbling around on the track, (metaphorically speaking — I’m a former three-season runner, remember?); moreover, it’s lonely being an entrepreneur. My dear boyfriend Mark reminded me that “success doesn’t come easily,” to which he is absolutely right. Since the new year began, I became a certified nutritionist and I am building my business from the ground up, not just getting discovered by a coaching program. I also became a radio talk show host to a show that has now become a network. Did I mention I’m basically the next “Selena & Chef” and Julia Child? Yeah, I can’t believe it, either but here I am. It took 26 years and only 3 years out of college (post-pandemic) but I’m finally at peace with where I choose to be in my career. I always knew, somehow, someway, I’d be in the entertainment industry and patch my relationship with food.

We all know the story of the Tortoise and the Hare. The Tortoise wins the race in the end. The Hare is just straight-up arrogant and clouded by its own stupidity. No, this story is not why I became a three-season runner. I bring up this story to remind all of you out there who may feel like you are ostensibly behind in life. You’re not. Some people “get there” quicker than others. But you needn’t compare yourself to them, especially the hares of the world. I’ve known plenty of hares. These “hares” are equivalent to Hailey Bieber and Kylie Jenner. If you haven’t read that post, click here. In the end, they will be always be fans and wannabes.

In retrospect, it took me since 7th grade to be able to be rewarded ” 2015 Catholic Conference All-Star” in my senior year of high school. I’m grateful to be where I am, and I need not rush through life, otherwise I just miss everything and the beauty of it all. And sometimes, the beauty comes from suffering. What do/did we learn? What can we take from those experiences? I’m a very firm believer that everything happens for a reason. In the moment you are kind of like, “WTF!?” However, we must abandon the desire for perfection and see through the eyes of forgiveness and of love. After all, Saint Maximilian Mary Kolbe once said, “love alone creates.” And with that said, I would like to share a prayer with all of you that has certainly helped me:

“St. Maximilian, amidst the hate and lonely misery of Auschwitz, you brought love into the lives of fellow captives, and sowed the seeds of hope amidst despair.  You bore witness to the world, by word and deed, that only ‘Love alone creates.’

Help me to become more like yourself.  With you and Mary and the Church, may I proclaim that only ‘Love alone creates.’  To the hungry and oppressed, the naked and homeless, the scorned and hated, the lonely and despairing, may I proclaim the power of Christ’s love, which endures forever and ever.  Amen.”

I write this as I watch Julie & Julia, based on two true stories at once. Amy Adams’ character says in the beginning, “you’re not a writer unless you’re published” and that made me sad. For those of you who haven’t seen the movie, 1) it’s great 2) Amy Adams’ character is struggling as she sits in a cubicle catering to the emotional needs of those affected by the 9/11 attacks. She then gets the idea to start a blog about cooking almost everything in Julia Child’s cookbook. Slow and steady, as she approaches the age of 30, her blog is a huge success.

P.S. if you are looking for low-carb or diabetic-friendly recipes, check out my cookbook here.

IN THE MEDIA: https://www.valleybreeze.com/news/after-near-death-experience-federico-launches-cookbook-talk-shows/article_e5b27d94-aba6-11ed-8519-b7e454c72e2c.html

MORE LIKE THIS: Beware the Sides of March | I’ve Seen Both Sides Now, Confessions of a Diabetic: Healthcare Is A Human Right, EMPOWER NOT TOWER: “Go big or go home?” Is it really worth sucking on bone marrow?, Confessions Can Help | Women’s History Month

Government data reveals the industries with the largest gender pay gap

Published on by The April Diaries2 Comments

In light of the recent scrapped government menopausal leave trial,  it has become apparent that women continue to face barriers to progression in the UK workforce. This in combination with ongoing disparities in male and female pay, it is likely that women in Britain will seek out industries that treat them more fairly.  

[Although I am not from Britain, I found this research to be quite fascinating.]

Key findings: 

  • Out of the twenty sectors analyzed, there are just three industries whereby women receive higher pay than men. These are activities of households as employers of domestic personnel, construction, mining and quarrying. 
  • In 80% of industries, men are paid more than women – the highest of this being the real estate industry whereby men are paid 31.12% more than women.
  • A quarter of industries pay men over 20% more than women. 
  • There were zero industries whereby men and women are paid equally, however the sector that had the closest to equal pay with a 0.98% pay difference is ‘Activities of extraterritorial organizations and bodies’. This includes activities of international organizations, such as the IMF, the World Bank, the UN. 

Industries that women are paid the least, compared to men 

IndustryPay gap (%)
Real estate activities-31.12%
Information and communication-26.07%
Education-25.82%
Financial and insurance activities-22.81%
Accommodation and food service activities-21.82%
Public administration and defense; compulsory social security-19.59%
Administrative and support service activities-19.17%
Professional, scientific and technical activities-17.19%
Agriculture, forestry and fishing-17.15%
Human health and social work activities-13.37%

* for comprehensive industry descriptions see here. 

For a quarter of the industries analyzed, men get paid at least 20% more than women. These are real estate activities, IT, Education, financial and insurance activities. The industry that has the biggest gender pay gap is ‘real estate activities’, whereby women receive a whopping 31.12% less than men. This sector is described as Activities of real estate investment trusts which includes buying, selling and renting own real estate. 

There are great gender disparities within the IT industry since women represent just 30.31% of the workforce and there is a severe imbalance on male and female pay – with women getting paid 26.07% less than men. The education sector, whereby women represent 69.71% of the workforce, has a shocking 25.82% gender pay difference. The financial sector has a much more equal balance of female to male representation, with women representing 44.04% of the workforce, yet women are still paid a whopping 22.81% less than men. 

 Industries that women are paid the most, compared to men 

IndustryPay gap (%)
Activities of households as employers of domestic personnel +36.94%
Construction+17.68%
Mining and quarrying+9.64%

The industry with the best pay for women compared to men is Activities of households as employers of domestic personnel, with a whopping 36.94% pay increase compared to men. This industry includes jobs such as maids, cooks, gardeners and babysitters – and women represent 72.31% of the workforce. Following this is the construction, mining and quarrying industries whereby women are also paid more than men, on average. In the construction industry, it is unsurprising that females represent just 14.66% of workers, but what is surprising is that women get paid 17.68% more than men on average. Tasmyn Brittain, who works in construction provided some comments on her experiences working in the industry:

“I chose construction as there were very few women within the industry so I wanted to be able to break that barrier, and also knew that within the construction industry there is plenty of space to move up the ranks and learn as much as possible. However, there is a slight surprise if I turn up on a building site – most men seem taken aback to see a woman on site in full PPE. I’m definitely outnumbered in the office in terms of women versus men. A lot of the women in construction, or at least my place of work tend to be in admin or HR roles, rather than physically working in the factories or on site.”  

Industries that have the worst female representation

IndustryFemale representation (%)
Construction14.66%
Transportation and storage21.54%
Mining and quarrying25.14%
Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply25.18%
Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities26.79%
Manufacturing27.12%
Activities of extraterritorial organizations and bodies27.72%
Agriculture, forestry and fishing28.73%
Information and communication30.31%
Financial and insurance activities44.04%

As well as the gender pay gap being a barrier to female success, there are major disparities in female representation across industries. In eight of the twenty industries analyzed, less than 30% of the workforce are women. The industries with the worst female representation (%) are the construction, transport and storage, and mining and quarrying industries. 

Data commissioned by https://www.rebootonline.com/digital-pr/digital-pr-consulting/ 

MORE LIKE THIS: 8 Barbara Walters Quotes We Can Bring Into The New Year, Is “normal” the new “weird?” | Subtracting bad habits, Data reveals stars real world salaries, from Bradley Cooper to Kourtney Kardashian, Confessions Can Help | Women’s History Month

Data reveals stars real world salaries, from Bradley Cooper to Kourtney Kardashian

Published on by The April Diaries1 Comment

We all know that lots of people aren’t doing a job directly related to their university degrees but did you know that many celebrities are also in the same boat? This makes us wonder what would happen if they weren’t famous and if they had to survive in the “normal” job market, relying simply on their degrees like we do?

Interested to find this out, SEO provider Reboot utilized Payscale.com and estimated the potential 2023 annual salary of 27 celebrities based on their university degrees, revealing the mind-blowing number of years they would need to reach their current net worth if they took an alternative job!  

How long would it take them to reach their current net worth? 

CelebrityUniversityCollege/university degreePotential job rolePredicted salary 2023 £Number of years to reach current net worth 
Chris MartinUniversity College LondonAncient World StudiesMuseum curator40,0003,293
Prince WilliamUniversity of St AndrewsGeographyArchitectural technologist33,0002,494
Emma WatsonBrown UniversityEnglish literatureWriter31,0002,257
Bradley CooperGeorgetown UniversityEnglishEditorial assistant49,3791,667
John LegendUniversity of PennsylvaniaEnglish, African American literatureWriter56,7861,449
Tom HiddlestonUniversity of CambridgeClassicsArchivist30,0001,098
Kourtney KardashianUniversity of ArizonaTheatre Arts and SpanishProduction Manager, Theater50,2021,066
Gerard ButlerUniversity of GlasgowLawLawyer65,0001,013
Natalie PortmanHarvard UniversityPsychologyClinical psychologist79,007938
Eva LongoriaCalifornia State UniversityMA Chicano studiesHigher education lecturer73,804894

Coldplay’s lead singer Chris Martin ranked first as the celebrities who would take the longest to reach their current net worth if they had to earn their fortune based on a university degree alone! Graduated from University College London with a degree in Ancient World Studies, the British singer would be most likely to be a museum curator like other graduates with the same degree. It is estimated that he would be earning an annual salary of £40,000 this year, which would have required him to work 3,293 more years in order to reach his current net worth! 

Prince WIlliam ranked second. Despite his current net worth standing at £83 million, most typical Geography graduates would earn £33,000 on average in 2023 after 17 years of work experience. If Prince William was born into a different family, he may have instead become an architectural technologist – meaning that it would have taken him 2,494 years to become as rich as he is now. 

In third place is actress Emma Watson, who graduated from Brown University with a degree in English literature. With her English degree and interests in journaling and reading books, she could have become a writer after graduation, earning potentially a salary of £31,000 this year. This means it would take her 2,257 years to reach the same net worth she has now if she didn’t step into the acting industry playing Hermione Granger. 

Who would earn the most with their university degree?

CelebrityCollege/university degreePotential job rolePredicted salary 2023 £
Ken JeongMedical degreeDoctor / General Practitioner157,646
Mayim BialikPhDin neuroscienceNeuroscientist134,147
2 ChainzPsychologyClinical psychologist86,414
Christy TurlingtonMasters in Public HealthHealthcare Consultant83,122
Natalie PortmanPsychologyClinical psychologist79,007
Eva LongoriaMasters in Chicano studiesHigher education lecturer73,804
Wanda SykesMarketingMarketing executive70,777
Gerard ButlerLawLawyer65,000
John LegendEnglish, African American literatureWriter56,786
Issa RaeAfrican and African-American studiesBroadcast journalist51,025

As a medical graduate and an officially licensed physician for a few years, it was estimated that American actor and comedian Ken Jeong would be earning £157,646 a year now if he chose to pursue his medical career. American actress Mayim Bialik, graduated with a PhD in Neuroscience from UCLA, ranked second as the celebrity who would earn the most with university degrees (£134,147). Rapper 2 Chainz, in third place, would be earning approximately £86,414 as a clinical psychologist in the US based on his degree in Psychology. 

Data comissioned by https://www.rebootonline.com/

MORE LIKE THIS: What my 26 year old self would say to me in 2016, Ways That We Can Slow Our Brains Down In A Fast-Paced Society | The Process, Data Reveals The Funniest Star Sign Of All Time, Star Sign Stereotypes

PODCAST: https://open.spotify.com/show/1jQXEM7Wjs4agsxKJ8gJ7Z

YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgiHBKpiBxkDBWOjbte4clA

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/bewellbyapril/

What my 26 year old self would say to me in 2016

Published on by The April Diaries1 Comment

I recently saw an article about Selena Gomez and her new documentary My Mind and Me. Though I have yet to see the documentary and really connect with the actress and producer, I’ve always had some sort of connection with her since Wizards of Waverly Place premiered in 2007. As the Disney Channel started to not align with me anymore I still heard and read about Selena Gomez in fan magazines and on E!. She became mostly known as “Justin Bieber’s girlfriend” to me, which, looking back on it, is a terrible thing to associate her with (no offense to Justin Bieber). It’s mainly terrible because no woman, any female-identifying individual should be primarily known as “so-and-so’s girlfriend/wife.”

Another example is Giselle Bundchen, Tom Brady’s now-ex-wife. When I broke out into the modeling industry at 14 years old, (fun fact, I was a model and starved myself in the process), my mom told me about Giselle’s “discovery story.” She was discovered in her hometown in Brazil when she was selling ice cream. She was mainly known to the media, nonetheless the public eye, as “Victoria’s Secret Model who married Tom Brady.”

Now, what do these high-profile celebrities have to do with me in 2016? In 2016, I got out of a terrible relationship that was insidiously controlling. I remember when the guy and I were dating, someone had asked me at a college party, “are you so-and-so’s girlfriend?” But that’s just an addendum to the story. In the last few months into that relationship, I felt more or less like a beard that just had to be maintained, until I was thankfully and metaphorically “shaved off.” I would give that 20-year-old a huge hug and tell her the following:

“Listen, you really do have your entire life in front of you. Use it to every part of your advantage. You’re only at the beginning of the golden decade. And believe me when I say that MS was not the ‘love of your life.’ In fact, you’ll meet him when you’re 25. As far as who you are, you’re a writer. Own it. You’re blog is internationally known, and according to high-profile recruiters, you exude confidence. You are more confident than you ever have been, or least tricked yourself into thinking. One day, you will be done with being the reporter, and be on the other side of an interview. And who knows? One of your books might just be turned into a movie!”

I’d be lying if I said that this post did not make me muster up a ton of courage and even make me shed two tears. However, it’s like The Wizard of Oz. Each one member of that quad, the lion, the scarecrow, the tin man, and Dorothy all had their powers all along. In fact, Dorothy was given those ruby slippers just to make her feel confident.

20-year-old April, and for any 20-year-old reading this, this one is for you. Enjoy this song, an oldie but a goodie.

Happy six years of this blog. 🥳

xoxox,

April 💕

Mastering Productivity

Published on by The April Diaries1 Comment

Productivity is like visiting another country, or at least mastering a new language. You must read up, know the “hacks” for easy traveling, and the “hacks” to having a beneficial experience, even if you’re in another country for just a few days. I remember when I visited Southern France; I got pointed and laughed at by a clique of French natives because I was trying to explain to the food vendor that I wanted a pizza and not a panini. It did not help that I did not know a word of French. Talk about an “Emily in Paris” moment!

Though I am not fluent in French (yet), I strive to learn at least 6-7 languages like my new accountability advisor, best-selling author Alejandra Marques. Also, I want to focus more on my writing because, well, I’m a writer! As far as nutrition school went, it was more of an “oops” than a “what if I didn’t try?” I tried to keep my Spanish double major when I transferred to RWU, but it just did not work out because I went a semester without speaking the language. That was more of a “what if?” However, I have my entire life to learn languages. Languages are beautiful and they are stunning, more importantly, they are fun.

Adaptability and intelligence are amazing concepts of the brain. You need them both to master a language and to master productivity. I could write a whole list down of all the things I would just die to do, besides worry about my diabetes. I’m not going to spend three months being sick, physically and mentally. I’m not going to worry about what my A1C could possibly be on a daily basis. Diabetes is NOT a hobby. Diabetes does NOT define me. Let’s be real, I’ll sure as hell have more energy than being bogged down by limiting beliefs because I’m considered “ill.”

Kings, queens, and those in-between, today is the day I no longer make diabetes a full-time job.

What would you do if you had mastered productivity? Don’t forget to reward yourself each week if not every day.

Don’t spend the rest of 2022 in a state of “what if?”

xoxo,

April 💕

10 Dorothy Day Quotes For Business Owners and Entrepreneurs

Published on by The April Diaries2 Comments

I know I’ve been MIA on the blog recently and I am sorrrryyyy. But I have been working and doing some rearrangements and rebranding to my business, “Brownies For Breakfast.” I’ve come to the realization that I love a good cup of coffee and, of course, writing. I used to think of writing as something that made me sad. But in fact, storytelling is my favorite thing to do, especially on social media. Why not combine the two!? It’s a sad fact of life when you’ve painted over a perfectly carved statue in the raw. Feel free to quote me on that.

I came across an Instagram post that had the caption of a Dorothy Day quote. I remember when I tried to start a “Dorothy Day Collective” on my former alma mater’s campus. Years later, after I transferred, I talked to someone and she said “perhaps people didn’t understand what it was you were doing.” Oddly enough, Dorothy Day had the same experience when she founded the Catholic Worker Movement.

With my business and writing on the brain recently, nonetheless Dorothy Day, I compiled a list of Dorothy Day quotes that hopefully will inspire my fellow entrepreneurs to keep going.

  1. “The greatest challenge of the day is: how to bring about a revolution of the heart, a revolution which has to start with each one of us?”
  2. “We have all known the long loneliness and we have learned that the only solution is love and that love comes with community.”
  3. “Don’t worry about being effective. Just concentrate on being faithful to the truth.”
  4. “Our problems stem from our acceptance of this filthy, rotten system.”
  5. “There is plenty to do, for each one of us, working on our own hearts, changing our own attitudes, in our own neighborhoods.”
  6. “I do not know how to love God except by loving the poor. I do not know how to serve God except by serving the poor…. Here, within this great city of nine million people, we must, in this neighborhood, on this street, in this parish, regain a sense of community which is the basis for peace in the world.”
  7. “Turn off your radio. Put away your daily paper. Read one review of events a week and spend some time reading good books. They tell too of days of striving and of strife. They are of other centuries and also of our own. They make us realize that all times are perilous, that men live in a dangerous world, in peril constantly of losing or maiming soul and body. We get some sense of perspective reading such books. Renewed courage and faith and even joy to live.”
  8. “The biggest mistake sometimes is to play things very safe in this life and end up being moral failures.”
  9. “You can spend your time agonizing or organizing.”
  10. “You will know your vocation by the joy that it brings you. You will know. You will know when it’s right.”

You’re Not A Failure, Everyone Starts Out As A Novice

Published on by The April Diaries1 Comment

I’ve never told anyone this because this is still roughly fresh in my mind, but I didn’t completely graduate with my masters degree… yet.

My diabetes diagnosis became a day job for me, as opposed to my schoolwork. I had to take three incomplete courses because of it and couldn’t handle any of them. I wound up withdrawing from Emerson.

ABBA sang it best, “Mamma Mia! Here I go again!” If you know me, you know I intend to go back and forth between what it is I want to do. This morning I felt so drained because I thought I wanted to go back to being a writer. Why do that when I committed to getting my MSAN – Dietetics at UNE? Emmett from “Legally Blonde” said it best to Elle when he said, “what if you’re trying to be someone you are? The hell with Callahan, stay.” And that’s what I say to myself: “the hell with imposter syndrome.”

Then Professor Stromwell said to Elle in the beauty salon, “if you’re going to let one stupid prick [in my case, imposter syndrome] ruin your life, you’re not the girl I thought you were!”

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t putting my all into this blog either, even after I monetized it. (After six years, I thought it was time.)

I must’ve said it a hundred times in the 150 blog posts that I’ve made, but imposter syndrome really is a huge b**ch. I remember feeling this overwhelming sense of it after “graduation.” But that amazing feeling you get after a really intense spinning class, or any workout, is the same feeling one gets after helping someone accomplish their goals. I became a nutrition coach, and am in the process of getting my nutritionist certificate and I get to have my OWN PRACTICE via Therapute! How amazing is that!?

Here’s the thing, and the overall message of this post: how are you going to help others if you don’t feel good about yourself? Think about it. Even my therapist seldom follows his own advice. Even when I first started my pharmacy technician job, I felt like a failure because I had this one pharmacist tell me I ostensibly “didn’t listen” when I hadn’t been trained in something.

When I withdrew from Emerson, I felt like the biggest failure. But why? I was doing something that was going to benefit me in the long run. Besides, I get my second chance at another master’s program in a month and I’m already so excited. 😆

I watched a Facebook live hosted by a friend from high school (hi Ali!) and she touched upon mindset around food, particularly carbs. Then she said, “imagine you’re trying to push a boulder up a really steep mountain.” Essentially, the message was that you could either give up because it’s “too hard” or “strategize.” I wish I could’ve given myself that pep talk when I was nearly failing the sciences freshman year of college.

Here’s the secret: it is with strength, mental endurance, and courage even when we don’t feel like our best selves that we carry on. Cry the tears if you must, just don’t let them drown you into a rabbit hole.

You’re not a failure. You’re a novice. Everyone starts out as a novice at first. Don’t listen to those stories about composers like Mozart who started playing a tune on the piano when he was just two years old. In a perfect world, that would be realistic. It’s not.

Never Let Anyone Tell You That You’re Not Good Enough

Published on by The April Diaries1 Comment

“Suffering ceases to be suffering the moment it finds meaning.” — Viktor E. Frankl

It’s very, very rare that I end up in the hospital, until that fateful night, where my life changed forever, yet for the better. I’ve always been fascinated with science, and prior to my scary diagnosis, I even did research intermittent fasting and what it does to the body. It didn’t fully come to me until I was in a therapy session when I realized that my regret-free life… isn’t exactly regret-free.

Be prepared for a lot of quotes. #quotequeen

There’s this one quote by Albert Einstein: “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing it is stupid.” When I was in high school, I was indirectly told that I wouldn’t do well at an Ivy League institution because they’re “too stressful.” I found this out days ago. Since I found out, I was furious — with a passion in my heart to finish what I started in college.

It’s almost similar to how Elle Woods proved EVERYBODY wrong after Warner told her she wasn’t smart enough for law school. We all know that Warner was full of poop. Elle ALWAYS had it in her, it just took the right people realize it (e.g., Emmett, her professors, and eventually Vivian).

What I find even more infuriating is that I let the wrong people (person) distract me in my freshman year of college. I told said person, after I had chosen to go back to chemistry, that I wanted to minor in English and History and he said, “no.” What? Why? Probably because he either a.) wanted to be better than me and b.) didn’t think I could do it.

I felt, on some level that I took “the easy way out.” But did I? No. I wouldn’t be the writer I am today nor would I have the superb communication skills to master any job.

I told my boyfriend the other day, “it’s funny how a life-altering illness can make you do a complete 180.” He told me, “I love how you’re turning things around for yourself.” THAT is the support that every girl/everyone needs in a relationship, btw, regardless how you identify.

On the topic of turning my life around, I decided to go back into healthcare, which for some reason I was oddly scared to share publicly in fear of judgment. But here’s the thing: who really gives a crap, as long as you have faith in yourself? When I shared the news that I’m going to earn my second masters degree in Applied Nutrition – Dietetics (APN), I received a mixed bag of “reviews.”

“You’re not going into publishing?”

“Work and school is hard, though.”

“What about writing?”

My responses?

I’m working on a book right now.

I’ve worked throughout my coursework at Emerson.

Writing is a part of any profession.

Yes, I am still going to write like it’s nobody’s business. It’s like Carrie Bradshaw once said, “Why is it that we only seem to believe the negative things people say about us, no matter how much evidence there is to the contrary? […] Odd, but when it comes to life and love, why do we believe our worst reviews?” But the truth is, I stopped caring about what people thought of my path, regardless of their “reviews.” It is like what I said in Girl Meets (Real) World, “a lion does not lose sleep over the opinion of sheep.”

Bottom line and moral of the story: never let anyone tell you that you’re not good enough.

I leave you with one last quote: “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” — Eleanor Roosevelt.

Be well, my loves. 💕

xoxo,

April

Go Little Rockstar: It’s Ready, It’s Yours, You Did It

Published on by The April Diaries2 Comments

I tell this story a million times, or at least I think I do, but when I first published on The Odyssey Online, with my first two articles in the queue. Mind you, my boss at the time put all his trust in me and thought I- I was qualified to be Editor-in-Chief of my campus chapter. I took it because there wasn’t a chance I’d have that again… until now.

It’s been years since that breakthrough phone call. But as of recently, I broke through, out of my own personal “gate” to be my own boss. I remember vaguely, when I was eight years old, I told my mom I wanted to be a pop star and to perform in my very own concert. She said, “it takes a really long time.” It does. It does take a really long time. Some people wait a lifetime, like Van Gogh when he sold his first painting. I don’t know if anyone realizes, but I am a huge of Van Gogh and his background. I don’t know what led him to asylum, but I know that he and I both coped with art. Poetry for me, painting for him.

It took a really long time, but I found what I was meant to do. I rewatched Katy Bellotte’s “An Honest Video,” (again) only to be triggered by the same emotions that led me to my hospitalization in 2017. I’ll be honest when I say I nearly gave up on my purpose, due to anxiety. But it was only growth that was making my soul itch. Growth is notoriously uncomfortable.

So, little rockstar, what were you meant to do? I strongly believed I was put on this Earth for a purpose: to inspire. I’ve had publishers tell me that relentlessly. I believed them. As Katy says in the beginning of her video, “ignoring your passions is slow suicide.” She came to the conclusion in her Italian language class that she wanted to go into graphic design. She went from working at L’Oreal in social media to being her own boss at Katy Bellotte Designs.

It’s no secret that I’ve held countless jobs and internships this past year alone. I also believed that I had it all; I have a man who loves me (hi Mark!), family, friends, food to eat, and a roof over my head. I just wasn’t satisfied with my career. I knew a few years back that I was meant for more than journalism. I tried my hand at marketing– what a bust. I tried to run my own business, then COVID hit. Now, things are looking up. I’m so excited to reveal I became a trauma healing, spiritual health and wellness coach! That’s right, I chose courage over fear; faith over doubt; being present instead of brooding on the past.

I talked a bit in my last post about fearing the future. But now, I live by the mantra, “I needn’t worry about the future anymore. It’s bright, it’s here, it’s mine, I did it.”

My head has never been more clear. Go, little rockstar. Keep moving forward. 🚀

xoxo,

April 💖