Happy Friday Lovelies! I know I’ve been MIA for a little while, but the work of college classes had a pretty tight hold on me! But anyway, I’m back with a post that probably should’ve been the first.

         “Who am I?” This question used to bounce around in my mind religiously. I remember searching for the answer as if one day, I’d bump into it on a crowded side walk. I guess when I was younger, I’d picture the realization being instant, like somehow, on that sidewalk filled with various unfamiliar faces, I’d know who I was destined to be the instant I’d lock eyes with, what looked to be, my purpose. Even though it’d be nice to think that the ability to recognize one’s purpose is as simple as waking up one morning and immediately knowing, it doesn’t happen that way for everybody.

“Give time, give space to sprout your potential.”

            Think about, when an acorn is planted into the ground, does it immediately know that it has the potential to grow into a giant oak tree? When a caterpillar hatches from its egg, does it immediately know that it has the potential to metamorphose into a beautiful butterfly? When the stars were aligned, did they immediately know that they had the potential to lead slaves to freedom? When Oprah Winfrey was fired from a news anchor job at the age of 23, did she immediately know that she had the potential to have the highest rated talk show in U.S. history? When Michelle Obama graduated from Princeton, did she immediately know that she had the potential to become the first African American first lady of the United States? When Mary discovered she was with child, did she immediately know the depth of her son’s mission to save the world?

“Awaken the beauty of your heart – the beauty of your spirit.”

           Over the years, I’ve begin to realize that maybe we don’t have far to look for our purposes because they begin within. Our purposes have been planted inside of us, and may take time to be identified. Pieces of who one is meant to be will become more apparent in stages, like the stages of a developing child. With every season that passes, one will become more and more aware of one’s destiny.

“There are infinite possibilities.” ~Amit Ray

SO, WHO AM I?

            I’ve done a lot of growing and have been able to recognize a few aspects about myself that I believe are pieces of who I am and are building blocks of my purpose. This is what I know so far:  I am the calmness in the eye of the storm. I am the blossoming flower in the middle of a garden. I am honey oozing out of the wall of a beehive, but also the sting of a honey bee. I am the song of the wind rustling through the trees. I am the rainbow after the rain. I am a creative who has a knack for pen on paper. I am a black girl trying to thrive in a world that may not believe she should. I am the black girl who can. Who are you?

Happy Friday Lovelies,

 Arlaina *Inserts butterfly emoji*