​Many people in this world feel like they need someone to complete them. I’ve experienced a lot and seen a lot for a 27 year old, as a result I’m very mature for my age. Some things I wish I could wipe away from my memory and other things I’m glad I experienced because now I have a better idea of what I want for my life. For starters, being at peace with myself comes first. ​When you are happy and at peace with yourself you will never accept anything less than what you deserve. You may ask the

question, ​​"How do I become at peace with myself?” Peace begins with everyday prayer and meditation. Spend time talking to God and also spend time focusing on the things you love to do. Get to know who you are and where God is trying to take you in your life.
 
A lot of relationships fail because some men and women are afraid to be by themselves; as a result they get into a relationship without really thinking it through. Guys have said to me, “You’re 27 years old, so your biological clock is about to start ticking.” I understand this but I will not lower my standards and jump in a relationship just with anyone to have a baby by a certain age. A popular belief is that many women rush to find a man so they can hurry to have a baby before they reach the age of when a pregnancy becomes a high risk factor. 
 
My response to the biological clock comment is I will adopt if I’m not married by the time I would like to have a baby. There are children in this world who really need someone to care for them. I take marriage and having a child serious. I want my marriage to be successful and I want an amazing father for my children, therefore I’m willing to wait on the person God places in my life. Being impatient and rushing into a relationship because of how you feel will never give you a favorable outcome. You have to wait, get to know a person, pray about it, and ask God for direction. If the other person isn’t praying and asking God for the same, more than likely that is not the person for you.
 
When it’s the one for you, you will be connected and have the same connection to God. This person will be your soul mate, or the person who God orchestrated for you to spend your life with. Take your time and allow God to choose for you. Life is not a fairytale, therefore all marriages aren’t put together by God due to men and women rushing into things that weren’t meant to be. When you don’t seek God’s guidance and approval things don’t always work out the way you want it to. It may work out temporarily and then begin to fall apart. Take time to find peace within yourself and be happy with who you are so you don’t have to seek validation from someone else. God made us already complete, finding our soulmate is only the icing on the cake. I hope this is a blessing to someone!

Love,

​Trish xoxoxo

Getting to know a person takes time. Many rush into relationships for a desire to feel loved, but have you actually taken the chance to really get to know the person? It’s important to not fall in love with a person’s potential. If you love a person you have to love them right where they are and for who they are, or either keep walking in the other direction. A person will only change because they want to change. Also you don’t want to fall in love with who a person portrays himself or herself to be at the beginning, this is why taking time to know everything you need to know about a person is so critical. Remember that almost every relationship starts out perfect. If it wasn’t like this, we wouldn’t be in it right? Even though the beginning starts off great, you have to keep longevity in mind. Anything that happens quick will almost be short-lived. Everyone’s desire is to have something left to hold on to.
 
You may say, what do I mean by this? Well relationships can start off really strong, and then later become routine. After a while either one person or both people may begin taking eachother for granted. Why does this happen? When you are first getting to know a person, it’s exciting because they are new to you and then the excitement dies down. When the sparks flicker out, you may not have anything left to hold on to. Is that person kind and patient? Does that person do things for you just because they love you and not because they feel like they have to do it? I’m talking about sending you sweet texts to check in throughout the day, or did they fall off with that because they got comfortable. Do they compliment you still? Do they support you in your dreams? Are they still saying things to uplift your spirits when you’re down, or were these things just all to get you at the beginning? Maybe it wasn’t to get you, maybe they got lazy or aren’t into you anymore. Well if that’s the case, it’s better to find out now before making a lifelong commitment like marriage.
 
Love is not just a feeling; it’s a choice and a commitment. When you love a person unconditionally you will communicate your feelings to them and be open; you will also never stop trying and putting in effort to make things work but it takes both people trying. When you are with someone and they completely stop putting forward effort, thank God for them showing you the signs you needed to see. This type of person will run from person to person their entire life trying to chase an exciting stage, only to see that it will always die out. It takes real work and dedication to make a successful relationship work. An example of chasing a new high is starting a job you prayed and asked God for, but then after a year you decide that it doesn’t excite you as much. Instead of thinking of ways to make your job more challenging and exciting, you take the easy way out and you quit. When you make this decision you do it without another job lined up and on top of this you have a family to feed. Afterwards you sit and think about how big of a mistake that was. When God blesses you with something or someone, do not make a permanent decision because of a high you are chasing. Just because today was a slow day or wasn’t as exciting, it doesn’t mean everyday will be.
 
Life is not a fairytale, so sometimes life will become routine. It’s up to you to switch things up to make them more exciting. In order to succeed in anything you have to be committed to it. In a relationship everyday may not be as exciting but if you stay the course you will see that when you have someone who truly loves you, the work that you put in to keep what you have will always be worth it. I hope this is a blessing to someone.

Love,

Trish xoxoxo

It was fascinating to sit down and finally interview 28 year old, Brandon Gerald, also known as Presto. Gerald moved to Orlando, Florida, after graduating from East Carolina University with a degree in Communication and major in Media Production. When making this move he felt like it would set him up for many opportunities but found that it was still difficult finding a job using his degree. One day he was job searching and came across an open position that he didn’t necessarily feel he would get. There was a position open at Universal Studios’, Theater Magic, and they needed a magician.    
 
Gerald had no clue that seeing this job opening would change the course of his entire life. “I was into magic as a kid doing card tricks, and became more involved when I was in high school, but when I went to college I put the magic on the back burner to focus on school,” he said. Gerald decided to apply for the job even though he doubted he would get it. After submitting his application the supervisor asked to meet him the next day and hired him on the spot; he begin training a week later.
 
Working at Theater Magic helped to strengthen Gerald’s communication skills, “I performed thousands of shows for people of all nationalities and languages and I didn’t have any experience on stage before this, so I took away some really valuable stuff working at Theater Magic,” said Gerald. 
 
A misconception about magicians is that they have to look a certain way, “Even if I’m not performing a show many people haven’t seen magicians up close before, so I try to make that moment special,” said Gerald. When he is performing his main goal is for the audience to view him as a normal person sharing his magic with them. He wants to be seen as the magician that's relatable and down to earth. When asked where did the name Presto come from he said, “It came from Theater Magic. I performed a trick and a lady shouted Presto, so from then on I started calling myself Presto and that became my stage name. The word presto is almost the equivalent of saying the word abracadabra in a magic theme or setting.”
 
Theater Magic provided a platform for Gerald to grow his skills and opened up the door for him to land a job at Penguin Magic. Working at Penguin Magic, which is the largest online magic store, keeps Gerald real busy nowadays. Every Tuesday he films a magician’s show and lecture to create a minute long demo and instructional video that’s available with the purchase of a magic product. Who would of thought that the job at Theater Magic would create an opportunity for him to work at another company utilizing the skills he learned in college? Everything worked together for his good. While working at Penguin Magic, Gerald also makes time to create and perform his own magic shows outside of work for events.
 
Being a magician is not easy, “Some people don’t take being a magician as serious as they should. Some people don’t realize how much skill the magic takes to learn. You have to think about so many things at the same time,” said Gerald. It took Gerald years to learn the rubik’s cube. He also discussed how stage blocking is just as important as the magic tricks being presented to the audience. “Many magicians are art orientated; they take bits and pieces of what people know about reality and turn it upside down for entertainment. It’s a whole new world, there’s more books written on the subject of magic than any other subject,” said Gerald.
 
The biggest roadblock that Gerald’s faced on his path to success is himself. He’s very hard on himself because that’s the way he was raised to be. When taking more time to think Gerald explained that he didn’t know what he was trying to reach from being as hard on himself. “I’ve learned to not take myself too serious but I’ve never done a show that I’ve felt satisfied about, even though other people always tell me that I do a great job,” he said. He usually feels better when he loosens up, because then there’s less stress when trying to put a show together.
 
With all the things Gerald has going on in his life, a relationship isn’t one of them. He agreed that a relationship can be a distraction and can be challenging because of his busy and spontaneous work schedule, however he is the type that likes to be in a relationship. “You’re going to be busy a lot if you are a magician, lawyer, etc. This is an important time for me in my late 20’s, it’s either now or never,” said Gerald.
 
Making other people happy and making other people smile motivates Gerald the most. “I like making other people escape reality. It’s a fantasy world and you can bring other people into that world and it’s fun,” said Gerald. If Gerald could talk to each and every young aspiring entertainer or performer his words of wisdom would be to do your best and just keep trying.
 
Life is not a fairytale so you may get off the track that you planned for yourself, but don’t worry because sometimes God decides to take us on a different route. The new route leads  us to where we desire to be and are ultimately meant to be. Gerald loved doing magic tricks growing up as a child, but he put it to the back of his mind and changed his focus. God knew that was a passion of his, so instead of other doors opening for Gerald, God opened the door that he wanted him to walk through. Trust the process; don’t get discouraged. God will always close the doors that aren’t meant for you to walk through, and you will never be able to miss out on an opportunity that’s yours! I hope this blesses someone.
 
Love Trish xoxoxxo