Sometimes in life we make decisions based off how we feel at the moment, as a result we don’t consider how our decisions will affect our loved ones. The ones who love us are the ones who have been there through thick and thin. They are the ones who have always had our backs and genuinely cared for us. We know for a fact that our loved ones have our best interest. So why are we so quick to dismiss them when they express their concerns about our life? It’s easy to make decisions based off our adrenaline rush, when life gets exciting and fun. Sometimes we live in the moment so much that we only think about that space and time, and when a friend or family member come to us and try to have a sincere talk, we become defensive and brush them off. It doesn’t register to us that the decisions we are making are hurting our friends or family members. We absolutely could care less because we are living the life we feel is best for us at the moment. We are on a high that only the moment can provide, but what we don’t realize is that the moment is only temporary. Life is not a fairytale, so no matter how much fun we are having in a particular moment or season in our life, it isn’t worth the dismissal of the people who have always been there for us. We have to start listening and respecting the feelings and advice of the people who really care for us and genuinely have our backs. These are the ones who will be there when the firecrackers die out and the excitement leaves. Appreciate those people, and respect their concern for your life because like all seasons the one you are in now will surely pass. Nothing is constant but change, so be slow to talk, quick to listen and careful to consider the feelings and advice of the ones who were there when no one else was.
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I was brought up in church believing in God. My mother made sure that I learned about him at an early age. I can’t imagine how my life would be without God. Every once in a while I come into contact with a person who has reservations about believing in God. The person is usually someone I know or someone I have met in a professional setting. I only learn of this information because the person decides to open up to me about their life, I never pry for information. I’m also not the type to force my beliefs on anyone; as a result, I never make people feel bad about the thoughts they share with me because the only way to have a positive influence on a person’s life is to show them love and not stand in judgment. Everyone does not have the same way of thinking, because we were brought up in different homes, and environments. We come from different places; however, we all have the same opportunity to develop a relationship with God. I’m sure to always listen and give the best advice possible to people who are hurting and have been through traumatizing situations. I’m not a loud person, I’m a meek and humble individual, therefore I like for my personality and the way I treat others to give people reassurance and or confirmation that God is real. Having a real relationship with God gives you the power to impact people’s lives without telling them about your connection to God, because they will already see him in you. I strive everyday to be the best woman of God I can be so that people are able to get a glimpse of godliness when they come into contact with me. I’m not perfect but I strive to be as close to human perfection as possible. My desire is to be able to help others live their best life by spreading love and encouragement. My goal is that when a person meets me it makes them want to gravitate towards God, because of how kind and respectful I am to them. I believe this is how we should all be towards people who are seeking guidance and are in between or uncertain about spirituality. I want people to know that they don’t have to stay stuck in their past mistakes, and continue beating themselves up about where they are in life. As long as God has given you breath you are able to turn things around. The past taught you what not to do. Allow your past mistakes to make you a better person today. A diamond ring is one of the most expensive rings you can buy, however before it developed into a diamond it had to persevere through extreme pressure. We also have to go through pressure to develop into the person God created us to be. If life didn’t give us some challenges, it wouldn’t be worth living because we wouldn’t know how it felt to experience and appreciate actually winning. I’m able to live a happy and joyful life in spite of my past, mistakes, and misfortunes, because of my relationship with God. My hope is that when someone is in doubt about our Lord and Savior Jesus, they can come to me and or others like myself, to learn about the amazing experiences we have had with God to put their doubts to rest. I remember having a conversation with a guy who asked me, “So you talk to God and actually hear him tell you things?” I said yes, and then I explained how God can show you things when you’re reading your bible. I always ask for guidance, inspiration, and answers to some of the questions I have for God before studying my bible and every time afterwards, I flip to a scripture that guides me to the right decision I need to make. Sometimes God will show me things through encounters with other people. There have been times when I have said hello to a complete stranger, and they responded by answering a question I had for God earlier that day. Anytime, I start feeling down because of life's difficulties, at that very moment and not a moment later, God will put someone in my presence who's having it harder than me. What makes this even more impactful is the person who God places in my presence is happy and smiling in spite of their situation, so I ask myself why can't I be happy? I've seen a blind person crossing a busy traffic street, and on a separate occasion I witnessed a person riding an electric chair up the street right after I finished complaining about my car problems. Every time God shows me these things I apologize right away and say I understand God, please forgive me. I understand that things could always be worse and I have to be appreciative for what I do have. Life is not a fairytale, however there is a God in the heavens who cares about each and every one of us. I’ve seen him do numerous miracles. He’s healed a lot of my family members from sickness, cancer and other life-threatening diseases. He’s also helped me to miraculously recover from an injury, when the doctors didn’t know what else to do. He saved my mom's life when I almost lost her last year. He helped me to graduate with my Master's Degree when I was about to be kicked out of school for something I didn't do, the day before graduation. I’ve seen him turn around families, and people’s lives for the better. He’s taken people off the street living the fast life and made them mentors. He’s put people through college who were told all their life they would never amount to anything. Recently I had to look for full time employment after I graduated from graduate school. My bills were adding up and my student loans started to kick in. I allowed myself to stress out to the point where it was starting to get the best of me, but then one day I said ok this isn’t going to change anything. That night I prayed that God would bless me with a job I would love so that I would be able to pay my bills for the next month. I decided to stand on faith and stop worrying and prayed faithfully day and night, which I still do now. Every day I applied for jobs and continued to be happy believing that God would come through! Some way and somehow he sent me a check in the mail from an old job that I thought I had already received. On a few occasions I was blessed by amazing family members with money because we always look out for eachother when the other is in need, and other times I used my credit card when I needed money. On the last day of the month before my bills were due, I was offered a position at a job I absolutely love! Not just a part time position which I applied for, but a Manager Position! God is REAL and he always proves himself faithful!! You just have to make the choice to believe in him and he will mend your heart from past mistakes. He will also be a healer in a hospital room and a provider when all your resources are depleted. I hope this is a blessing to someone! Love Trish xoxox Are you happy because you choose to be happy, or are you happy because everything you want in life is going the exact way you want it to go? I had to learn that happiness is a choice, as cliché as this sounds. You are in charge of your own happiness, and if there are people in your life who do things to tear down your happiness you have the power to eliminate them. Protect your personal space and your place of peace that dwells from within. If your friends or family members always have negative things to say, especially when you are going through times of frustration or disappointment, you have to love them from a distance. People who truly care about you will not say things to make you feel bad during those moments when you need someone to speak positive things into your life. The ones who want to see you win will love you, encourage you, and be there to uplift your spirits. Negativity is toxic, and sometimes it spreads into how we view ourselves. When you look in the mirror do you see yourself as royalty, or do you allow the obstacles of today to blur your vision? Some of us are guilty of speaking negative things into our own lives when we become discouraged about situations. In times like this we have to remind ourselves that the only thing that’s constant is change; therefore this too shall pass. Times will get better, so we can’t live unhappy and defeated over something that’s temporary. We have to be so busy preparing ourselves for when things get better, that we forget about how bad they may be at the moment. I view it as preparations while also living and enjoying life. What really defines happiness anyway? My definition is being able to smile and appreciate the small gifts of life even when problems arise and things become challenging. Although life is not a fairytale, there is always something to be happy about. The hardships we face do not have to affect our entire attitude. Worrying and or being down on ourselves will not eliminate the problem. When we understand this and start to speak good things into our life, the weight becomes a little lighter and then we are able to accomplish more because of it. If you had a bad day, this doesn’t mean you have to allow it to make you unhappy. God didn’t have to wake you up this morning; so everyday is an opportunity to get that much closer to where you want to be in life. I hope this is a blessing to someone. Love Trish xoxoxo When the love is real you will know it. You will not know it right away but through time you will know. Rome wasn’t built over night, therefore you will not know if something is real over night. Trust me, I’ve experienced so much in my life and I’m grateful and blessed for the people who are in my life now. I’ve never been the type to have many friends, but the friends I do have are genuine ones. I look at my friends as family members. We are connected forever, in other words there’s no disagreement or conflicting opinion that can keep us from being friends. We realize that we will not have everything in common and agree on everything all the time. When a person loves you, nothing or no one should be able to come in between that, this goes for friendships and personal relationships. What I like about my friends is that the respect level never leaves, even in the midst of differing opinions. In a relationship it should be the same way, this is why I’m a firm believer that you should marry someone who you took time out to become friends with first. It will make life so much easier. Relationships are about respect and valuing the other person’s feelings. That’s what it all boils down to. I used to be the type of person who would cut people off quick, but the friends I have now taught me the true definition of friendship. Friendship is forgiving, loving past differences, and laughing away pain. The people that are closest to my heart could never let me go and I could never let them go. I was upset with one of my friends’ years ago. We had a disagreement, and someone else was involved in the discussion, which elevated things so I was like whatever I’m done with the friendship. That friend called me and genuinely apologized. I know that it wasn’t intentional so we moved forward. There was a separate occasion when I had to apologize to that particular friend and the apology was accepted. I learned that it’s ok to make mistakes, because none of us are perfect; we don’t always get things right the first time. What matters the most is that we make an effort to apologize. I’m grateful that I didn’t get stuck into the habit of walking away from meaningful relationships. Walking away from disrespect is one thing, but walking away from a misunderstanding is something to think twice about. Life is not a fairytale, so you may not always share the same views as the people God has placed in your life. However, it’s important to know that the people who have been in your life for years are there for a reason; I believe it’s God’s way of showing you who really loves you. When the love is real it will not let you walk away and you will not let it walk away. I hope this is a blessing to someone. Love Trish xoxoxo Have you ever loved someone so much that you couldn’t see your life without him or her? I’m talking about unconditional love; love that overlooked flaws and apologized to keep peace even when it wasn’t your fault. You knew deep down the love you had for the person was unhealthy, because you overlooked your own feelings to cater to them. Why did you love this person so deeply? Maybe it was because of the things they said to you, or maybe it was the way they treated you during a particular time of the relationship. This time I’m referring to is usually the beginning, when the sparks are flying high and the person is willing to do anything they can to get and keep you. Now things were different. Although you were being treated differently, your heart remained the same. You had already chosen the decision to love, which is a decision that doesn’t come with an on or off switch. You talked to your significant other in the most respectful way and wanted so deeply for them to understand how you felt. How did things go left? Was it your fault? After a while, you started analyzing yourself even though you knew deep down that you were the same person you were since the beginning of the relationship. Nothing had changed on your end, except your love that had grown deeper for your significant other. Things became a constant battle and when you tried to talk it only got worse. Discussions ended in your significant other yelling and making you feel bad for expressing your views. Where did it all go wrong? It went wrong when you started caring more about the other person than yourself. It went wrong when you put the other person before you. It went wrong when you sacrificed your beliefs for the other person. It went wrong when you forgot your value. Life is not a fairytale so there will be times when you will be misunderstood and judged for the way you choose to live your life. Set your expectations at the beginning and if a person decides they no longer want to agree with them, move on. Don’t sacrifice your worth for another person’s ego. I hope this is a blessing to someone. Love Trish xoxoxo I'm dedicating this week to my very first blog post, titled "Love Yourself: A Note to Women." It's always important to look back at the progress you make in life. I still cannot believe it's been 6 months since I started my blog!🤣📝 When reading this blog post I'm sure that women will feel empowered and men will gain a better understanding of the pressures women face in the world we live in.❣️
Select the title to read the story HERE: Love Yourself: A Note to Women 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 We all have experienced some dark times in our life, when we felt like we wouldn’t be able to take just one more step forward because we had the weight of the world on our shoulders. If you go back to that moment in your memory bank, you will recall that you thought it was over for you. You couldn’t see yourself coming out that situation, whether it was a toxic relationship or illness, or maybe you got fired from a job that was paying really good money, and your bills were due but you didn’t know how you would pay them. These are the issues I’m speaking of. Think of a time when your life was at its worse, and you hit rock bottom. How did you feel and how did you react? When you’re in that moment, life feels like it’s coming to an end and you will never be able to move past that situation. It always seems this way because the human mind can be tricky. During that low time in our life, our minds will make us feel like there is no way things will change for the better and if they did it would not be any time soon. I call this mis-diagnosing a situation or a problem, because the solution to your problem is closer than it appears, and your healing is closer than it appears. You just have to change your perception. The situation always looks bigger than it is when you’re going through the pain and heartache. When you get past the hurt, you will realize there is a reason for everything. Allow what happens to you to make you stronger. If the relationship tears you down, maybe you need to let it go so that you can be completely happy. If you are dealing with sickness continue to pray and thank God for your healing in advance and then reach out to someone who is in a less fortunate situation, to be a light in their life by inspiring them to keep moving forward. If you lost your job it’s okay, apply for other jobs and use the free time to invest in yourself by perfecting your craft, expanding your knowledge, and encouraging others who may be going through the same. Use your situation to first help yourself and then help someone else. The challenges and devastations we face in life are only temporary; the only thing constant is change so change your perception. There is so much more ahead of you! Your future is bright; allow change to be the flame that will spark the necessary growth in your life. I hope this blesses someone! Love Trish xoxoxo |
AuthorI'm an East Carolina University alumna. I have experience in journalism, law, radio broadcasting, television production and teaching. My goal is to make a difference in the world through media and motivational speaking. Archives
February 2024
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