Beyond the Sparkle: The Work, the Grief, the Grind

 want to take a moment to pause and say thank you. Every comment on my Instagram posts, every heart on a travel blog entry, every DM or email cheering me on—I see it, I feel it, and I appreciate it. Truly. The love and support I receive from my community keeps me going, especially when I’m pouring my heart into documenting my travels and sharing my entrepreneurial journey.
But I also want to be real with you: this is a lot of work. Behind every curated photo or blog recap, there are hours of writing, editing, pitching, planning, and yes, second-guessing myself. Add on the emotional weight of grief since losing my dad, and some days it honestly feels overwhelming.

I try to be as transparent as I can, because it’s not always glitz and glamour. It’s rejection emails that sting. It’s waiting on payments that should’ve come weeks ago. It’s being in limbo with projects, or feeling stuck when creativity just doesn’t flow. It’s numbness that hits out of nowhere, or that voice of self-doubt whispering, “Are you enough?”

And let me tell you—it’s exhausting when companies don’t take you seriously, or when people make assumptions about where your income comes from. The work behind the sparkle isn’t always visible. The grind doesn’t stop. The questions and doubts don’t stop. Sometimes it feels like it never ends.

But here’s what keeps me grounded: you. My community. The people who don’t just double-tap a picture, but who understand what I’m building and why I share so openly. The ones who see my vision, who believe in me even when I’m struggling to believe in myself.

Because at the end of the day, my mission is bigger than me. I do this for the little Black girls who look like me—the ones who deserve to know that they can travel the world, build businesses, and live outside of every box society tries to put them in. I do this so they can see that the sky is not the limit. That there is no limit.

Grief has taught me that life is fragile, but it’s also lit a fire in me to make sure I’m living fully and authentically. Entrepreneurship has taught me resilience and creativity, but also patience and humility. Travel has taught me to see beyond borders, both physically and mentally. And all of it combined reminds me daily: I can’t give up, because someone is watching and needing to see that it’s possible.

So thank you—to every single one of you who supports, who comments, who shares, who cheers me on even when you don’t see the full weight of what I’m carrying. Your encouragement is fuel. Your belief in me is confirmation.

This journey isn’t easy, but it’s worth it. And I promise you, as long as I have a voice and a platform, I will use it to inspire, to uplift, and to remind the next generation that there are no ceilings, no boundaries, no limits.
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The sky was never the limit. And I refuse to let young girls who look like me believe it is.