Freedom Updates

Personal Freedom:

I had to put my photography class on hold as other pressing items took precedence. However, I have not given up taking pictures. I recently photographed a field that was filled with fog. Hopefully, very soon I will be able to take that course and get confident in the scenes that I capture.

I am planning my next vacation. I will be going back to Costa Rica! It was so much fun when I went to study abroad while being in university that I have always wanted to get back there. Pura Vida! I cannot wait to enjoy the hot springs, hike the volcano, shop in the mall, visit the black sand beach, and zipline, and walk across the swinging bridge again! I can still so vividly remember the sights and sounds of the jungle, the rain every day at 1 pm during the summer, and taste the food. It was so freeing and unlike anything that I had experienced before. Needless to say, I am so excited to finally be getting back there.

My hair is still growing and kind of doing its own thing. Instead of stressing about it or anything that I cannot control, I repeat my mantra: “I am not losing my edges over this!” Believe it or not, it is working. I still have my edges. I have to go and get the ends cut off as it is the last of the relaxer in my hair, then hopefully it will start to grow into a healthy afro or something. It does not seem to be soft but more dry and brittle feeling. It is becoming easier to manage most days. On the other days, I just put my hair in ponytails or wear a headband. I need to buy scarves so that I can wrap this hair on its very wild days.

Financial Freedom:

I continue to dig myself from under the debt that I carry. There is light at the end of the tunnel. I am set on the motto: “if you do not have the cash to buy it, then leave it.” Once I pay off these credit cards and loans, I am going to invest! I am going to learn how to invest and build a diverse portfolio and achieve financial wealth.

Religious Freedom:

I continue to do my best to put God first in all things that I do. Some days are better than others and when I feel lost like two weeks ago, God has a way of speaking to me and calling me back before I go too astray. I thank Him for that. I thank God that I belong to Him and that He knows my name. Many days I go back to my experience in Cuba and how they are not allowed to gather and praise God in public, but yet, they do. Jesus says in Luke 9:26, “For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of Man be ashamed.” That verse reminds me along with that experience that there is no place here on this earth in which I cannot raise my arms and rejoice in the Lord.

Rejoice in all things, for it all works out for my good. Yes, even the things I view as bad or negative. 

Professional Freedom:

I am looking forward to being free from my current position into one that is more challenging and creates more financial freedom. I look forward to a growing successful business. I have decided to step back and start over with this business. I am going to fall in love first with what I am trying to build. I let go because I lost the love and passion for it, due to it being too stressful or hard to maintain. Thus, I have to go back to the reason why I started it in the first place: I love taking pictures and sharing them with the people around me. That is what excited me to go out to the locations around me and be present while capturing moments. I realized it no longer was fun because it became something that I felt like I had to do. Well, I just want to go back to having fun doing what I love, capturing God’s beauty on a canvas to share with others.

Not only will I focus on the business to create an income stream but also focus on finding a role in which I am excited. God is good and I will find my place in a company making a difference and enjoying the work that I do.