The best thing that ever happened to me was getting fired! Though the firing was mutual… long story. For the first time, I was granted an opportunity to live my life in a truthful manner. When I graduated college, I thought that the best road was the path of least resistance. I felt that anything I had to work hard for and build from scratch was a mistake. I wanted to walk the path that so many others had walked before me.

But for some reason it seemed like that wasn’t an option for me and I had to accept it. And learn how to accept myself most importantly. Currently, I am a substitute teacher, a poet, author, blogger, photographer’s assistant, gig worker and a brand ambassador. So you can call me a jack of all trades. I enjoy the fact that I rarely run out of things to do… But sometimes I feel bad about my career because of societal pressure.

People always say, you need to find a real job or you need to settle down. But I am happiest when I do the things I love. Oftentimes the people that feel this way fail to even pay attention to my poetry, blog or the overall work I do on a regular basis. I’ve been called a starving artist so many times that I’ve lost count.

But praise be to God I’ve never been hungry or needed shelter. My bills are typically paid, just keeping it real. It seems like I never needed to look for work opportunities because things always worked out for me. But this upcoming year, I’ve decided to passionately pursue my dreams. Because life is too short to allow people to dictate my life journey.

I know people that have given away their self-respect to work jobs that treat them worse than cattle. I know men and women that slept with their boss for a promotion… some of them were married. These folks have been branded and scarred by their experiences. Many of them have compromised their values and as a result lost all sense of self. Just to climb a ladder that leads to brokenness and heartache.

For some reason, I feel that pushing past fear is my greatest accomplishment as an artist. There can be no freedom found in playing it safe. This year let’s go all out and take chances that don’t require us to sell our soul. This year, I plan on living a life worth fighting for and that matters more than silver and gold.

Till next time, Esha <3