You want the tea on me? Well, here it is…
I look nothing like what I’ve been through. Life didn’t start sweet. I couldn’t emotionally connect with my mom and my last memory of my dad being around was at 5. The household that I grew up in was a shit show. The relationship with my mom was so toxic that it would make me sick—literally, I would experience migraines and stomach pains daily. I endured mental and verbal abuse from my mom; but the physical abuse, whew…I’m not talking about just belt whoppings. By 9, I was deemed responsible for my siblings. My childhood was stripped from me, and my focus was on babysitting because somebody had to be there for the kids. Hanging out with friends? I couldn’t do any of that.
I was molested by a cousin and uncle—my mom begged me to forgive my uncle so he wouldn’t take his life from the guilt. All through my childhood, my mom created the narrative that I was a liar and dramatic just to protect her man and brother.
I played basketball in school and in an AAU league because it was my only “getaway” …my one safe place. One day I decided I had enough. I was at an AAU game and made the decision to leave the only life I had ever known. At 16, I left Houston and moved in with my dad in Arkansas. I didn’t know much about him, but I felt like anything was better than the living situation I was in. Then 6 months later…he left without a single word to me or my sister. I went to go live with my Nanna because going back to my mom was NOT an option for me. Although I lived with her, I practically lived by myself; she wasn’t physically there majority of the time. I’d come home to a note a dinner cooked.
During that season of my life, I really started to think about how I could make it on my own. I developed a love and talent for hair when in high school—I used to do $35 sew-ins on my classmates. However, living in the country caused me to shift my dreams and aspirations. I felt like my new path called for me to join the Army at 17—I served 3.5 years as a 68W (Medic), messed up my back, and was done with that. I enrolled in Cosmetology School, got a job at Sally’s Beauty Supply, and moved out at. I was FINALLY in a space of my own and could create a peaceful environment. This is when I started to gain clarity.
After I finished Cosmetology School, I quit Sally’s and started a job at AT&T to stack money to relocate. I couldn’t stand the country and needed to get to the nearest city—I’m a city type of girl. I moved to Little Rock. It wasn’t the city that I was used to, but it was close enough.
Hair has always been my passion, so I quit AT&T and devoted my time to building my clientele as a cosmetologist …but I did go back to AT&T 2 or 3 times…I liked the consistent income. In 2018, during one of my stints at AT&T, I launched my first product-based business, made $32K in 6 months. I then was able to find a scheduling job that paid more and didn’t require hard labor.
Then life took a series of turns!
In the beginning of 2019, I got fired, completely BLEW that money I made from my business, and had to put my license back to work. I started back working behind the chair but had to slow down on doing hair because I have tendonitis in both wrists. At this point, I felt like I was in the lowest season of my life. I had to figure out how to get out of that dark space because I KNEW staying in it for too long had the ability to destroy me internally. I had to change the way I was living to change my life and in turn adapted a new lifestyle. I learned how to get grounded with meditation, journaling, and scripting and added affirmations to my routine. I was in the midst of a major life transformation and didn’t even realize it. I needed a change of scenery and space to breathe so I decided to move back to Houston and collect unemployment while I figured out what I really wanted to do with my life. While in Houston, I was offered an opportunity to start over but in Dallas.
I was DEAD TF broke when I first moved to Dallas. For months I couldn’t find a job because of “gaps” in my resume. I mean I was driving Uber just to pay my car note and keep my phone on. Y’all could only imagine where my mental was at that point but I had my small routine keeping me afloat. I finally got a job at Cricket but the pay was crumbs so I took a part-time job at Ulta—Cricket was stressful and I liked Ulta more so Cricket got dropped. Back at only one job, I had to find a way to fill the income gap that didn’t completely deplete me of my time, energy, or sanity. The solution was wig construction for my Little Rock clients. Fortunately, I had bundles stashed and from virtually $0 at startup I was able to supplement my Ulta income with my wig business revenue, and was able to quit Ulta, profiting $60k in 8 months.
The entrepreneur in me started turning up and I went into full force. People would ask me to teach them how to make wigs, so I created a course, PharmD School of Wigs, to teach people how to make wigs & launch their business like I did. My initial goal was six figures for the year… I did that in 90 days and tripled it in 9 months. Interacting with my students and their questions not only about the business aspect, but also curiosity about my personal values and discipline that contributed to my success, encouraged me to share my story publicly—because I know I’m not only the one that’s been through a bunch of shit. My purpose became clear. I wanted to inspire women to create businesses and lives that they’ve dreamed of, because I did it.
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That’s my story! There’s a lot of parts and bad memories missing because I’ve buried them so deep. At 28, I’m still unlocking traumatic memories that need healing and finding ways to work through them. I’ve been building my social media to be honest and transparent about my journey and the intentional self-care and self-healing tactics that saved me and are still evolving me into the woman I want to be. I’m the sister/cousin/homegirl that empowers you in your journey to self-discovery, self-acceptance, and self-transformation because I’m on the same type of journey.