Friendships have never been my strong suit. For the most part they have ebbed and flowed with the different seasons of my life. I guess you can say that most of my friendships have always been a convenience -- they served me well for that particular season, but when that season was up, so was the friendship. 

Livy Jarmusch is a dreamer, singer, songwriter and orphan advocate. As the founder of Crown of Beauty Magazine, she strives to reach young women and inspire them to realize their true worth in Christ.

Unbeknownst to me, striving has always been a huge part of my life;  It’s like a birthmark that I never knew I had, but has always been with me. Because of this embedded character trait, I was never satisfied with normal. 

For the most part, I would say that I’ve always been a genuinely positive person. When I was younger, my sisters said that if they wanted to, they could’ve thrown me down the stairs and I would’ve still came back to them singing and smiling. 

Johnaé Elease is #FearfullyFashioned. She is the founder and editor-in-chief of online community, The Happy Joy. As a servant, singer, and writer, she uses her gifts and talents to win souls for the Kingdom. She credits God as the primary reason for her joy, happiness, and success.

These days, I hardly listen to music. I have entered into a stage of life where I want to be constantly in a state of flourishing, meaning that I want nothing more than to be in a state of constant growth. Personal and spiritual growth is woven into every fiber of my being, hence why my personal motto is to "always be growing and in pursuit of purpose." 

Fat. Ugly. Weird. Misunderstood. Understood. Undesirable. These are the words that defined my self-talk. These words weren’t in my original vocabulary. They were the words given to me by the devil and his lies.

My whole entire life I’ve always craved some form of stability. I crafted my plans to support a life of comfort and what I thought to be safe and sound living. How many of us go about life striving to do the same - to create a life of comfort and tradition?  I would base my plans on what I could see and know to be “wise” or "true," but of course God was calling me to everything but that.

Due to an unexpected seasonal cold and the intense preparation of midterms, I had intentionally avoided doing work for Fearfully Fashioned during these past few weeks. Every time I saw an email, I politely filed it away because I knew that I didn’t have the energy to answer it gracefully.