Paying attention involves a certain level of focus, concentration, & observation.

It requires you to take heed & be attentive.

Something Uncle Trisco always said is truly the simplest form of discovery.

Paying attention not only forces you to be aware but to also uncover what’s been hidden in plain sight.

For a long while I’ve felt my purpose was deeper than just being an entrepreneur.

After my Mental Health Monday series & the feedback I received, I often wondered what it would be like to teach & elevate the minds of others.

As a fashion & business major, I pondered on how I would even get started but God’s plans are often bigger than our own.

Let me set the scene…

As a kid, I grew up playing “school” sometimes with my cousins but a lot of times by myself.

I’d line up my dolls & stuffed animals as students.

I’d teach them using workbooks & worksheets from the school year.

I’d create lesson plans & write on my dry erase board just like a teacher would, but as I got older things shifted.

My focus wasn’t teaching but styling, hence how I got into fashion.

Lately, I’ve been paying attention to the forecast of the economy & the state of the world… let’s be honest, who hasn’t?

The need to shift has become greater, the need to pivot has felt stronger, the urge to learn & create something completely new may be gnawing at you.

I’ve been silently wrestling with this feeling for a bit so I took action to at the very least try.

Try my hand at something I’ve never done “on paper” but honing in on the confidence to know that everyone who knows me or has been in proximity to me has left with a gem or 10, elevated & sharper in their mind.

I quantum leaped into my new reality where I’ll be starting as a substitute teacher.

I’m so thankful for this opportunity & the way in which it showed up.

I can’t help but find the bittersweet correlation between Uncle Trisco’s favorite phrase to actualizing the need of awareness for my new students.

Today makes 9 years since Uncle Trisco transitioned but I know even in the afterlife he’s still paying attention to us all & I’m grateful for that.

– MML