The first time that I went to the Cape Verde Islands, I believe I was about 8 years old. It was exciting because it was the first time I would get to visit my parents’ home.
I heard all the stories and saw all the pictures, but the real thing was different. I remember stepping out of the airport and just thinking “Wow.”
I could feel the warm sun kissing my skin and the delicate wind blowing through my curls, but the biggest thing for me was that everyone looked like my family and me.
Everyone spoke Creole, Portuguese as their primary language. And all the food was Cape Verdean food lol, I know it sounds silly and obvious, but it made me feel something. My hair wasn’t even getting tangled like it usually did. It was something about the weather, the vibe, the people, the aura…
Cape Verde felt like home. In a new way I had never experienced before, there was a deep sense of belonging and peace.
THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME I STARTED TO UNDERSTAND WHO I WAS.
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I noticed that comfort because it was different than what I was used to... I had been used to feeling a bit different, but that was a norm for me… something that only went away when I was at home with family. And I was 8 at the time… I wasn’t out here overthinking, I was just living.
Fast forward through my Pre-Teen and High School years, finally, I made it to College.
Although I had a fairly good college experience overall, I did take the time to unpack WHO I WAS and WHO I WANTED TO BE.
I began the process of PEELING AWAY LAYERS of my own onion.
I found areas where I was emulating others because I thought it was what I was supposed to do. And I also found pieces of me that were there to stay.
I thought– “Who am I really? What are my own morals and values? What matters to me?
What pieces of me did I just UNCONSCIOUSLY COPY because I thought it was cool or right? Was the college girl Friday night crop top vibe really mine, or was I just copying what every other girl was doing because I thought it was what I was also supposed to do? Okay— and how about everything else in life?”
You get the jist. I was finding myself, which also meant differentiating who I was and who I was not.
Around the same time, I discovered tarot cards and the CoStar app (which now I actually don’t recommend lol) that told me all about my zodiac signs.
At that point, I didn’t even know a Moon or Rising sign existed, never mind the fact that a birth chart is YOUR LIFE & SOUL ON PAPER already pre-written. I just knew I was a Capricorn. And with tarot, I finally was able to tap in with my higher self and guides for guidance that was extremely beneficial to my own growth.
Eventually, I got to learn from the greats- Bridget Esselmont and Debra Silverman, and really hone in on what my own chart and intuition were trying to tell me.
I was here with purpose, on purpose. I found out my missing element and my life lessons, so now I could work on them and become who I was MEANT TO BE. Life would become easier with less friction.
I could see the influences in my chart around love, which gave me a huge “AHA!” moment. And I could see what I was supposed to do in career- bring mysticism to practicality, rise through my ambition, inspire, lead, teach, and love.
I DISCOVERED WHO I REALLY WAS, WHO I CAME HERE TO BE, AND WHAT I CAME HERE TO DO.
Finally, some real answers. A vision. A path to follow that I KNEW would lead to everything I’ve ever wanted.
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OKAY- Fast forward another year or so – I started my own business that I love, guiding and counseling others, teaching them major life keys, and helping them to transform their lives like how I’ve transformed my own.
During this time, I started getting into the energy of the universe. For years I had heard a bunch of famous and successful people talking about manifesting and manipulating energy. I heard that we had POWER to manipulate energy and work WITH the universe to bring whatever we wanted into our lives.
Interesting.
For a while, my brain said NO WAY.
All of this went against my conditioning and programming. Just like a lot of us, I was taught that I was dealt certain cards and that was that. Of course, I could grow, but I had to be REALISTIC. The only way to become a millionaire would be through winning the lottery. And life was life…
I was told that I didn’t have much control over life, when in fact, I actually have most of the control. That is the TRUTH.
You see, through my studies of energetics, universal laws, brain waves, etc… I realized with 100% certainty that there is more going on here.
If I could just hone in on WHAT worked, HOW to recognize what needed to be deconditioned out of me so that I could do the work and simultaneously call in new experiences with more love, more peace, more money ... and HOW to actually manifest the things I wanted, then I would have UNLOCKED MY KINGDOM.
I REALIZED THREE THINGS:
- I COULD H
AVE EVERYTHING I EVER WANTED AND THAT WAS A PURE FACT.
- SO COULD ANYONE ELSE IF THEY ALSO LEARNED HOW.
- PEOPLE WHO FIGHT ME ON THIS ARE PROBABLY PROJECTING THEIR OWN REALITY AND PARADIGM ON ME. (If I have this magic sauce that I can utilize to bring all my dreams into fruition, but someone cannot understand at all how or why this would work, then of course this could be a confusing trigger for them. It goes against all the “rules” they believe to be rules.)
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So here I am today, fast forward another year and some change, living my BEST LIFE and calling in even more of what I desire.
Through my life’s trajectory, I have realized that having DEEPER SELF AWARENESS allows you to step into your own essence, your own magic, your own immense potential, instead of just being a photocopy of everyone else or living a mediocre life. Yes we are all connected, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t ridiculously unique and special in your own right.
I realized that like you, I came here on purpose, with purpose.
I realized that like you, a lot of what has been ingrained in me wasn’t actually me at all, and that a lot of us are living lives we were taught to live, instead of what we were meant to live.
I realized that like you, I have power. I CAN create
my life to be blissful as f**k, and no, I don’t have to follow everyone else’s path. I was meant to follow my own, and so were you.
I have and continue to peel away layers of my onion, throw out what I no longer need, and step into who I am MEANT to be.
I am a first-generation Cape Verdean woman whose parents sacrificed everything, all for me to live my BEST life, so I will be damned if I let anything get in the way of that.
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