My Framework
As a child of two parents who migrated from Haiti in search of the American Dream, I learned at a young age that education is VERY important, and my momma always told me that “boys and books don’t mix.” I later learned that life is all about balance, and how you prioritize the things that you deem important, even with the inclusion of dating.
As a young child, I did what I had to do to make sure my parents were proud of me. In school, I was in the Gifted & Talented program where I received good grades, I was enrolled in after school extracurricular activities such as NAACP Youth Council, played the clarinet in the school band, was in the school choir, performed in school plays, ran track for one year, tried gymnastics, graduated, went to college, earned my BA, then ten years later earned my MA, all while balancing life and ensuring that I made almost all the right choices that will ensure my parents remained proud of my life choices. The focus was never all about me, but about what made them happy and what ensured that the family name remained untarnished; typical concerns coming from a household raised by parents who were foreigners.
I know that I speak about this often in my personal posts, however I need to reassure you that I am not pointing the fingers at my parents in a negative way. I am simply trying to give you the full picture in order to understand why chasing my dreams is so important to me; its because it is mine to chase and this time I am doing so on my own terms to make me happy so I can in turn help others find their own happy. Some pursuits may be trial and error, but in the end, I am going after what I want without the influence of how it will be perceived by my parents. However, due to my Haitian upbringing which taught me to always remain respectful to my parents and my elders, I still strive to make sure that I do not disrespect or anger them in any way. Life definitely happened and still is happening, so there definitely were and still are some challenges and minimal disappointments along the way but through it all, I learned that in life you MUST do what makes your spirit and soul happy, because that is what you are MEANT to do, and your soul will thank you for it later.
While working in Corporate America I quickly learned how many amazing skills I have acquired from my parents, & some that just came naturally to me; those are the skills that built my personal character and proved to me that I am TRULY a hustler. After digging deep I did realize that the hustlers mentality and drive derived from my Haitian, resilient, and persevering culture; we are strong, ambitious, and determined people that DO NOT QUIT. My dad is an entrepreneur and musician, my mom is a caretaker and always had the mentality that “if you can do it, I can do it better!” The combination of those genes, my culture, and my natural essence, is a recipe which confirms to me that no matter what challenges come my way, I will ALWAYS come out on top in the end. With that said, last month I made it my business to give myself the birthday gift of this brand new website which was created by the amazing Donelda "Diche" Iyizoba, CEO of Four91Designs Co.
Celebrate Each Win
My website launched on November 12th 2019 and I celebrated with a launch/birthday party on November 15th 2019 at the restaurant which I bartend at part time, La Fonda Boricua in Spanish Harlem. My event, which was sponsored by Papi Wines, was filled with the love and support of my closest family and friends to help me remind myself of how far I have come this year and where I am going. I want to make sure that I reward myself for a job well done during a time that would have normally derailed me, but instead I decided to forge ahead. Aside from unlimited wine all night, I made my own, strong, signature drink for my event named "The Dream Catcher," there were small bites, and music provided by DJ Jay Boogie. It was a great night that really helped fuel me creatively and fill my heart with the love and encouragement I needed.
Since I have been on a mission to follow and make all my dreams come true, for the last quarter of the year I decided to write out a list of all the things I have ever wanted to do professionally and make it my mission to accomplish them. Now, some may not be meant for me to do, but at least I can say I tried and that was most important for me in order to live an UN-regrettable life.
First on my list was going back to school to be a Nurse, something that has been weighing on my heart for a long time, and for a very long time I thought it was my calling. Well, I enrolled in a prerequisite class of Anatomy & Physiology and found out within a months time that Nursing was not my ministry, however, I gave it all I got and I felt good about that. Next on my list was to be a bartender. My friend and colleague, James Gonzalez (pic on the left) is a partner at La Fonda Boricua Restaurant, and gave me a chance, and it turns out I am a darn great bartender! I work as a bartender at the restaurant most Thursdays-Sundays, and this has inspired me to attain my bartenders/mixologist license in 2020. I will add this on to my list of services under my events company, Dream in Color Events. Next up, was another long life dream of becoming a Real Estate Agent. This was something I tried to accomplish in New Jersey twice and failed, years ago, and because I became discouraged, I never tried to do it again, but I felt the urge to try again in New York while watching a Real Estate reality show on Netflix. After I was through binge watching the show, I reminded myself that I have my parents drive and hustle in my veins, and said to myself, "if they can do it, I can do it as well," and enrolled myself in school right away. I took an accelerated course the week of my birthday and passed my state exam on November 19th, 2019. I can now proudly say that I am a Licensed New York Real Estate Agent...next up, New Jersey!
Everything I have done so far in conjunction with launching this brand new website has brought so much joy to my heart and I cannot wait to assist others with my God-given talents of sales, writing, people connecting, and making strong, tasty alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages!
The Grind/Hustle Continues The month of November truly proved to me that the hustler in me NEVER died and I am ready to hustle even HARDER in December to end this month, year, and DECADE stronger than ever before. 2020 is the year of my personal transformation and manifestation, and although it may sound clichè, it is TRULY going to be MY YEAR. Mark my words.
If you have not done so already, please subscribe to my email list on my Contact Us page to stay abreast to my new posts and events. I look forward to helping you all make your dreams come true.
Chat soon!
xo,
Myrna
Your Colorful Dreamer
**Special Thanks to La Fonda Boricua, Papi Wines and the
Scenic Photos by Ludwig Araujo and Event Photos by Michael Fil