2 months before walking down the aisle

2 years after saying “yes I will marry you”

12 years after saying “yes, I’ll be your girlfriend”

I said “We can’t get married”

I loved you more than I loved myself
I thought that you loved me that way too
I grieved hard the next year believing you didn’t love me
I realized you loved me the way you knew how.
You loved how I treated you, how I made you feel, how I helped you grow.
I thought that was love.

2 weeks spent packing up the apartment we lived in together

2 hours spent moving boxes with my best friend and dad

2 eyes I had never seen before while you watched as I left.

I reflected and admitted that I didn’t know who I was;
tried new things and spent time with new friends,
started up old things and spent time with old friends.
I spent time by myself, with my old self and new, learning who I was.

3 weeks after moving out you crossed a set boundary

3 times I had to practice staying strong and upholding it

3 months you didn’t pay rent on lease you chose to keep and refuse to take my name off

I grieved, I cried.
I felt stupid and ashamed
I felt taken advantage of and small
You didn’t get what you wanted. I didn’t give in.

4 months into 29 years of life

4 months into a new relationship

12 months after saying “we can’t get married”

I love myself more than anything else
I am loved the way I deserve to be loved
I’ve grieved that I have accepted less. I’ve learned that all of me is loveable.
I’ve grieved that I learned that it was okay to accept less.

2 times a month I see a therapist; I’m learning to trust myself

2 months from now I will have lived on my own in a new city for a year.

12 years from now I don’t know where I’ll be but I will forever be grateful for the things I learned along the way.

I said “we can’t get married” and I changed my world.

Mornings are that rough snooze I barely miss. It’s the
huge stretch after knees crack to remind me age is but a
loose sound of movement. It’s a dragging feeling, a
reminder to when my laughter teased Father Time.
It is peaceful, knowing my mental foundation wasn’t a pretty
make over but these years of painful lessons I massage into
my seasons, and when I fall, I’m quick to spring back to my
youthful visage. I mean, winter brings pain, the death of
beauty and the crystallization of movement. Yet summer can
always be seen stretching my soul like it’s uplifted. One
moment I hyperventilate the other I’m free falling to the
bottom of freedoms pool of love. A love for the sensation of
old age being the companion I’ve wanted since my youth.
These astral phases become astral projections of the peace that
I recall seeing. This Growth is the key to my happiness, it’s
the years which times before turned the sun dial and I became
the time father dreamed of.

Distant:

While it seemed as if the world was falling apart, In 2020, the deepest parts of myself were drastically coming together.

Strikingly, my spiritual reawakening shifted the entire trajectory of my perspective, including everything else that slowly led to this rare occurrence.

All within that same year, I had an epiphany that came to pass nearly a year later… When a close friend of mine had just moved to Texas, somehow I intuitively felt that I was soon going to as well. Although, I had never been there or even thought about it prior.

To some degree, it was beautiful to share this news with close relatives about all that I was experiencing spiritually and planning to do.

That still came with some disheartening moments and conversations. No one else fully understood or related to me and I had to accept that they may never will.

Instant:

In 2021, The opportunity finally presented itself. I was asked if I would like to move to Texas and take the leap of fate as my best friend’s roommate… and I did!

With the expectation to do Real Estate, I had no clue what would unfold there. But, I moved from Michigan with only $1k saved for my road trip and received angel numbers reassuring me I would be assisted with everything else I needed. The divine used strangers, signs, and miracles from every angle.

I had never driven a U-Haul before then. Ironically, there was a shortage going on at the time. I had to drive a 20″ truck, which was very intimidating!!! While prepping for the move there, my best friend offered to fly in to drive with me towards my new destination.

It was one of the BEST things I could have EVER done. It has created literal direction and purpose (for each area of my life).

I was able to dive deeper into my healing journey. All while closely reevaluating my life and where I truly desired to, which seemed to have been a challenging journey before and throughout arriving there.

Comfort:

After living in Texas for almost two years, I am forever grateful for all of my learning experiences there. It felt like some sacred spiritual retreat for both of us to be present and within our freedom. I loved it! It has helped shape me while experiencing the purest joy, even during occasional harsh storms of other emotions.

I’ve had to make peace with the sacrifices I have made throughout this path… Letting go of old friends, distancing from toxic family members, being willing to be somewhat isolated for deeper introspection, and going to lengths without a set income, to name a few.

Throughout my life, I haven’t felt as connected to seeing anything regarding purpose within jobs, schooling, and other things.

However, I undeniably committed to follow through. It’s been nothing short of a blessing to receive the exchange of what’s on the other side of it… Unlimited possibility.

Many things in life come at the cost of facing many truths, changes and growing while in some uncomfortable moments.

Although I am unchanged at the core, I’ve grown so much as a being! This happens to be a lifelong journey I am willing to go the distance to explore.

Dear Unsealed Family,

It would be off-putting if I didn’t stress that I’m not a overly intelligent
person when it comes to relationships with a divine creator. It is of the most
importance to me that I find something, something that was written or
spoken to help me define this world. This world that for most of my
existence I’ve experienced envelopes of deeply rooted detachments to my
own soul. I was lost, expecting the world to bend to the truth that a
melanated child like myself had some special qualities or traits which only I
have to make me aware of the sudden effects of this particular butterfly that
I’am. I found myself being classified as aberrant, corpulent and numerous
other adjectives one as Juvenile as myself would find Detrimental. It broke
my will to live being that my father’s side of the family and classmates
made me feel that I was impotent, a mundane atom of wasted potential.
It wasn’t just with words used but non-verbal cues that emptied my belief in
myself and this world. It felt as if I was a Homicide not to gang wars but
between family and Societal estrangement. The only peace I had was the
way silence had my back. It was in those moments of silence that
volunteered violence creeped into my mind. These thoughts started to
become folklore to my young mind and harmony with harm became my
only friend. A forever companion that I couldn’t forget, and I walked the
streets of depression alone. When going to school the subway became my
way to ensure a quite exit from this world. I would every day press my face
near the edge of deaths door and at a split second pull back to feel a bit of
what death was like. At the time I didn’t know what a suicidal thought was
or that I had for most of my childhood been a threat to myself. I was
fighting the thought of my being and the anxiety of the words of external
pressures, their shadows slowly stalking my mind. But it was one thing that
made me realize a rather strange feeling I been longing for like the love of
Eros to the desire desperately to feel noticed. I was in my 7th grade art class
and we was creating pottery and could etch anything into the sides of our
clay pots. I stumbled upon images that reflected my interest in my culture. I
picked up Egyptian hieroglyphs and in the process something drew me
towards those pieces of paper. It was if I’ve resonated with those images
that they were a part of my soul and have been for quite a long time. So I
used them on my mug and ashtray, but it didn’t stop there. When computer
class started I would research these hieroglyphs in an attempt to further my
understanding of why these things had such a profound impact on my
young mind. This is when my eyes began opening, looking like a full moon
juxtaposed to the dark mood-less sky. I saw melanated individuals who took
the wind from me. I always wondered why I never saw anybody that looked
like me on the television and if I did, they were mostly athletes or
musicians. it wasn’t until the day that I saw the Egyptians that I knew that
there was more to my people and my heritage. I had the biggest smile on
my face, my shoulders relaxed and my soul, my soul felt whole. I always
believed that my history began and ended at slavery, that I was and always
will be just a N-Word to my self, my people and to other cultures that knew
their story, but now I knew mines as well. It was when I learned that piece
of time not explained to us in the history books that I made a decision to
father study my own history. So to this day I reach for further guidance
from my ancestors and look at them to show self pride in myself. I know
that when I’m down or have thoughts to do harm or anything else I can
meditate on the matter with them and they will find an answers. I’am not a
N-word or any other label someone could describe me as,I’am called Negus
now which is Ethiopian royal title that was historically used to refer to the
monarch or ruler of Ethiopia. I’am happy, I’am love, I’am whole and I’am
grateful to be a melanated soul on this earth.

Always grateful,
Rashan Speller

My childhood had exceptional ups and crummy downs. I also wasn’t the most well-mannered daughter. My mom always did the best that she could with what she had. Those are some of my best memories. Working 3 jobs and I was helping her with one. I could’ve done better, but I learned my lesson. I understand now that is how life is. One thing I also know now that I didn’t know then was that parents understand you. They know what they are talking about when they are having an important conversation with you, so make sure you listen. It’s for a reason and it doesn’t make sense at the moment. It makes little sense until later, when you least expect it.Ever since I can remember, we mainly lived in apartments and my mom was usually the on-site manager. It was always small communities, but it was home. I always enjoyed helping my mom and I would see my mom and how she was with the residents. At 16, she started having me help with a few tasks like answering calls, setting up showings, collecting rent and writing out the receipt. I hoped to be outside playing with my friends. Whenever my mom would ask me to help her, I would make faces. I was thinking my mom wouldn’t see. I just found out a few weeks ago that she knew all along. We can laugh about it now   It is something that I feel she was pushing on to me and was looking for other options to do after I finished school. I did one fast food job, which wasn’t for me. I had one retail job which also wasn’t for me. Since I had helped by mom, I had some experience in office work, so I got one job in property management. I was the leasing agent and who would’ve known that I would be so good at it? I stayed there for almost a little over 2 years.I moved and did retail pharmacy for 6 years; I did because I had to, not because I wanted to. The only bright side is I would see my coworkers. Property management was still a topic I would like to discuss. I’d offer advice to the customers when they’d mention something about the apartment they were living in. I quit my retail pharmacy job and didn’t know where I was going to next. It seems like no matter what I did, my heart was always with property management. I prayed and believed that if property management was truly my calling, an opportunity would present itself, considering my 10 years of experience.  I got hired by a temp agency telling them I wanted to try this again. Since it was a while, I preferred to go the temp route. I went to one position and I remember how excited I was to be there. That specific situation did not feel right, so I called the agency and they switched me right away. Speaking up instead of remaining silent was a moral decision, and I’m glad I made it. Because I respectfully advocated for myself, I accepted a temporary position with another company. I love to help and learn as much as I can, so I was excited to be a temp with this company. I have a tendency to ask what feels like a thousand questions. The people I would talk to were so helpful, understanding that I had limitations in my ability to help. I had to keep learning and continue to wait for an opportunity to show mainly myself that I can do it. The opportunity to prove myself showed up, and I showed out. It felt amazing to know I was on the right track. I got hired by the company. I worked for the company and gave it my all so much that my 1 year review was proof that I sure can do this and I succeeded. There was another opportunity that appeared and it was a company that I had worked for about 10 years ago. I love how life comes full circle. I didn’t have the experience back then that I did now.I ended up getting a job as an on-site manager. Once I was moving in, I called my mom. I told her thank you for showing me at the age that she did and for believing in me. I apologized for my behavior from when I was younger. It seems like my mom knew what she was talking about. She had seen something in me I didn’t and it took me time to believe that I can do it. I am so proud of myself for not giving up and believing in myself and being able to be a part of a community, just as I always have been. Home is where the heart is and for me, that’s being a part of a community. I am proud of myself for not giving up. It took sometime to believe in myself like my mom believed in me. I’d always remind myself that nothing worth having comes easy. If it was easy, then everyone would do it. That’s why it feels so great when you achieve it. Only you know how much you worked for that. No one sees your struggles behind closed doors and those are the toughest battles, but it’s ok you can do this because you deserve it.

Dear Youth Me,

When people are asked to describe you, your no-quit attitude is the lead of your story. You almost quit writing this. Why?

You did not know what to write about and you have felt for the longest time that anything you do academically has to make up for the things you can’t do physically.

You have not quit countless of other times — and as much as you do NOT want to say this… this most DEFINITELY WILL NOT be the LAST.

So, before I move any further, CONGRATULATIONS to YOU for taking the time to look back and see what you have accomplished; writing this piece is TRULY a PRIME example of YOU NOT quitting!

Another example can be seen where you are right now, what ground are your feet hitting?

The ground of YOUR home; the place where YOU are staying by YOURSELF!

I do NOT really comprehend when someone says you have a NO-QUIT attitude because EVERY goal you set for yourself has one ending, SUCCESS (or at least a lot of them).

After graduating with your masters degree in Sports Journalism, it took you nine months to find a job and as much as you wanted one, you are lucky enough that you did NOT NEED one.

But you made a DEAL with your parents that a job equaled moving out.

As much as your PARENTS MOTIVATED YOU and still do, you found that job YOURSELF… congrats!

Keep on being you!

Your Youth Self.

Love,

Jake

I started taking up Ballet when I was about six years old. Despite how fleeting it was, I can still vividly recall being in school changing into my pink leotard and shoes my mom had bought me. I also remember doing a few shape and hand-movement coordination that my class had done.

Throughout most of my life, being around my family during gatherings would create space for me to dance and connect with my community while being hyped up by their cheering and smiling faces. Around my early-late adolescent years, I felt as if I was the life of the party around friends and others my age.

I was up to date on all the latest moves and bold enough to share it during dance-offs. I often would imagine myself dancing in music videos. More specifically, dancing with one of my favorite performers as I would constantly watch and mirror every move of hers.

I was no wallflower, which surprised others when they saw me move! However, at some point, all of the partying faded away. There were even no more family gatherings as we once had.

That brings me to now seeing that roughly eight years later, I would be here seriously pursuing my passion as a dancer and sharing the gift to minister light into this world. I could feel deeply within my spirit that I would to some capacity.

At 28 years old, last year in 2023, I recall being out for a meditative walk. I was a bit frustrated with where I was while living with family and not being off yet to where I initially planned to be (moving to California).

However, during that very walk, I felt intuitively led toward a Christian Center right around the corner. Everything within my spirit and surroundings allured me (the birds loudly calling in the dead of winter near the location).

The next day was a Sunday. I attended service and a few more after that. By surprise, one day I was able to see them live on stage. I was then in awe to learn that their creative arts department had a dance team.

For a brief moment, I had let fear get the best of me by telling myself “I’ll join in somewhere else here… I’ll join the poetry small group”. Undeniably, dance is a part of what makes me passionate about the flow of music and the freedom to move.

On the contrary, my previous encounter with stepping into this space did not go well!!! I was in my second semester at Western Michigan University when I had taken contemporary dance and music exploration as electives that I was excited to take.

Unfortunately, depression (which I thought would subside after winter break) was staring at me right in the face. Showing up for classes was a struggle to keep up on my main courses, let alone electives. While I was sitting in my dorm room contemplating what I would do. I had decided to drop dance.

I felt so embarrassed on my last day being there. While gliding across the floor in groups, my focus had my mind and body moving opposite from the crowd, causing me to stand out like a sore thumb.

Now, I’ve come to realize the question “If you had a second chance at this, to do anything, would you take it?” I said YES to taking a real chance this time around! I asked whomever I could to inquire about joining their CAD Department. Eventually, I was sitting in on my 1st official practice.

My 1st audition for a part felt like a stretch emotionally. I felt my spirit needing to fully “break out.” However, I still felt some resistance and energy to work through.

I was selected for the part as my potential was louder than the resistance.
Ironically, being back to living with relatives longer than I had planned had become where I have been planted to grow, be challenged to reach, and develop!!!

One year later, at age 29, I am still dancing and developing with my team at Love Life in every way. I now understand the love and support the universe has in store for me this time. It carries me while living out my fullest potential! Also, there are people who genuinely hold me accountable with the honesty and nurturing criticism needed.

I’ve danced quite a few collaborative solos. I even helped to choreograph a number as well. It seems that some callings somehow seem to call back when a time is more convenient. As for me, it’s a dial of grace called destiny.

***Trigger warning***
I have thought long and hard about this entry, the words that are going to follow, will likely be a trigger for so many, but it is my hope that maybe, I can help another feel less alone. I want to let you know, that I’ve likely been right where you are. I’m here to tell you that it’s okay to feel like everything is caving in. That life sucks, and that we got the shortest straw. It’s at that point, we know we are human beings. Living life. We just have to feel it all! Then, when we feel it’s time, push through it. Try not to get stuck in the pain and the darkness. Time is different for so many of us.
My life has been far from easy. I’m guessing yours may not have been either. So we are meeting on common ground. I wanted to give up on everything so many times. My very first memory ever was when I was around 2. It was traumatic. Growing up I didn’t fit in with the others. I was bullied. I had a very emotionally immature mother, and my father, well, he was gone without a forwarding address when they divorced.
I was the odd girl being raised by her grandparents. I was automatically labeled “different” and not cool.
I kept going. It was so hard. In 4th grade, the bullying really took its toll on me when a fellow student put a kick me sign on my back and my art teacher saw it. She pulled me aside and took me into the hall. I thought I was going to be in trouble because no one wanted to be in a group with me. Her words changed my life. She told me that I was smart and talented. She told me to leave the kick me sign on my back and to go back in the classroom acting as if I didn’t know anything had happened. I wanted to cry so badly. My heart was crushed. It was hard, but I did it. I kept moving forward.
In my elementary years, I felt so lost. Absolutely lost inside. Moving on to middle school, the bullying continued. My self esteem was at an all time low. I started to ditch classes and eventually, I constantly messed up all through 7th grade. I didn’t think that I had a chance at anything. At this point, I had some family issues arise and the pressure took its toll on me. I experienced physical abuse from someone in my family due to alcohol abuse they had become a stranger in my eyes. Unrecognizable and terrifying. With each time that I was hit a piece of me shut down. No one was listening to me. It was me, against the world. I was put in a private school for “troubled teens” There were not many girls there but I became friends with a girl that was adopted.
I opened up to her about feeling fat and un pretty. One day at her home, she gave my my very first diet pill. This resulted in an eating disorder, I will just check that box too. So we now have on the board, traumatic childhood- jumping into Child abuse, leading to full blown self hatred and a very devastating case of both anorexia and boulima. I had absolutely no clue that I was spiraling downward in a very dangerous way. I couldn’t feel anything. I wanted to feel something. I just couldn’t. I was absolutely NUMB. You might be wondering why I’m putting this out there for the world to see. It’s my hope, that you will see that you are not alone. That you are strong and you will pull through the storms. My story didn’t end there. As numb as I was, I kept moving forward. I had no direction but I knew that it had to get better at sometime. Fast forward to 15, I was thrown back with my mother. Within the first month of living with my mother, Plot twist from absolute HELL-
I was beaten in the school parking lot with leather belts by a group of boys while everyone watched and laughed. This was typical for a Denver high school in the 90’s. “There was no room for stuck up little white girl in their hood” This was what they told me as they continued to whip me with braided belts. This was an assault. The school let it go. I became a shell. I don’t remember too much other than my mother blaming me for the events that transpired shortly after this. I was sexually assaulted by one of the boys in that group. I woke up in a hospital emergency room covered in charcoal with only a blur of the hospital lights above my head. At that point, all I wanted to was die. I didn’t think that I had anything left. The police had taken a report and my mother refused to press charges on grounds that she feared more gang retaliation would follow. I was placed in a group home- Day treatment facility to address the issues. That treatment facility saved my life. For the very first time I was taken seriously. I was not called a liar. I was supported and safe. I had made it to safety.
It was a lot of work on my part. I still had a many issues with my mother.
Everything was always about her. I’m wrapping this up ending in a teen pregnancy. The teen pregnancy allowed me to imancipate from my mother at age 16. I want you to believe that you can break your family generational curses/cycles and life may be hard but I can promise you there is a light. The fight and the struggle are very important. They make us who we are.
I believe in you. In fact, a whole lot of us Unsealers do. You are amazing. You are smart, you are strong, you have a bright future ahead. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. You will change the world. I will be over here, a stranger, in the stands rooting for you. 💜 Just believe in every aspect of YOU. You will pull through. You are not alone and you are already doing such great things. Most importantly, thank you for being you.

Tears grew at the edge of the firmament, and i wiped away the fear of a never again sun. It was the crystalized feeling, the waves acting as middlemen to the light which guided you to my daily turmoils. It was in that moment I realized that eye was just the seer to a placement of watchful effigy. The world is the viewer and we are just the microorganisms, the germ within the bosom of life and the glare within the retina of the retaining layers. When there is a sense of wonder the seas recreate the flood over terrains of debris as we are humans being in the ocean of the sorrow she carried to labor. Is it justifying, the price we pay as veins became each contact we make when feet touch the grounded soil. Can the world still see all the plausible signs of an infection of infestation. The war on the environment is planted for Edible guidance. Yet it’s windows are dressed with bandages of restricted condemnation of Authentic Omnism. Now with the exception of the calm seas I see clearly, we are merely the inner workings of the eye of the world moving as light and reflection Amalgamate in Quietude. On my isle of isolation I touched the floor to another dimension, a plane where I stand before the perception that God is the eyes of the universe.