Resilience. Patience. I would like to urge everyone to always be resilient, because no matter what the circumstances are, what’s meant for you will be. The illustrator for my debut book told me “no” at first. She declined my proposal because she was at capacity. But I didn’t give up, she only had one picture that she drew of a black girl but the hair texture was on point. I KNEW she could bring what I saw in my head to life, in the best way possible. This is where patience comes in, I waited a bit and reached out to her again, and the rest is history! Also, as cliché as it sounds, just keep going until you find what fuels you. Working a job Monday through Friday and working on this book was taking a toll on me. It felt similar to what people describe when having a newborn baby, my sleep was withering away. There were plenty of long nights and early mornings. Eventually, I had to take on a second job to fund this project. So, I was working seven days a week continuously. Though the spark got dim at times, it never completely faded, I refused to allow it. I had to turn down and miss out on a lot of things in order to stay focused. But, If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn’t change it, it’s a part of my story. Now ingrained in my character, I’m forever grateful. One of my favorite quotes in life is, “I aspire to inspire,” and that’s what I intend to do.