Choosing Myself, My Creativity, and My Peace

There’s a strange silence that hits when you lose a job.
Not the kind that’s peaceful, more like the kind where everything gets quiet enough for you to hear your own thoughts again.

At first, it’s fear.
Fear of falling behind.
Fear of disappointing people.
Fear of going back to the job hunt cycle, applications, interviews, rejection emails that start with “We regret to inform you…”
Honestly? I don’t have the energy for any of that.

But once the panic settles, something unexpected shows up in its place:
relief.

For the first time in a long time, I’m not waking up rushing.
I’m not juggling deadlines I didn’t create.
I’m not trying to shrink myself to fit into someone else’s version of “professional.”
I’m just… breathing.

And in all that breathing room, I’m finally noticing something:
I don’t want another job.
Not right now. Maybe not ever.

I want my work.
My creativity.
My ideas.
My passions.
My side hustles that never really felt like “side” anything, they were the things that lit me up, even when actual work drained me.

The Truth I’ve Been Avoiding

Altogether Creatives was born back in 2020 during the pandemic, a time when everything felt uncertain, but creativity was the one place I felt safe. I made designs. I braided hair. I created decor, wrote songs, thought about podcasts, just created, and dreamed. It was a side hustle that always had the heart of a real business… I just never believed I could be the person to run it full-time.

That’s the ugly part of imposter syndrome:
It convinces you to play small in rooms you outgrew a long time ago.

But losing my job showed me something I needed to see:
I’m tired of shrinking.
Tired of waiting for permission.
Tired of building other people’s dreams while mine sit in the corner collecting dust.

I might not have asked for this transition, but I can finally admit that I was outgrowing that role months ago. God just pushed me out the door I was too loyal to walk away from.

Jumping Into the Deep End

So here I am, jumping in.
Cold water, deep end, no lifeguard.
But the thing is… I know how to swim.

I’ve been swimming my whole life.
Motherhood made me swim.
Survival made me swim.
Creativity made me swim.

Now?
I choose it.
I choose me.

What’s Next

I don’t know what this next chapter is fully going to look like. What I do know is that I’m building something real, something meaningful, and something that belongs to me.

Altogether Creatives isn’t just a business,
it’s a collection of every gift God gave me.
Every skill I learned.
Every passion I kept trying to downplay.
Everything I’ve ever done to make a space more beautiful, more intentional, more expressive.

This time, I’m not making myself small.
This time, I’m not apologizing.
This time, I’m walking into the room like I was designed to be there, because I was.

To Anyone Else in This Space…

If you’re reading this and you’re in a season of transition, hear me clearly:

Losing a job is not losing yourself.
Sometimes it’s just life removing what was blocking your next level.

Bet on yourself.
Trust your gifts.
Jump even if the water looks cold.

You know how to swim too.