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It’s the last day of 2020, and this year has been an exhilarating year for me. For so long, I spent so much of my time “running” through life “keeping busy”, moving from one thing to the next, and not focusing on the things that truly matter. 

“The greatest victory has been to be able to live with myself, to accept my shortcomings…I’m a long way from the human being I’d like to be. But I’ve decided I’m not so bad after all.”

Audrey hepburn

This year gave me an opportunity to reset, refocus, recharge, recalibrate – to clear my head in a way that helped me to see my vision for my life clearly.  

This summer, I worked on my vision with 5 other amazing ladies over the period of 7 weeks. At the end, I had a mission statement and a vision plan for my life (even if it is a rough draft that I hope to polish as time goes on). 

This year I took countless classes on emotional intelligence, self-awareness, leadership development to strengthen areas of leadership and helped me to become a better team leader. 

This year I led my first Book Club and participated in 3 other Book Clubs – reading amazing books authored by Chrystal Evans Hurst, Nona Jones, Sam Collier, Shaun Nepstad, and Jo Saxton. I also got to Zoom with several authors, which is always exciting for me as a bibliophile.

This year, I attended several women’s conferences and had the opportunity to network with like-minded women who inspired me in my day to day life.

This year, I also gained some amazing new relationships and also ended relationships and friendships that no longer fit within my life’s journey. As we get older, we get alot more clarity (or at least we should) about what relationships are right for us and our growth, and what relationships hinder our growth. It doesn’t mean anyone has done anything wrong, it just means that the person can no longer provide the nourishment that is needed to go on to the next part of life’s journey (and you could be the person who can’t provide that as well and decide to exit the relationship).

At the end of this year, I completed an incredible leadership program with an amazing cohort of individuals, and got to network and meet with like-minded young leaders on the many challenges facing those in management roles. 

This year, I helped my daughter realize one of her greatest dreams, by becoming a published author at 8 years old. Totally not shameless plug, check out her book here: www.blackgirlmagicbooks.com! Seriously, it is the most amazing story that every child should have about unlocking their gifts and talents in order to realize their magic within. 

This year, I traveled to San Diego, CA, New York City, Houston, Texas, New Orleans, Louisiana, Charlotte, NC, Atlanta, Georgia, and Eleuthera, The Bahamas, and of course South Florida (but South Florida doesn’t really count when you’re Bahamian). I ate the most amazing cuisine and partook in some incredible activities, including seeing an alligator on a swamp tour in NOLA and coming up close with seals and polar bears in San Diego.

This year, I took a wine certification course and drank more bottles of wine than ever 🙂 (is that a good or bad thing?! LOL)

2020 also gave me countless journals that were written into and countless Bible verses that were studied and a stronger relationship with God and deeper contentment with who God has created in me.

I am forever grateful for this year, I am also incredibly excited for what’s to come in 2021 – I see prosperity, abundance, financial security, wealth, strengthening of my spirituality, increased connections, love and more internal peace. I see travel (yes I see travel!), I see a new place of residence, I see daily walks on the beach, I see love and connection. I see open doors and tons of praise, I see challenges that strengthen my core, I see a stronger walk in my faith. 

So, raise your glasses, here’s to 2020 and the Greatness in Store for 2021, every year, I name my years a theme, 2019 was #Level Up, 2020 was #2020 Vision, and 2021 is #BlackGirlMagic, because I am sprinkling magic everywhere I turn this year, putting em under spells and all! 

xoxo,

Iyandra