REFLECTION

I love looking back at old posts. This post dates back to September 2017, titled Reflection. This title is perfect because reflection is so important to help us in our process of growing, healing, and building a stronger foundation for ourselves. I have grown so much since writing this back in 2017. It’s painful to read where I was back then, suffocated with so much grief and pain, but it was necessary to get me to where I am today. This is a perfect example of why it is so important to NEVER give up because we don’t know what tomorrow will bring. Life is so hard, but it is beautiful too. Always remember “YOU MATTER AND WE NEED YOU!”

This last Friday, we gave our first motivational speech. We were excited about the turnout; almost every chair was filled. Since it was our first speech, on behalf of our foundation (Jewels Angels), we learned a lot about ourselves and what we are capable of producing. We opened our hearts to a group of strangers, reading our personal stories and tragedies, this was no doubt extremely difficult. However, we fought through, because we knew we had to do it for Jewels, and the outcome was beautiful.

Not only did they have questions about suicide, such as, what are warning signs to look for, but so many families came up to talk to us personally afterward. Since we shared our stories with them, they shared their personal stories with us. They shared their worries, fears, and hopes for their child/children. We were able to give our best advice, based on our personal experiences, and offer compassion and hope.

It is no joke when I say, reading those speeches are PAINFUL. It’s scary. But sharing our stories with families who need our support, makes it worth it. Changing one family and saving one life, that would make such a big difference. Facing our fears of publicly speaking, especially about such a sensitive topic, will only make us stronger and benefit society as a whole.