...& one more thing

I have never been just one thing. For a long time, I thought that was a problem. You see, the world teaches us to choose a lane; pick a title, commit to a single version of ourselves, and stay there. But my life has never moved in a straight line. It has unfolded in chapters, textures, and seasons, with each one revealing a different part of who I am. I started as a dancer; movement was my first language. It taught me how to listen, how to feel, and how to translate emotion into something people could see. That instinct for expression never left me; it just simply found new homes as I grew older. I explored poetry, performance art, and modeling, each form giving me a new way to understand myself while expanding my capacity to feel.

People like to pretend that these shifts are signs of confusion or lack of discipline. But I know better. Every time I followed something that sparked curiosity, I was following myself. I was learning how to live from the inside out. I was learning how to play. When I entered the world of wine and spirits, it surprised people, but it never really surprised me. I understood early on that sensory work is its own kind of choreography. Hospitality is its own form of performance, and tasting is a kind of storytelling. Creating spaces for people to gather became an expression of presence; it all felt connected in ways I couldn’t explain at the time, but I could feel it, which was enough for me.

My path through events, community work, and social experiences came from that same place. I have always been drawn to the moment when people meet, the way energy shifts, and how an atmosphere settles into something meaningful. That in itself is art. It is instinct and purpose showing itself in unexpected ways. Even pageantry, which may seem distant from everything else I do and have done, carried a familiar thread for me. It requires discipline in performance, an embodiment of confidence, clarity in speaking, and the ability to hold space under pressure. None of it was new to me because it was simply another stage where I could practice the art of being myself.

I used to worry that having so many interests made me scattered or difficult to define. I felt like I had to explain and prove how things are connected. I still do. However, the connections were never meant to be logical; rather, they were supposed to be lived. I discovered that purpose is not a straight line, but a layering, gathering, and continuous uncovering of who we have always been.

Now, I’m still a student in all of this, and I love that for me. I’m still exploring what it means to create a life that feels honest, innovative, spacious, and aligned. I’m still learning how to follow what feels alive to me without apologizing for the form that it takes. What I know now is that I don’t need permission to be more than one thing. None of us do.

Some of us are meant to move; meant to shift, stretch, and explore. Some of us are meant to hold many expressions at once. My life makes more sense to me now, and not because it follows a clear path, but because I finally understand that my path was never meant to be singular. It was always intended to be expressive and full…it was meant to be mine.