I Honored My Heart For the First Time In 18 Years 💙
Edge - Grit - Moxie
xo.
ITHACA, N.Y. -- For nearly three years I held a host of positions at AirlineGeeks.com -- a news site that is focused on covering the airline industry. I worked my way up, without an ounce of monetary pay and did a lot of outstanding work. (Believe me, I'm not being braggadocios. Watch my work. Plus, it took a lot of time for me to be able to say my own work was good.) It was an honor to tell the stories of aviation. I felt the journalism fire in me every time I went out into the field, and with every tweet I sent to passengers asking for rights to their photos and videos to help our coverage especially, with breaking news.
For quite some time, I had thought about leaving AirlineGeeks. When my mind would wander to that place I'd refer to my brain. It told me to not leave. I told myself to look at all the opportunities working at AirlineGeeks provides. I told myself to remember all the access I had. I told myself I was covering my dream beat, and I was! I told myself to recognize that I was reporting on camera so early on in my career. I told myself that my work there was a top talker during anything else I interviewed for. If I left....who would I be? What would be my worth?
Earlier this month I could hear my heart. I could literally hear my insides telling me to leave AirlineGeeks. My intuition, my heart sung, my gut -- whatever you want to call it -- practically ordered me to get out of there. So, I decided I would because I knew that in order to hear my heart speak again, I had to listen to it. I had to honor it. With the alternative being that I would never hear my heart speak again I was fearful. I was legitimately scared I would never hear myself again. I *had* to listen.
“My intuition, my heart sung, my gut practically ordered me to get out of there. So, I decided I would because I knew that in order to hear my heart speak again, I had to listen to it. I had to honor it”
I decided I would go on Monday, March 12th. I was so pushed to leave that -- I kid you not -- I started writing my letter of resignation while I was on the train headed to American Eagle Outfitters.
I personally believe that the world conspires to help you. So in line with this, the world decided to show me honor in the most magical ways.
I got to American Eagle to meet up with my grandma and they told us that the khakis were 'buy one get one half off.' (Don't worry I'm not having a style crisis!! It's my tour guide uniform.) When we reached the register, they explained that this deal wasn't real. But, since it's what we were told the associates said "We'll honor it for you!!" HONOR👑.
I reached my favorite cupcake shop, Georgetown Cupcakes, equipped with the day's special code for a free cupcake. The kind lady gave us one chocolate cubed and one red velvet -- both for free. She had made a mistake. The chocolate cubed was the day's free flavor, not the red velvet. But, since she put it in our hand she showed her honor by leaving it there, and giving another chocolate cubed for us to take for free, as well. HONOR👑.
Later in the week, as I ate with my mom at Red Lobster the cook was taking *forever* to get us the lobster tail🦐 we ordered. To be real, all the food already on our table was gross🍤. So at the third "The tail is coming off the grill right now," I cancelled the order. Kendra, a manager came over hurt to see that we didn't get what we asked for in a timely fashion. She explained there was no way I could come to Red Lobster and not have lobster.... LOL. So she honored it. She went and got us the lobster tail, and put it on the house. HONOR👑.
I also went to WABC-TV this week and reminded anchor, Diana Williams during a commercial break that she once while I was in high school, patted me on the back and said "If you love it. Do it." I informed her that I was now majoring in Journalism at Ithaca College and she clapped for me. She then took an entire commercial break to answer a question I had about writing good anchor intros for TV. Bill Ritter, her co-anchor, knowing me and my character for years, although preparing to do a hit in another part of the studio also pitched in. She honored the conviction -- the message from her heart -- that she shared with me which I had fulfilled. He honored my character. HONOR👑.
Although these moments (and moments like these) may have been happening for quite sometime before knowingly honoring my heart, since doing so I see them with such a different lens. It is so much clearer. I hope this inspires you to honor yourself. If I can't...maybe Oprah on GMA can. Go to 4:25 in the video below to see exactly what I'm talking about.
“Everyone of us has a GPS that speaks to us and your only job is to be able to listen and discern when it’s speaking vs. your head and your personality speaking and if you follow that, you will be led to the highest good for you. That’s why all the voices of the world mean nothing if your voice is in alignment with all the voices of the world.”
Thank you for reading.
With ❤️and gratitude,
Malick