Thoughts for the Ride: 25

i promise that's my inner light. 25 and shinin'

I am so blessed to be me. And I mean that in the most humble Bintu way possible. Lol. No seriously.

I am thankful for so many things as I celebrate my quarter of a century milestone.

Each year, I learn a new thing, new lesson about myself on how to make myself better. Some things I have learned this year (the hard way) are too personal to share on this blog, that all of yall read lol. But among the shareable things, I am learning to let go and really, truly go with a flow.

You see sometimes, we get so caught up in this plan that we have for ourselves, that we do not listen to the omens, signs, answers that are given to us by whatever we believe. And when we set ourselves on a path without truly listening to our inner most thoughts and blessings, we might set ourselves up to miss other opportunities that are presented before us with an even better, cooler, more exciting option for us.

Recently, I had to make a big decision. So big because it would determine where I would spend the next few years of my life, well at least the next year or two.

I felt stressed. Sad. Anxious. Worried. I had to remind myself that it was a blessing to have both options in front me, yet still it wasn't an easy feat.

I prayed. Made a pros and cons list. Prayed. Meditated. Put cold water in a corner after talking over it for guidance from my loved ancestors. Asked my namesake (grandma Bintu Janneh) for her blessing and guidance. And talked to my parents about it. And prayed again. And finally, I listened. I weighed the things that were most important to me.

And with that, I was able to see that the opportunity I had in front of me was exactly what I had asked for at the beginning of this year.

I said somewhere, that all I wanted was a full-time job, one where I could sustain myself, continue to live my lifestyle abroad, and empower girls under a more professional guise. I want to take my passion for girls' empowerment to another level. I want to really use the skills that I know I have in a way that I have never used them before.

can't wait to see this reflection from the other side of the Atlantic :)

So I took a risk. I accepted the full time position to be English as an Additional Language co teacher. The catch, what I am really excited about, is that I am designing a club, just for girls from scratch. This time, internationally. Check me out!

And Godwilling, I will get to travel to the place where my heart has been since 1988, Sierra Leone. There I will visit my grandparents graves, pay my respects, cry a lot. But most importantly, facilitate a workshop or two for the second annual Girls Empowerment Summit in Sierra Leone.

Am I scared? Hell yes? I have absolutely no template for what I am trying to do. Well, sorta, kinda. I have it. In several word documents, but in a figurative sense, I have no template, because I am doing everything I do in a way that only I, Bintu, can do it.

A big risk indeed because my other option was much more planned out. But this---this is truly me.

I am continuing to live out my dreams, even if sometimes I forget what they were, they always come back to me.

So let's keep journeying through Panama, in a few months, I will give you lens from the perspective of girls’ empowerment internationally from two very different countries.

If I might say myself, I am goin' to do the damn thang (Godwilling)

(P.S. I am also working on believing in the value of my work in this new chapter)

Here's to Round 2 of Bee's Backseat in Panama!