I love birthdays.
I spend time coming up with fun and interesting ideas each year because I believe that birthdays should be memorable for both you and the people you choose to celebrate with. But this past birthday was different.
I still did something out of the box (I hosted a clothing swap party themed birthday), but I felt different. For the first time in my adulthood, I actually began to feel like an adult. *Cues Beyonce "Grown Woman'*
This year I turned 27 and it was as if all of my hopes and dreams were staring me right in the face. But rather stalling or running in the opposite direction, I felt something forcefully pulling me towards them. I was compelled and I didn't feel there was anything in the way of me achieving said dreams. I've always had aspirations, and I'll admit I've been procrastinating; but when I turned 27, it was do or die. Not in a desperate way, but more of a seizing the moment kinda way.
I felt my purpose more than ever.
Prior to my 27th birthday, I decided to take the time to focus on myself and really grasp who I was and the person I wanted to be. To achieve this, I began practicing meditation, reading inspirational books, and writing down goals and mantras. And when I actually turned 27, it's as if all the stars aligned and I began living my best life. I was, for the most part, always in a good mood, I felt empowered, gained more confidence, and I was being more disciplined in my goals. Overall, paraphrasing what Drake said, I liked who I was becoming.
I was ecstatic to share my newfound perspective and experiences after my 27th birthday with a friend and she eagerly informed me that she, too, felt a sense of self when she turned 27. I soon found out that the rest of my friend circle experienced similar feelings. And then I shared the exciting news with my dad and asked him if he had any similar experiences at 27, and that's when I learned that he and my mom actually met at that age and within months of knowing each other, they moved across the country to start their new lives together.
Hearing these stories, I knew that the number 27 had to have a special meaning. If you look into numerology, the number 27 is reduced to the number 9 (2+7=9) and the number 9 represents the end of a cycle. My life path is 1, which means new beginnings and 1 and 9 are the only two numbers that involves a transition between period cycles, especially at age 27.
Transition means change and a lot of times, we grow through changes and become more self-aware. I can honestly say that I am on a path to self-identity and I am enjoying every minute of it. While we don't typically look at 27th birthdays as a milestone birthday, it can still signify a momentous period in your life where everything can start to take shape in your life, like it did for me. You may also begin receiving clarity on relationships that were once hard to maintain or you might decide that it's time to embark on a new career path.
Although turning 27 has been a blissful, life-changing event for me, anyone can view their birthday as a way to form new beginnings.
Have you ever experienced a birthday that changed your life for the better? Let us know in the comments below!
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“She's not the average flower you see presented, and so she reminds me of myself. I'm a sunflower, beautiful, but different. And what I loved about her character then, and even more so now, is that she was very sure of herself.
"Sure of what she wanted in life and okay to sacrifice her moments right now, to get what she knew she deserved later. And that is me. I'm not an instant gratification kind of a person. I am a long game. I'm not a sprinter, I'm a marathon.
America first fell in love with Eva when she graced our screens on cycle 3 of America’s Next Top Model in 2004, which she emerged as the winner. Since then, she's ventured into different avenues, from acting on various TV series like House of Payne to starring on Real Housewives of Atlanta.
Je-Caryous Johnson Entertainment
Eva praises her castmates and the play’s producer, Je’Caryous for her positive experience. “You know what? Je’Caryous fuels my audacity car daily, ‘cause I consider myself an extremely audacious woman, and I believe in what I know, even if no one else knows it, because God gave it to me. So I know what I know. That is who Je’Caryous is.”
But the mom of three isn’t the only one in the family who enjoys acting. Eva reveals her daughter Marley has also caught the acting bug.
“It is the most adorable thing you can ever see. She’s got a part in her school play. She's in her chorus, and she loves it,” she says. “I don't know if she loves it, because it's like, mommy does it, so maybe I should do it, but there is something about her.”
Overall, Eva hopes that her contribution to the role and the play as a whole serves as motivation for others to reach for the stars.
“I want them to walk out with hope. I want them to re-vision their dreams. Whatever they were. Whatever they are. To re-see them and then have that thing inside of them say, ‘You know what? I'm going to do that. Whatever dream you put on the back burner, go pick it up.
"Whatever dream you've accomplished, make a new dream, but continue to reach for the stars. Continue to reach for what is beyond what people say we can do, especially as [a] Black collective but especially as Black women. When it comes to us and who we are and what we accept and what we're worth, it's not about having seen it before. It's about knowing that I deserve it.”
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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