Looking back at my formative years, I can see how every layer of my world shaped the person I am today. The healer. The writer. The woman building a brand rooted in self love.

At the center of everything was my microsystem, my immediate world. My mother, Monique, was my foundation as a stay at home single mom who held our family together with strength and grace. My brothers, Kaiel, Keenan, Kory, and Kevin, were my first community. They taught me loyalty, creativity, and resilience. My peers, Aahjah, Candrea, and Brianna, were my mirrors during those tender years, reflecting pieces of who I was becoming.

The mesosystem was where these worlds connected and influenced one another. Ypsilanti High School was more than a building. It was a space where I evolved through meaningful interactions with peers and teachers who truly saw me. My mother’s involvement in my education, shaped by our circumstances, showed up through her “ask and you will receive” Christian faith. It served as a moral compass that guided us even when resources were scarce. Our church community surrounded our family with prayer and support, creating bridges between home and the outside world.

The exosystem, made up of indirect influences, formed the backdrop of my childhood. We relied on government assistance, navigating life as a low income family in a diverse working class community focused on survival. My mother’s role as a stay at home mom was both a choice and a necessity shaped by systems beyond our control. Field trips and mission trips became windows into worlds beyond Ypsilanti and expanded my understanding of what was possible. Popular media, including television, music, and early social media, offered both escape and inspiration. These influences planted seeds for the creative work I do today. The collapse of the automotive industry rippled through our community, impacting families we knew and shaping the economic reality we lived in.

The macrosystem, the largest cultural context, was the atmosphere we lived in even when we did not always name it. I was sixteen to seventeen years old in 2010, coming of age during Barack Obama’s presidency. Seeing a Black president felt both revolutionary and personally affirming. The iPhone 4 launched and smartphones entered the mainstream, transforming how we connected with one another. Marriage equality was gaining momentum, environmental awareness was growing, and cultural conversations around diversity and belonging were shifting. The recovery from the 2008 economic crash was still unfolding, and I could feel the tension between hope and struggle in the adults around me.

Every layer, from my mother’s love to national leadership and policy, wove together to create the ecosystem of my becoming. Viewing my life through Bronfenbrenner’s model helps me understand that my story was never just mine alone. It was shaped by family, community, culture, and history. Now, as I prepare to share my teachings and framework, I carry all of these layers with me. They have been transformed into purpose, healed into power, and refined into a mission to help others do the same.