What’s up beautiful people! Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. Its actually been a really good minute since I have written a blog post. I used to blog all the time about ten years ago when I was heavy into network marketing but it was primarily just to learn how to blog and drive traffic to my website where I was trying to sell something. Now, I am blogging to connect with people from all difference spectrums of life. Whether you are into music, finance, cooking, beauty, sports…I intend to connect with everyone that are interested in those topics.
So I guess….allow me to reintroduce myself. I am Cam…C to the AM. Lol. That may sound corny but that is who I am..Cam. I am a daughter (wild child), an auntie, a sister, a cousin, a niece, a deejay, a producer, a financial analyst, an investor, a writer, an artist, a lover, an adventurer, a free spirit, a business, and most of all a child of God.
I am so looking forward to this blog because I have grown so much from the last time that I blogged, and I have so much that I am going to share with you all from my experience.
So first let’s talk about what’s happening today. There is a lot of things that are going on in the world today that honestly can seem quite daunting and distracting at times but there is so much more that is on the positive side of things. I am so grateful that the discussion of financial literacy and mental health is being normalized. It feels great to know that I haven’t been the only one feeling like I am “tripping”lately. We have experienced a lot in the past few years from the pandemic, seeing people that look like us getting killed and the civil unrest now we are confronted with mass shootings, the war in Ukraine, a recession, and the protesting in Iran for women rights. It can feel like a never-ending cycle of just “please wake me up when all of this is over”. Not to dismiss any of it but I would rather focus on the positive of the world and that is where this blog comes into place.
So lets talk about the great things that are happening today. We are officially in the season of fall where we can literally let go of the things that do not serve us or our respective communities. This season is the last quarter of the year where we possibly are preparing for the holidays and trying to make sure that we achieve our individual goals. Fall is my favorite season. I love fall clothes…even though I really can’t dress the way that I used to because I moved to California within the last few years but I can make fall outfits pop out here.
Rihanna is performing at the Super Bowl. I have never seen Rihanna perform live however, I have seen a few of her concerts and performances online and I know that we are in for a treat. I agree with her on her stance in 2019 that “There are things within that organization that I do not agree with at all, and I was not about to go and be of service to them in any way."; as she was defending Colin Kaepernicks decision to protest. I am looking forward to watching the halftime show and possibly even being apart of it. If anyone knows Rihanna, let her know that I can be her deejay for her halftime show. For real.
Financial literacy is being discussed more. Myself and my brother have started an online school called Financialolic that is geared towards financial literacy that includes investing, trading, budgeting, real estate, stocks, options, latest news, and just about everything that we should have been taught about in elementary school. Growing this school and community has brought me a lot of happiness to know that some of the fundamental information that I was taught to me early on is still very beneficial to the masses. During the pandemic, I was fortunate to learn how to trade the markets, which has been a journey but indeed rewarding. Trading is not for everyone, but it is a great skill to leverage while considering investing. However, I believe that everyone should invest. Investing in a Roth IRA or Traditional IRA, real estate, stocks, cryptocurrency, or whatever vehicle of your preference is a must to have “financial freedom”. We will be discussing more about finances.
October 10, two days ago, it was Mental Health Awareness Day. If you would have asked me
about mental health about 5 years ago, I would have probably offended some by saying it did not exist. Over the past 5 years, I have developed a change of heart and mind. People say you don’t understand the impact of anything else you are personally affected by it and I could not agree more with that. In this instance, it’s not like I learned the hard way; but I have learned that it does exist.
I was initially introduced to depression from a friend of mine that told me she had to take
medicine for her depression and anxiety. At that point I did not understand why. Why would
anyone need meds just to be happy sort to speak. I may have seemed dismissive at the time,
but I never acknowledged mental health as a disease. I just thought it was a mindset. Silly of
me. January 2018 came, and my grandmother passed away. She was the first loss that I
experienced as an adult; I am very blessed that I haven’t experienced much loss in the life. Yes, I cried for like a day, but I still went to work and then to the funeral; then started to go forward with my life. One day about 8 months after she passed, something hit me like a ton of bricks as I was trying to get ready for work. I just could not get myself together. I was not motivated for the day. I ended up having to call into work that day as I knew I wasn’t in the mood to deal with the corporate crap.
Looking back, that particular job was not conducive to my mental health as I was trying to
process the death of my grandmother. I was traveling every single week, back and forth, from
Atlanta to Minneapolis; in and out of hotels; bearing the cold and lonely winters in Minneapolis. It was horrible for me at the time. I didn’t have a good team and my supervisors were very unsupportive. My hair was shredding because of the stress that I was taking on. And I slick started a relationship that I had no business being in. I ended up leaving that job in 10 months. Started another job at a Big Four firm and it was cool. My team was great; my supervisor was great. I still keep in touch with her. I got a text one day from my brother with him asking me if I had heard from our father. Now, I talk to my father if not every other day, its at least one a week. It didn’t dawn on me that I hadn’t spoken to him in more than a week but when my brother asked me this, I called my father and he did not pick up. Usually, my dad calls me back within a few hours of missing my call but an entire day went by after I was calling and he wasn’t calling back.
So my brother and I went to go check on him. We got up the next morning about 4am and
traveled 6 hours to where we thought he would be. It was a hope and a prayer that we would
find him at the location where we thought he would be. We arrived to the location and there my dad was…..in a mentally disoriented state. It broke my heart to pieces. It broke my brother’s heart to pieces. We didn’t know what to do. All we could do was call for help and try to protect him from hurting himself as we waited for the help to come, which seemed like hours. Help finally came. And they transported him to the local hospital. When we made it to the hospital to meet with him, he was scratched up pretty bad and still disoriented. The staff
sedated him and transported him to a more advance hospital. My brother and I head back
home. That subsequent weekend, I flew into the city that my father was at to be with him. My
other siblings joined me. He seemed to be more of himself but still a little disoriented.
One night, the medical staff prescribed and made him take a pill that took us on a world wind. Whatever the pill was, it made his psychological state worst than we initially found him at. All hell broke loose, and we had to force a meeting with the head of the medical department and discuss the entire occurrence that had taken place from them prescribing and giving him this pill. I think I stayed up for at least 48 hours straight until they transported him to a medical hospital for the treatment that he needed to be chemically balanced again. After a month in the hospital, he was set free and back to himself again. I was relieved.
I shared all of this to make the point that mental illness and health is very much real. We never know what may trigger someone to spiral into a depressive state so much to the point that they have to be medicated as a resolution.
During the pandemic, things got really dark for me; even to the point that I asked my sister to remove my gun from me knowing where it is at just because I was not trusting my thoughts at the time. I am so grateful for her in general but moreso during that time. It was rough. So, again, I am really happy that mental health/wealth is being discussed more often and people are understanding that it is real.
I few things about mental health from Dr. Terri-Karelle Reid that I can relate to:
1. It’s ok to not be happy- go-lucky all the time! Some days are gonna get tears, rage, anxiety and frustration. Process all those emotions - I am human.
2. My emotions are valid. I don’t compare mine to others and diminish its validity because
someone else seems to be have a “bigger or better” reason to be depressed. I feel what I feel and it is valid. Don’t discredit how others feel.
3. I ain’t doing the superwoman thing. I have nothing to prove to anyone trying to be Captain Planet for everyone. I have learnt to ask for help and that doesn’t diminish my dignity or pride.
4. I have mastered saying “No, nope, nerp” and all variations to keep my sanity. Boundaries help me manage my accessibility and availability. Available doesn’t means accessible.
5. I decline packing more crap on the huge plate I already have. If I can’t take on more tasks, I decline. It might disappoint some people but that’s ok. They’ll live. My self-preservation is more important. My worth isn’t tied to how many tasks I can do or how many people I can please.
6. I don’t wrestle and internalize things anymore. I identify it quickly then communicate clearly and contextually what is putting me in a funk.
7. I have released all stigma and apprehensions about therapists. It is like any other service I pay for. We share so much on social media but afraid to speak in privacy.
8. I try to be kind in my daily interactions. I never know what other people are going through and it feels better to do good.
9. I remind myself that I have purpose here. There is no one like me and that my purpose will
release someone else. That self talk keeps me going
10. I have developed the discipline to disconnect and step away from anything that triggers anxiety etc. I haven’t followed a news media page since 2020. And I have no problems cutting off people whose purpose is to disrupt my peace.
My peace is my priority. My mental health is my responsibility. So I take the time to learn about the resources, groups, communities, agencies, organizations and hotlines that exist to help.
Comments