Day 1: Recognizing & Reflecting

The first step to healing is recognizing that you're hurt. We move so fast never taking a beat to see where we ACTUALLY are and how we feel about it. I'm sure like me, the pandemic has put us all in a PAUSE. Reflecting on where we are in life, what we have, contemplating what's next, and so on!

The road trip is a couple days in, as I wanted to allow myself to be present and not rushed in writing my thoughts to share. As we were driving through the mountains and chatting I couldn't stop thinking about WHERE AM I. Where am I in my personal life, mentally, spiritually, and physically.

Reflecting:

My move to NY, 5 years this November, jobs I've worked, friendships I've lost & gained, trips I've taking, investments I've made, time I've wasted, was I happy, was I at peace, was I frustrated, or unstable. All of these thoughts traveled through my mind as we drove to our first stop Moab, Utah. Here's a question that kept penetrating my thoughts: "What do I want out of life". I couldn't stop staring at how beautiful our world is, yet so broken.

"What do I want out of life?"

A question we all have to ask ourselves at pivotal moment in life.

Is it more money, fame, peace, love, a family of our own, success, power, freedom, or spiritual fulfillment. Of course it's a mixture, but there are some that will come before others so what would be your top 3?

Recognizing:

Freedom has always been one of my top priorities in life. The freedom to work on some days and rest on others. The freedom to travel as I please even if its simply camping instead of a 5 star resort, which I love. The freedom to say yes to jobs that align with my vision and no to the ones that don't, etc!

Taking this trip was a reminder that I AM free to move as I please, with wisdom, because that's what I love about life. We have the choice and it's ours to make. We work hard for moments to actually enjoy life, so why do we struggle to accept the moments and time to enjoy them?

I did recognize that I take A LOT of things for granted because I'm not "exactly" where I see myself. But going back to the simplistic view of life I recognized that I have more than I did when I started my journey out to New York and it's actually UNREAL lol! My younger self would be so proud of the strides I've made, the people I've met and worked with, and the places I've seen.

So here is to day 1 of the Healing Trip!

How the Healing Trip started

Hey Hey and welcome back to Life With Lee Blogging edition.

Since I've been inactive on my website I decided to use this healing trip to relaunch it with consistent content and what better time than now! Also, I wanted to use it as journal and to share it with you all. If you follow me on my instagram, where you probably seen the link, then you'll get a glimpse of the trip & my thoughts, BUT if you wanted a bit more than a caption and photo or two, HERE WE GO!!

The Healing Trip started with a friend who was going through a tough time, due to the pandemic and other personal things. I mentioned they needed to get out of their current atmosphere from all the build up of stress and anxiety. He mentioned a group of us could do a West coast to MidWest road trip and I thought the idea was great, but we wanted to keep Covid-19 & finances in mind for obvious reasons. So we decided to do some camping, hostiles, and A LOT of things I've NEVER done before. Lol, Yes I was nervous as HECK, but wanted to be the light that I am for my friend as it's tough and difficult times for all of us!

We agreed and I thought well lets make it a healing trip for all of us. A trip to reset, fresh air and thoughts, humility, fresh perspectives, and more. For personal reasons I will not speak on my friends' individual perspectives and thoughts, but I will use these daily blogs to share my healing process throughout this journey because I believe it will bless you as it is blessings us!

Side Note: Some days will be delayed due to no service, so expect a blog post around of the day prior. (I'll post a IG story if something changes).

Here is the link to day 1: https://www.lifewithlee.com/post/day-1-recognizing-reflecting

4 things I’ve learned in NYC

Here is a list of four important things I've learned in four years of living in the City.

Budgeting, Hustling, Networking, and Rest days (in no specific order).

1. The importance of a budget

I moved to NYC with about 1200 saved, thinking I was going to do much with it, smh, I learned QUICKLY that it was considered “change”. It lasted me about two months before I had to figure out where I was going to get more money to move in to a place, pay rent consistently, and well survive long enough to live. I moved in November booked a tv show and worked Kayne West’s Spring Fashion week show before I learned that acting and modeling jobs come here in there, until you “make it big”. SOOO I prayed and fasted for my next wave of finances and thats how I got into Production, the behind the scenes of creating what I wanted to be on the screen doing.

You can live in NYC without being a billionaire, but it’s all in how you budget. Going out? Who? Not me! Eating out? How? Taking Ubers? Well the train is $5.50 to and from. You truly learn the value of money and why a dollar slice becomes your best friend.

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2. The reality of hustling

Man oh man! I thought I was a hustler back in Florida, but NY taught me a new level of hustling

1. The price is twice as expense for living (space and travel). Thankfully I don’t have a car to pay all those extra expenses, but our unreliable transit alone has went up in the last 4 years alone.

2. Everyone is going after the same job, I learned what sets me apart from all of the other competition thats waiting for the same opportunity you are. Spend time with yourself and figure out what YOU bring to the table and the skills you have to offer.

3. There are many possible ways to make it to where you want to go in life, you just have to figure out which routes help lead you there without getting off track. I’ve learned to find jobs within my field that paid less then what I was used to just to pay for my responsibilities, talk about a humbling process.

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3. The importance of networking

Everyone you meet is a possible new friend, client, or someone who will lead you to you next opportunity. Never doubt who people are or who they know.

I’ve met many people on sets or at events that led to my next gig. When you hear “it’s all about who you know” thats COMPLETELY true. Even if its only God that you know. Be genuine and don’t be closed minded.

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4. Rest days

MY FAVORITE DAY TO SPEAK ABOUT!

Living in New York City boy oh boy, everything and everyone seems to ALWAYS be on the go. You have to learn and trust that you aren’t going to miss out on something if you take a complete rest day. Depending on bookings for the week, I usually have 2-3 days off and I take one day COMPLETELY off where I do whatever I want however I want. Sleep in late, wake up eat, then go back to sleep, or write blogs, which give me joy.

The other two days are like half rest days. I still get up by 6-7am check emails, workout, grocery shop, laundry etc. Even though that seems easy it still takes away from time with yourself. You’re basically spending your days off preparing for the days of work which isn’t a complete rest and regroup day. So as best as you can incorporate a complete rest day TRY IT and it’ll change your life and restore your mind, body, spirit, and soul

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I thought I’d be in NY for one year, but God clearly had other plans. Four years later I feel like I just got here and don’t see me leaving anytime soon.

I hope this helps you on your journey to wherever you are or decide to go.

'Life With Lee'

“If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere!”