Hey you over there, I am SO happy to see you HERE!
My name is Shawna V. and I am excited to share a little bit of my light with you. Once you know about me, I can't wait for you to tell me about yourself and your vibrance as well!
ON TO STORY TIME!
I am a cis-gender, bi-sexual, femme gal and my pronouns are she/her/hers. I have an infectious energy, positive mental attitude, and vibrant aura. Rainbow is my favorite color and I call Long Beach, CA home and I live here with my little rescue pup Cheeky!
Ever since I was a tiny humxn, I have been a unique little flower. My mom always said that they “broke the mold” after they made me. Growing up as an only child, my besties included the neighborhood kids on my cul de sac, my assortment of Barbie dolls, and my pink stereo with cassette player. I LOVED everything about the 80s: the loud colors, the big hair, and the musical sounds all spoke to my innocent, baby soul. I danced, twirled, and cartwheeled my way through every facet of my little kid life. Not to mention that I 1000% thought I sounded JUST LIKE Ms. Whitney Houston when I belted out the chords, “Ohhhhh, I wanna dance with somebody” in my family room showcasing my silver tinsel wig and my faux microphone from Halloween.
Zoom forward to Catholic School choir when my aspirations of a singing career came to a screeching halt when I was so rudely told by a girl “you are a BAD singer”...I remember that day like it was yesterday. I was HEARTBROKEN. My dreams had been shattered in grade school by some dumb girl one year older than me. She had taken my power away in ways I never knew at the time. This was the first of many snapshots that depicted this dulling of my true sense of self. Over the years, friends and family repeatedly dismissed my uniqueness for being “too much”...
Too loud...
Too bright...
Too eccentric...
Too “out of the box”
Now I embrace these as my super powers...they were just the start of my BUBBLE OF AWESOME!
I always knew that I had just the right amount of awesome to be me and I definitely was not going to fit into any box made for others. Not knowing how to embrace this juxtaposition of me vs. them as a child, I rebelled and acted out in little ways. I can still hear the ringing in my ears of my mom saying “Shawna Marisa if you don’t put that tongue back in your mouth…” as my five year old self giggled in church, adorned in a perfect white lace dress, matching bow, socks, and shoes. My parents ended up divorcing not too longer after and my dad picked up and moved to Florida. I spent the rest of my childhood living between IL and FL and spent my high school days at two different schools. High school was a smorgasbord of spirit weeks, best friends, football games, after parties, pot smoking, booze, and boys (and girls). To my credit, I still got straight A’s and maintained a part time job (booyah)!
I always knew that the “in the box” life wasn’t the life for me so I was determined to get up and out of that town the second I graduated. I applied to college in Georgia and got in! (a HUGE thank you to my HS counsellor who introduced me to Savannah College of Art and Design) I lived in Savannah, GA for 5 years and graduated with my BFA in Photography. My time in GA gave me permission to let my freak flag fly, I loved every minute of it! I started to grow into my authentic self without judgement. I made friends that embraced newly discovered parts of myself as well as the ones that had been bottled up. They loved my vibrancy and celebrated my “big” attitude which entailed dressing up in costume most weekends, dancing all over town, getting creative in the kitchen, making art of all shapes and sizes, you name it, I had FUN!
After college, it became clear to me that my life wasn't meant for a mundane 9-5 desk job. I spent the years managing fine art galleries and photography studios and worked as a professional photographer. I continued to add to my BUBBLE OF AWESOME by getting certified in multiple modalities of Yoga and Meditation as well as becoming a certified Life Coach with Lumia Life Coach Training.
Throughout my career, I have supported entrepreneurs and executives in the fields of fine art, wellness, and human rights by helping them elevate their businesses to new levels of connectivity, productivity, and financial growth. I am grateful to continue to work alongside powerful humans who raise the universal vibration!
Whether it was snapping Polaroid pictures, cartwheeling, or hula hooping, I have always made it my mission to perfect my craft by bringing it alongside me Every. Single. Day. I am obsessed with healing, with growth, with thriving, with shining! My biggest drive in life is to help make the world a better place to live and grow.
In a world where so many folx are struggling to muster up the courage to share their light with conviction, I am proud to say that I have IGNITED mine! I want the same for you too! I AM HERE FOR YOU! This is a world FULL OF POSSIBILITY. We must continue to break the molds, burn the judgements of others, and RISE up from the ashes!
So now it is your turn, how's your bubble of awesome looking?
In the words of the eternal goddess herself, Whitney Houston:
Don'tcha wanna dance say you wanna dance
Don'tcha wanna dance….DANCE!
(--thank you Whitney, your brilliance will live in my soul for eternity.)