To achieve great things, you have to lose everything- Che
I believe this is true. I have lost everything before and it was a blessing in disguise. Even though it was one of the hardest things I have ever experienced.
I moved to New Orleans when I was twenty-five to pursue my dream to be a costume artist. I willingly left one life behind to dive into another life that I knew would be much more fulfilling as an artist. The drive in me was so strong that it only took a few years to become recognized for my work as a costume artist and a local celebrity. My art was featured on the cover of magazines, I was being recognized by national media and receiving awards in the New Orleans fashion industry.
I found a wonderful community of other artists that were like family through a reuse organization that I started called Recycle for the Arts. Besides the costume business, I made very good money doing henna at my booth working in Jackson Square. And with the help of my father, we renovated a beautiful Victorian home in the popular New Orleans neighborhood of the Marigny. It was complete with a small studio and storefront window to display my costume art.
I was living exactly the life I had dreamed of and so much more. I loved New Orleans and even just leaving for a vacation I missed the city that had become like a very dear friend to me. So much magic happened for me there and there was nowhere I would rather be.
And then Hurricane Katrina happened. I was blessed to be able to evacuate but the aftermath completely changed life as I knew it. On my mother’s TV in Atlanta, I watched the destruction my beloved city endured from flooding and then the chaos and looting, followed by the obvious genocide that consumed hundreds of people. It looked like the city and its’ culture had been destroyed and may not survive. My community was now displaced all over the country and some would return to nothing. Some would not return at all. My home was damaged, and though it was repairable, it seemed fruitless to stay. I knew that it could easily happen again. The New Orleans levee system was now in worse decay than it had been before the storm. It still is.
I remember going home right after the storm and putting my hand to the ground. It felt like the pulse of the city was almost dead. Like it would be a miracle if it survived this catastrophe.
Leaving New Orleans hurt. It had become my closest friend and ally. But I knew I did not want to risk losing it all again if a worse storm hit. It was time to start a new life.
It was really painful to leave New Orleans behind me, but it was also an experience that taught me that losing something does not have to be a complete tragedy. It is a path to invite a new way of being. When you are losing it, it can be hard to believe that your new life will bring many more rewards than you can imagine.
I willingly gave up everything again two years ago. I had already lost another home and left my partner who I had hoped I would always be with. Remembering the experience of leaving New Orleans helped me to see that I could create an even more satisfying life this time. I gave up having a home at all and became completely nomadic. I had always wanted to travel the world full time and I knew that if I did not have to pay rent and bills, I could make it possible.
I travel the world a good part of the year now and I am happy to say that yet again, my new life has been more rewarding than I ever imagined.
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