I was working at Kids Foot Locker making $7.25 an hour, getting micromanaged over every little thing, doing everything "right" on paper yet still feeling completely stuck.
I remember sleeping on my grandma's couch in a two-bedroom apartment with eight people.
Every morning, I'd wake up, catch the bus to school, go to basketball practice, come home, study and repeat. I was living in survival mode without even realizing it.
While everyone else was settling for the same cycle, I made a different choice.
One day, I saw someone designing on Instagram. I thought, "I'm artistic. I can do that too." So I tried it and failed. I gave up. Three months later, I tried again. This time, something clicked.
My first year? I made $3,000. The entire year.
Most people would've quit. But I kept posting. Kept designing. Kept showing up even when I had zero sales for entire months.