Athaiah Deshawn

What’s a promise you made to yourself that you’ve actually kept?

I promised myself I would stop hiding the stories inside of me.

For years, I carried ideas, dreams, experiences, and moments that I knew had meaning, but I kept them tucked away. I told myself “one day” I would write them down. One day I would share them. One day I would step fully into the creativity I knew was there.

Then I realized one day only comes when you decide to create it.

So I made a promise to myself: I would honor the gift I was given. I would write. I would tell stories. I would show up, even when it felt uncomfortable. Even when the numbers were small. Even when people didn’t understand the vision yet.

And I kept that promise.

I became an author. I published my stories. I started sharing pieces of my imagination and my experiences with others. I built a space where suspense, faith, mystery, and emotion could meet.

There is still so much more ahead, but I’m proud of the promise I kept to myself: I stopped waiting for permission to become who I was called to be.