So, with this new Gig I've got going, I get to travel the world and I've got to say, despite catching the travel bug on occasion and not getting much sleep, it is FREAKING AWESOME!

Company paid for trips, first class flights and 5-star resort stays on a regular basis ... something only many of us dream of. I'm truly living my dream right now! Blessed is an understatement.

When I go on these trips, though, I try to make an effort to do something touristy in the area. So, along my little path of awesome adventures, I got to go to good ol' Savannah Georgia. I think all grandmas should be named Savannah because I'm 99.9999% sure they all feed us like the ladies of Savannah Georgia. I'm just going to start calling my Grandma "Savannah."

When I visited Savannah, I met some interesting folks. Some with gold teeth, some with no teeth, some with 10 fingers, some with 11, (literally, homeboy had two thumbs on one hand), some from other areas of the world, some homegrown. It was a weekend I'll remember forever because it was my first weekend on the road of this new business venture and it allowed me to be the person I've been working so hard to become.

All the skills I've acquired, all the knowledge I've learned, all the wisdom I've gained, all the makeup lessons were finally going to be put into practice in a setting that was going to make a major difference in someone's life. All the people I met had no idea who I had worked so hard to become, they just saw who I am now. It was refreshing ... Meeting new people who know nothing about you. Then, when you give them a little bit of who you are and where you come from, when you get a little vulnerable and break down the barriers and speak to them in a way that empowers them, it, ironically, empowers YOU in return!

Thinking about how to speak and actually speaking with distinction are two different things. We can pretend to be whoever it is we think we are ... We can "fake it til we make it" ... But the truth is, no matter how long it took you to get to where you are, no matter who knows your story or not, your progress always resonates with people because no matter the situation, the process is the same. Unbecoming who you've always been, becoming who you've always hoped to be, moving on beyond a negative history--it all requires the same effort ... And I learned that no matter the situation, we all have some things in common ... No matter if we're toothless, fingerless or from a different country, we all want more time to do the things we love with the people we love whenever we want ... And in Savannah, I was able to do that.

I didn't have my loved ones with me, but I was surrounded by educated investors and representatives who understood and shared those same values. We share the Catholic faith, and as a group, visited John the Baptist Church. We have a knack for trying new foods, so we all ate homemade "biscuits" with sweet butter that should probably be named "dumplings" on the menu so that Ohioans like me aren't confused when they order. We took an Uber ride to downtown Savannah where we had a bite at Clary's, sang the Barney song with a little girl and her grandpa who sat behind us at the cafe, and ate southern pecan waffles with homemade maple syrup that ALMOST put us in a food coma!

I spent time with people I knew nothing about, learned about an area on the map that was so different from where I came from, yet so much alike in context, containing people, yes, human people, just like you and me, who have the same goals and motives as majority of the world ... Love and time. And none of that really hit me until we sang that Barney song... Because when the little girl sang it, I heard it and joined in ... She lit up with excitement, totally blown away that I, some girl from a different part of the country, knew that song. Then others joined in. And not one of us knew each other but we all knew the song ... "I love you, you love me, we're a happy family. With a great big hug and a kiss from me to you. Won't you say you love me to!?"

When you go out into the world today, think of all you've been attempting to become or unbecome, and when you speak, speak with distinction ... Like you know who you are. And if a moment of vulnerability appears and you regress in sharing your story, don't hesitate to keep speaking ... You never know who may need your familiarity.