Introduction: Creative, carefree child at heart

I'm an author. A dancer. A brand expert. A digital marketer. A passionate entrepreneur. A caring friend. A proud sister, daughter, and aunt. A Jesus follower. A mental health advocate. And so much more.

Most of my earliest memories from childhood include me dancing. Whether it was in classes, at recitals, or just around my living room, I remember how carefree I felt twirling around wherever I was.

I was never the best dancer. Not the most flexible or the most naturally gifted. But what I lacked in skill, I always made up for in passion and dedication. By high school, I was spending almost every day at my studio either as a student or a teacher. Even Friday nights when most of my peers went to parties or football games, I stood in the front of a studio teaching leaps and turns to little kids. And I never would have it any other way.

I built a decade and a half of memories within the four walls of a studio, dressing room, and downtown theater. But the ones I remember the clearest are the ones as a teacher. When I would watch the three year old children run around or jump through the air without a care in the world. At a time when life felt like it was full of expectations or judgments, it felt refreshing to see these kids enjoying every piece of life without a worry. It reminded me of being that age dancing around my own house not worried who was watching, or if I was "doing it right." My pigtails and ballerina skirt would guide through the air as I spun to whichever Disney track or Now CD happened to be in the stereo that day.

Fast forward fifteen years give or take to being twenty-one taking college classes in creativity and innovation for my entrepreneurship degree. We covered a variety of topics related to brainstorming and creative problem solving meant to expand the way we think and work. But the unit that always stuck out the most to me was all about personal branding. I took what we discussed in the classroom and ran with it.

By the end of the semester, people knew me by the brand I built. It revolved around a logo I created based off Jameson whiskey (college kid much?). But it dove much deeper than that, incorporating my passion for the people around me and the personal missions I set for myself. When I asked people from all aspects of my life to describe me, the words that kept appearing were “Passionate” and “Caring.” So, from that moment forward I knew anything I made in life, any path I chose to follow would lead back to those core values. They had shaped my creativity up to that point quietly under the surface, but now I would shine a light on them, bringing them to the forefront of everything I did.

Which leads straight to where we meet today. My blog is called “A Splash of Ginger” because it ties back to every piece of my creative journey that has brought me here. It’s the carefree kid dancing around her bedroom singing into a hairbrush, it’s the entrepreneurship student searching for who she is, it’s the girl known for her red hair and her Jameson & Ginger in hand.

I’m an author. A dancer. A brand expert. A digital marketer. A passionate entrepreneur. A caring friend. A proud sister, daughter, and aunt. A Jesus follower. A mental health advocate. And so much more.

But at my core, I’m a creative and curious kid navigating the waters of a crazy, exciting, overwhelming, beautiful world. And I hope you’ll join me on the journey.