Oh Hello…
So you want to know about me?
My name's Aryiel, just like that famous movie “The Littlemermaid”
Hey, what’s up wonderful people! My name is Aryiel, and I am a self proclaimed Writer, Poet, Actor, Podcaster, and Single Superhero Mother taking the world one view at a time. Ten years ago I never thought I would be where I am at today however, I am sure that is what everyone says. So let’s go back in time for a bit… I am was born overseas in Germany and lived there before I could even really remember.
I’d say my earliest youth memory was when we lived in Colorado.
A few things you should know about in order to prepare you for all of the moving that I am about to list out for you.
I was born in Germany and maybe lived there for a year (ask my parents)
My Father is retired military but was active until I got to high school
I grew up doing cross country traveling with my parents in the car (Denver to LA often or to Chicago)
I have two sisters and a cousin brother (more on that later)
These things would shape my later years and thus we have the wonderful years of my adolescence. Snow storms, a year round school, my first introduction to theatre and an amazing babysitter now turned close family member. This is also the place where I wish I could tell you that the years of me traveling stopped but for me this is where it began. Colorado was a place that we had settled for a few years before embarking on another BIG move (My FIRST big move). That was my first time leaving friends (that I can remember) where I was truly affected by the distance and losing them. What I would learn later in life is that distance doesn’t kill my relationships that are meant for me to have for a lifetime.
I made a pit stop in California before my next destination.
Due to how much goes into moving an entire family overseas, my mother and I stayed in California with her mother, and I continued school for about 4 months. I loved LA, and this felt like an extended vacation. It should be noted that going to school here built one tough ass kid! I was punched for the first time, and the demographics of the school were very different from being the only Black child when we lived in Colorado. This was eye-opening for me, and now I think about it as an adult, this place made me feel not “othered,” and I loved being just like everyone else. After California, I arrived in Gelnhausen, Germany, just a hop, skip, and jump from Hanau, where I was born. Looking back on it, I was so blessed to have had this fantastic opportunity to live in Germany. I attended 3rd—5th grade there and truly made lifelong friends I would later see in my adult years. The best thing about living overseas was the memories of travel and the foods I got to eat. My sister was also born while we lived there, so my parents planned that out by having both kids born in the same country, which I am sure does not happen for many military children.
Germany taught me so much about life and experiencing different cultures. Yes, we were all military children, but this was where I first started playing basketball and continued to do hikes and cross-country travels with my parents. For the most part, the activities in Germany were pretty limited, BUT I got to play basketball with most of the kids to the right. (I learned how to be a very aggressive player because of it, too) It should also be mentioned that we were not here alone either. We had family stationed there, so we spent holidays with cousins over the 3.5 years we were here! If you asked me, my favorite part was that summers were spent going from parks to local shops and visiting castles like the Neuschwanstein Castle. You will see a great mixture of the old and modern worlds in Germany.
Is the Midwest What Dreams Are Made of?
We moved in early mid-August of 2001, and I am pretty sure I did not have expectations for Missouri, but hearing cicadas during one of our hotel stays in Leavenworth, KS, was NOT on that bingo card. I remember getting out of the car and covering my ears because I had never heard that sound. If you are thinking to yourself that we ended up living in Leavenworth … you would be incorrect because Mama Everett was raised as a city girl, and Leavenworth and northern Missouri were not going to cut it for her. SO we did what was best for us and moved to Kansas City, MO.
I went to middle and high school in Kansas City, and the memories are endless. I remember starting middle school, and on the first day I arrived at the classroom, the teacher thought I had been sent over to her classroom by another teacher as a consequence rather than me being the new kid from Germany. I would have thought that my platform shoes, my hair looking like a spice girl, and my lack of name-brand clothing would have given it away, but alas, it boiled down to my skin color and voice.
Middle school was a blur … I switched from one middle school in the district to another. While I made some amazing friends at both, the experience felt like a puberty tornado. Friend break ups, first boyfriends, or what we thought boyfriends and girlfriends were. Moving from a townhome to a house and then relocating to a larger house. Basketball was still being played during this time, and we, as a family, were still taking long cross-country road trips. Military life felt different; instead of being on base with my Dad for family events and festivals, I would only go for the needed doctor appointments, and a large majority of my friends during this time were white. Life was different than when I was in elementary school, and I both noticed but also assimilated as I believed that was what life was about. My grandmother lived with us during some of this before she passed, and it was beautiful to have generational living. (In my opinion, all life should be like this) Another addition to our family during this time would be my younger cousin, who would eventually begin living with us. Here is where that cousin brother I mentioned before comes into play. He in my eyes is still my brother and there is no changing my mind on that.
I never thought I would live in Florida.
After the Missouri years, I eventually would make my way to Jacksonville, FL, where my parents lived (Yes, during my many years of college, they had moved to 3 different states). I found that Jacksonville presented a slower pace of life and something that I neither hated nor loved. I think I felt that Florida was a punishment because my mind was still set on moving to LA and becoming an actor. I won't get too much into the “punishment” part, but know that I genuinely never thought I would end up back at home. It was never bad, but lessons were learned, and I “grew up” in Florida. In college (in Springfield), you are still shielded from the harsh realities of the world, and you don’t have the more nuanced expectations that I know. Just consider routine. Jax is where I got my first big girl job and my second one. I will say that I owe my first job the credit for why this blog even began in the first place. I was working in IT Project Management at a hospice, and I needed a creative outlet to feed my soul. I knew that I didn’t want it to look like the typical WordPress blog but rather a creative website dedicated to whatever I wanted it to be! It has morphed and changed in so many ways, but where it is today comes from hard planning and late nights. So many positive experiences, laughs, and memories came out of Jax, and I regret nothing. My daughter still talks about how awesome it was to live with her Ming Ming and Gouda in Florida.
It should also be mentioned that while in Florida, I would have to make two more major moves. The first was moving to Orlando, where my sister and I shared an apartment during COVID. This was a particularly interesting year as it was the only year my daughter did not live with me but with her father. I also felt like I could explore what my career looked and felt like a bit more. I decided I could get a contract position somewhere (which proved hard since it was COVID and even I had been recently laid off). I decided that working a career that gave back during a major time of need was where my skills could thrive the most. I ended up working in administration at a food bank in Orlando, and it was the most joy I had received at work in a long time.
During the Orlando year, I learned about grieving friendships and what it would feel like to live in moments of stillness. I had way less stress at work, and I learned that I enjoyed giving back and helping others. That piece was important because what came next was me learning that I needed that in my life. Flexibility, prioritizing family, and taking the time to enjoy moments in my life. Everything up until Orlando felt like me playing catch up and never reaching a goal. I am not saying that Orlando fixed that because I was still underwater for years after that, but it gave me peace of mind to know that something more could be had.
The Midwest Strikes Again…
So now we are here again!! Wait, I am sure you are like, here, as in where exactly? Well, I eventually would come right on back to Missouri because I knew I wanted to do the following and I couldn’t do it where I was:
Buy a house
Start my career
Provide stability for my daughter
Well I am happy to say that I did ALL of these things. I bought the house (a townhome for now), I found the job that gave me all the flexibility I needed and treated like a human, and my kid is doing WONDERFUL!! The best part about all of this is that THIS BLOG helped me land my current job. This has propelled me into a career and field in which I have learned so much. The journey doesn’t stop here either because there are new goals to reach, of course, and so many other places to visit and see. SO since you are here and if you made it this far you might well take a look around and stay for a while.
College was still in Missouri…
College was spent in good ole Springfield, MO. Had I known that I would leave my interior design major for theatre … I might have reconsidered that option, but everything happens for a reason.
I attended Missouri State University and initially thought I would eventually be “the next design star” on HGTV. That would drastically change after just one semester, though, and I would eventually choose theatre above all!
College is where people find themselves; for some, it is where they lose themselves. I did both! I 100% found my family, but I also let the fun of college consume me and take over grades and other priorities that would have greatly benefitted my life trajectory later. One thing I was missing the most was a mentor to help guide me down the path I had chosen for myself (theatre). Please don’t get me wrong; college was not bad, as I learned so much and found my family. In my first year, I became a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Incorporated, and by year two, I was full-blown acting in short plays and learning the art of theatre in a way I had never understood.
Midway through, I would adopt a dog who became the talk of the Black folks on campus because she was ALWAYS with me. Then, by the end of the year, I was there (and many of them), and I got the best gift ever: my daughter!
