Sharing Your Gifts as an Act of Self-Love
About the author: Jennifer Vassel is an author, creative entrepreneur, and founder of “I Am Unique!” a children’s media brand whose mission is to inspire kids (and adults) to overcome their insecurities and share their unique gifts with the world.
I wrote my first poem at the age of 6 on a napkin. I wrote my first short story when I was 8 for a school project. By 9, I became a semi-finalist in a poetry writing contest, where my poem was published alongside the finalist and other semi-finalists.
You would assume that if someone was exhibiting these gifts at such a young age, they would grow up knowing they wanted to be a writer, or in some creative field, right? Welp, that wasn’t the case for me.
Growing up, I didn’t see anyone who looked like me doing it. Well, besides one uncle in England who was into the arts (RIP, Uncle Nevel). But he was thousands of miles away and we seldomly talked. There just wasn’t anyone I knew within arm’s reach who was doing the things I most excelled at.
When you don’t see yourself represented—be it in books, media, among your friends and family—you don’t know what’s possible for your own life. What I did see were people in the medical field (i.e., my entire family), lawyers, and engineers. I ended up going the law route, thinking I wanted to be an entertainment attorney. I later pivoted and became a Human Resources professional.
Throughout the different roles I’ve had, I realized I was not using my God-given gifts to their fullest potential, nor was I sharing them. I’m a creative at heart, but wasn’t doing much with it. I desperately craved for any ounce of creativity in school assignments, at my corporate jobs — anything to keep the fire alive.
In my early 20s, I questioned what my purpose was. There had to be more to life than a monotonous 9-5 routine. I questioned how I could make a living using my natural gifts. I talk about the two “ah-ha!” moments that changed the trajectory of my life and career in this post, but I’ll share the first one here that moved me to action: a New Year’s Eve service.
On December 31, 2012, Bishop Dale Bronner said, “Don’t die with your gifts still on the inside of you; impart to others what was entrusted to you.”
Bishop Bronner’s words moved me to publish my first book of poems and short stories—a compilation of work from the ages of 6-26. My Channeled Energy became a #1 Amazon Bestseller its first day out.
This really was the beginning of creating something that was bigger than me. I found myself along this journey. It’s been an exhilarating feeling because there was a time when I didn’t allow people to see who I was, and I wasn’t sharing my gifts on a larger scale.
If you’ve ever wondered what you’re good at, or what your life assignment is, look back at what you were doing as a child. When we were born, we were innocent, fearless, and approached life with a childlike wonder. But as we get older, we tend to lose who we truly are at the core because things like life, our parents, or our environments alter our perceptions of what we believe is possible.
But go ahead and look back. Your childhood might give you some clues. If you know me, you know I save everything. EVERYTHING. I found old papers and projects where I literally wrote my life into existence. Here’s a clip of 8 year old me reciting an original poem at my school’s talent show:
When you look back, you might notice that you were leaving breadcrumbs leading up to your destiny all along.
Self-love for me is having the courage to share your gifts, no matter what. I was recently on the Pimp Your Brilliance podcast. When asked what I would say to someone who is afraid to put themselves out there, I shared a quote from Anaïs Nin:
When we share, we give others permission to do what only they can do; to shine how only they can shine. A lot of times, we are out here looking for a blueprint, when we’re actually being called to create our own.