Have you ever felt like you were on this journey called life and through all the storms weathered and victories claimed you may have lost a vital piece of you that connects you with your destiny? Well, so have I. I came to discover that I didn’t truly love myself the way that I should and came to understand that this is the key to me unlocking so many doors in my life. Why is this important to you? Well, because you have found yourself in a similar situation and need guidance, motivation, and inspiration to help you on your journey to being the most phenomenal you and creating a life worth writing about in the process. This is my personal journey to falling in love with who I am by documenting my highlights and low points; taking on new adventures and learning lessons; exploring my gifts and lending my expertise with the goal of healing the broken places in me while healing the broken places in you. This is why I have curated and created a new genre of blogging called “Lovestyle” blogging. Lovestyle blogging speaks to self-love and curating a lasting legacy of love by spreading it to others and always endeavoring to create the most phenomenal life ever.

Trust me, this will not be your average “self-help” blog. WE (me + you (my lovies)) are building a life-long bond. We are taking a road trip together that will teach us new things and give us new experiences all while pursuing true happiness. From fashion to our innermost feelings we will discover purpose together and pursue it with passion.

I’ve never fit in as long as I’ve been on this earth, but I always knew there was a purpose behind that, although I wasn’t quite sure what that was. From being talked about, slandered, bullied, and teased to praised, admired, and envied; I’ve experienced it all. Somewhere along the way, I lost myself and who I thought I was; I am no longer. God spoke to me at the end of 2016 and told me it was time to rediscover me and my journey would begin with embracing who He created me to be. This means loving every ounce of who I am, flaws and all. This is no easy feat, but it is necessary. I guess you are probably wondering who I was before I had this Holy Spirit Epiphany. Well, I was a young woman who was existing in her hometown of Birmingham, AL as a career accountant with a professional makeup artistry business and bold dreams of entrepreneurship that would catapult me to the next level, but I was also a lost soul in some respects. A rose waiting to blossom, but not knowing how to bloom. Heartbroken, rejected, and never quite good enough. No matter how great people thought I was; I still wasn’t all of those lovely things to myself. I mean in retrospect from the outside looking in, I have a normal, fun, and successful life. This is true to an extent but there are places unseen that need to be dealt with. Don’t get me wrong, my life is not horrible and forgive me if the dismal display is misleading, but it is the truth inside the dark room when a picture is being developed, but full exposure hasn’t yet been reached.

So what brought me to this point of identifying that it was time to rediscover and fall in love with me? Several things actually. Once my makeup business began to slow, it sent me into a place of failure thinking and somehow landed me into a conversation with God that lead to Him telling me, “I need you to love you wholeheartedly and unconditionally. Take the time to take this journey with me Marliceia”. I have to say, I thought I did love me even though there were some insecurities, but I begin to see some things had become more of an unhealthy obsession than a simple insecurity. My failing attitude was displayed on a Facebook post one day and a healer by the name of Salaam Green saw it and invited me to lunch. I was so excited, although I really wasn’t sure why because I had no idea who this lady was and why she was specifically interested in helping me.  Who knew a Jason’s Deli salad bar would lead to hours of conversation that required me to dig deeper and unlock the door to a new journey. She asked me questions that I had never been asked before and challenged my thinking on what I thought my life should be like and why. My life was forever changed from that one lunch meeting. That conversation was followed by that still small voice of God we talked about earlier. Now, begins the self-love journey. But how? How was I to begin this journey of self-love? I mean how am I supposed to track my progress? A blog! A blog? God really? You mean you want me to be bear it all in a blog? “Yes!”

After the idea of a blog came along, I remembered I had not yet had my one on one session with one of my writing mentors, Founder and CEO of See Jane Write, LLC, Javacia Harris Bowser. I knew I wanted to write, but not about beauty hacks and the latest products as I had endeavored to do prior to this. I wanted to write about more meaningful things after I was placed on this journey. During that coaching session I gained so much clarity and then it happened. My mentor said, “I think you should name your blog Love Marliceia”. That was it. I would create a blog of my life with an utter transparency that would encompass my epiphany’s, happy moments, travels, creativity, fashion, relationships/friendships, and an overall view of how I am reclaiming the unconditional love for self that I somehow lost along the way while inspiring others in the process. The confirmation from the session gave me exactly what I was looking for; a voice!

So here I am inviting you to become apart of my life’s landscape as I paint a life so amazingly beautiful, discover an unconditional love so undeniable, and pursue true happiness from within so that I may light the way for others. May the healing places in me be a roadmap to your healing, inspiration to your life, and motivation to live and not simply exist.

Love Marliceia