Beautiful Misfits! After a much needed r&r in DC for a few weeks (I actually never rested or relaxed, but hey, so is the life of an entrepreneur), I finally hit the NYC streets running again!
My first stop was swinging by Brittney Oliver’s FIRST L2L Brunch, which I was extremely excited about because 1) Brittney and I have been following each other for a while on social media, so it was like finally getting to really sit and hang, 2) I’m always a supporter of black women upping and running s***, and 3) who passes up a brunch opportunity with black creatives while wearing yellow? Nobody, that’s who.
The beautiful event was held at Soco in downtown Brooklyn, set up to the tee with yellow embellishments, lemons everywhere, logo pillows from Modish Decor Pillows, and delicious drinks by Chandon.
Guests came out sporting their bright and colorful yellow outfits, and honestly, you would have thought that we were on set for the ‘Lemonade’ trailer. It’s honestly just something about melanin and yellow…but we’ll save that for a different day!
The lady of the afternoon, Ms. Oliver, shared with the attendees and TheBlondeMisfit how she had moved to NYC to pursue her PR passions, but like many of us, she found herself constantly looking for work and displaced by layoffs and lack of opportunities. “When I moved up here, I didn’t get a job,” said Oliver. “Over eight months, I went to over 100 interviews. So just imagine all that rejection and not understanding why you’re not getting somewhere.”
So what did she do? Well, she turned her lemons to lemonade, of course. “I knew I was here for a reason, so I had to keep going. I eventually got a PR job, but then got laid off. Something was saying maybe I needed to open myself up to more opportunities, and once I did, so many things fell in my lap, including pursuing Lemons to Lemonade.”
With L2L’s inaugural brunch, black creatives from all over had the opportunity to wine and dine, discussing everything from entrepreneurship, fashion, tech, and media. The conversations were candid, and on a personal note, given our political climate nowadays, it was beautiful to just sit amongst other thriving African-Americans and just talk (and eat).
You see, Lemons to Lemonade may be part of a networking mixer, geared toward millennials who are simply trying to find their way, however it’s all of us. It’s the young, eager Jamé Jackson who packed her bags and moved to NYC with no guarantee of success in editorial publishing. And when the doors began to open, abandoned whatever dreams she once had to continue to build TheBlondeMisfit in an effort to unify and equip people of color to love themselves wholeheartedly. L2L is for that young man or woman, boy or girl, who wants to break out, but hits a wall. Yet everyday, wakes up with a mindset that they are going to get up and try again. They will turn their lemons into lemonade (or a vodka lemonade!).
So what’s next for the trendsetter of this awesome networking experience? Well, it seems the West Coast is calling her name. “More brunches, mixers, and I’m trying to get on tour. I hear you, LA, Dallas, DC…so let’s put it in the air, Spring 2018,” exclaimed Oliver.
Aye! No matter where you find yourself in life, always understand that if God is calling you to do something, you may have some storms, but you’ve also got the green light! And whether you’ve been dealt the best hand or a hand you’re not so excited about, understand you do, in fact, have the power to turn any lemon into lemonade. To check out more of Brittney and to stay up with her work in the community (or to see if her tour is making a stop in your city!) check her out at brittneyoliver.com and on IG: @Bsoliver.
*For the day, I rocked this yellow plunging neckline jumpsuit from Missguided. Definitely out of my comfort zone, but hey, can’t conquer a fear until you jump head first! *
