(Vol. 1, Issue #007) "The First Yes"

I was done pretending. Done letting stress, cravings, and the flow of everyone else’s habits dictate my life. The back porch pie had been my tipping point. Sitting there, guilt pressing against every bite, I felt it—the weight of all the choices I hadn’t made, all the small betrayals to myself, all the ways I’d let life just happen instead of owning it.

My daughter’s words from earlier that day still burned in my chest: “It bothers me when you and dad don’t take care of yourselves. You are all I have.” She wasn’t just disappointed; she was scared. And in that instant, the realization hit me like a thunderclap: my actions—or my inaction—were shaping not just my life but hers. The stakes weren’t theoretical anymore. They were real, urgent, impossible to ignore.

I could feel the fire starting. Not just anger or guilt, but clarity. If I didn’t take this seriously, the cycle would continue. Late-night ice cream runs, half-hearted attempts at dieting, settling for convenience over health—everything would keep repeating. If it was going to change, it had to start with me.

At the same time, I was grappling with purpose. For over eight years, my husband and I had been trying to figure out how to start our own online business—taking courses on affiliate marketing, coaching, and brainstorming countless ideas—but nothing ever fully launched. Then Blackthorn and Willow came to life. We ran with it: I started building the site, we recorded YouTube videos together, but something still didn’t feel right. Then one day, my daughter hijacked the website, taking over the travel section. It hit me: Blackthorn and Willow wasn’t fully mine, and right now, I needed a space all my own—a place to speak my truth, share my journey, and encourage others along the way.

It felt like my world was crumbling. But then the porch pie moment happened, and everything crystallized. This was it. This was my moment. My purpose. My voice. The clarity of my past, the lessons learned, the bird’s-eye view of my journey—it all came together. Exhilaration surged through me. Drive, ambition, fire—fire I hadn’t felt in years…maybe ever.

When I finally said “Yes” to myself, everything shifted. My priorities realigned. My habits changed. I felt unstoppable, ready to step into the person I was meant to be. And for the first time, the path forward felt clear.

This was more than a decision—it was the beginning of becoming Unstoppable April Nicole.

⬅️ Previous Issue | Next Issue ➡️

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The Journal

Volume 1: The Call to Adventure

Issue #007 — "The First Yes"

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

⬅️ Previous Issue | Next Issue ➡️