Akilah,

You are so blessed to be loved and protected by so many—never forget that. You are about to go on a journey that will test every bit of love and support that now surrounds you in abundance. Your job is to be present, be honest, and give your mother a bit more space to see through all this “stuff”.

When you move, you will experience things—some of them wonderful, some of them quite the opposite. But all of it will help shape who you become as a woman, and let me tell you, Akilah–you grow up to be a pretty incredible woman!

Elementary and middle school will be rough. It’s okay! Don’t let them rattle you so much; they don’t know any better.

High school will teach you a lot about yourself and your needs; pay close attention. You will make a handful of lifelong friends, so remember to focus less on the people that pull you down, and more on the ones who leave you feeling uplifted.

College will change your life immensely; be super-present! Don’t worry so much about not fitting in. Instead, nurture the relationships that come to you organically, and remember to have compassion for the people who do/say things you don’t like. This is where your radical self-expression philosophy really starts to take shape, so be easy with yourself, okay?

Overall, Akilah, you have an interesting journey ahead. Remember compassion and curiosity when you feel hurt or stuck. Remember to use your tenacity to carry you through the rougher roads on the journey. Most of all, know that by the time you reach age 30 (I know, it feels like a million years away), you will be well aligned with your purpose, well on your way with a family clearly gifted to you by Creator, and happily expressing yourself and sharing your gifts.

Keep smiling, Akilah–you’ve got plenty of Great Work to experience and to give.

Love always,
She

Sherrell Dorsey – Natural Beauty Expert + Entrepreneur

SHERRELL DORSEY
Eco-Beauty Expert

From Sherrell’s pen…

Running away from your problems won’t change them nor will they disappear. You want to leave home for college not just to pursue great things, but to leave the past behind. I get that, but at some point you will need to go home to restore or the burden will follow you day in and out. It’s ok to be in this state right now, but know that you need to call on God. He will be faithful to you. He will be your identity while you search for what that means to you. Give Him your troubles and your frustrations. Trade them in for peace, love and joy. Your anger will only get in the way and hold you back from being the woman He is calling you to be.

Know yourself. Don’t continue to look for love and acceptance in the wrong places. Yes, growing up in a single-parent household isn’t easy. Dealing with loss and dysfunction in your family does not make you designed or destined for destruction. You get to decide that. Rise about it and know that you are worthy of more. You were designed for more. You are worthy to be loved. You are worthy to be loved. You are worthy to be loved. Be worthy to protect yourself, your body, your mind and your spirit. Don’t let anyone that isn’t worthy take you for granted. I know you walk around with this void you want to fill. But only God can do that. No person, relationship or material item can clothe that emptiness baby girl. Let love fill that void. Let peace fill that void. You will surpass a lot of heartbreak, confusion and self-destruction if you just believe. If you just forgive. If you just stand still and listen.

BIO:

Sherrell Dorsey’s concept of beauty developed at a young age when she began working in her Aunt’s hair salon where she learned all there was to know about preserving the image you show to the world. She began her career in the world of beauty with one mission in mind, to live beautiful and show others how to do so as well.
A passion for health, beauty, and fashion drove her to educate herself in all areas and she made it her personal mission to inform her community about the dangers of living a toxic lifestyle while offering solutions on how to become healthier.

After completing her degree in International Trade and Marketing for the Fashion Industries at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, Sherrell yearned to learn more about skin care and cosmetics. She enrolled at the prestigious Aveda Institute to receive her aesthetics license.

Shortly after, Sherrell knew it was time to create her own beauty empire that focused on education women who were inexperienced in the health and wellness industry.
Fulfilling her dreams, Sherrell continues to educate women around the world through her workshops, articles and projects that help them to achieve beauty and wellness through positive guidance and holistic remedies.

With entrepreneurship being a main focus, Sherrell continues to write for popular blogs and magazines and is currently working on her book and the opening of her own beauty store that will continue to teach others to Live Beautiful.

To purchase an advance copy of the Legacy Letters, click here.

SHAVONNA COLE
Youth Advocate + Writer

From Shavonna’s pen…

Lastly, I want to tell you that true love, loves yourself enough to fulfill your dreams.  You haven’t loved, until you’ve loved yourself enough to go after the things you want out of life and you’re actually living your dreams.  So dream big; don’t be afraid to think outside the box.  Live fearlessly.  Let that be your theme – “Live Fearless.”  Don’t be afraid to speak your thoughts.   Ask for what you really want.  Don’t be afraid of success.  Don’t be afraid to give, and don’t be afraid to receive.  Life is so much bigger than you can even image – it has the whole world to offer.

BIO:

Shavonna Cole, Founder & CEO of Nurture Over Nature, NFP, has dedicated over a decade of her life to mentoring teens.  As an advocate of Positive Youth Development, she strongly believes her purpose in life is to be a resource for youth; as a mentor, an advice columnist, a developer of youth curricula, and a friend.

Shavonna has worked with thousands of teens across the Chicagoland area, many of which have come from the same West Chicago neighborhoods from which she grew up.  Attaining a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Western Illinois University along with her personal and career experience inspired her to develop an  advice column strictly for youth; www.dearvonna.com.  Her website later expanded to DearVonna TV, a teen talk show.  Now both programs including a mentoring component – A-L.I.S.T – are all a part of Nurture Over Nature, NFP.  She believes in nurturing youth to become exceptional in all areas of their life regardless of their background.  Shavonna’s youth programming all serve as a resource to empower youth to aggressively seek their dreams and achieve their goals – “stress-free, drama-free, and drug-free.”

Shavonna also works in Chicago, IL as a Prevention Specialist and Mentor Coordinator, where she uses positive youth development to help prevent teens against drug use and abuse.  Some of her projects include a summer Youth Professionalism course, building a Youth Coalition, facilitating Teambuilding Workshops, Adolescent Development Training, and Mentor Training.

To purchase an advance copy of the Legacy Letters, click here.

WADOOAH WALI
Communications Expert + Filmmaker

Wadooah Wali – Communications Executive + Filmmaker

From Wadooah’s pen…

Somewhere in there, you know that you just have to be you. That’s what it means on a day-to-day basis. It’s in there now. Kicking around…You know there’s nothing wrong with you. I’m here to tell you to stay with that thought. Grow it. Own it. Now, at age 37, people gravitate toward you. They did then at age 16, so, GOOD NEWS! This is an on-going thread. Somehow, somewhere, the beautiful you came out to play. Maybe it was there at age 16, maybe it was before then. Regardless, you made a film loosely about our struggle to tune out the backdrop of noise that tried to tell us that we weren’t good enough because of various factors and that didn’t encourage us to be our best selves in our current form. We made a film that tries to help people (myself included) understand and continually keep the notion that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and that there is beauty in everything so we should erase the self-hate and the self doubt and just love and appreciate who we are. And once we’re able to shed the pounds, the societal weight and weight of self, then we not only are we able to love ourselves, but we’re able to love and appreciate others and once we’re able to do that, we can love and appreciate the world around us.

BIO:

Wadooah is a communications specialist with more than 15 years of diverse experience who blends her passion for communications, social media and technology with creativity. As a self-proclaimed “Cultural Mediator,” Wadooah enjoys observing, engaging and commentating on the intersection of technology, innovation and civilization however, whenever and where ever that plays out with an entrepreneurial spirit and a unique flair.

Wadooah joined Demand Media, an innovative media and technology company as one of the two original founding communications team members in 2006. Currently, as Senior Director of Corporate Communications she manages internal and external communications and has since lead the many of the company’s communications activities including the launch LIVESTRONG.COM with Lance Armstrong and the LAF, Demand Media Studios (the company’s disruptive, content creation model) and Demand Media’s sites like eHow, typeF.com with Tyra Banks and Cracked.com. In addition to other business initiatives and corporate issues, she also worked closely with the executive team in taking the company public in January 2011 – the largest internet/tech IPO since Google’s in 2004.

Prior to Demand Media, Wadooah worked for PR agencies, in-house and on her own as a communications consultant. She drove marketing and media relations activities for a private clients, nonprofit organizations, consumer and technology companies like WUSF-FM (NPR affiliate), the American Cancer Society, The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Z. Cavaricci, Brightmail (now Symantec) HP, Hitachi Data Systems, Telephia (now Nielsen) and others. Wadooah ads a unique blend business planning and development, strategic PR, message creation and development, media relations (BtoB and BtoC), marketing communications, go-to-market planning, professional services & strategy consulting, social media, web 2.0, blogging, working for and with executives and organizational spokespersons.

Wadooah earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communications from the University of South Florida. She currently resides in Los Angeles.

To purchase an advance copy of the Legacy Letters, click here.

CHARLOTTE PONTICELLI
Senior Coordinator for International Women’s Issues, U.S. State Department

Charlotte Ponticelli – Ambassador-at-Large, International Women’s Issues, U.S. State Department

From Charlotte’s pen…

So let me tell you now, four decades later, what the future holds for you, dear fifteen-year-old Charlie.  After a lot of hard work, you will get scholarships and go to college, where you will major in Spanish.  You will spend two years studying in Spain and complete your Master’s degree.  You will fall in love with a man who encourages your dreams, and you will discover the world of public service – working in the U.S. Senate, the White House, and the U.S. Department of State.  You will meet Presidents and heroic people leading the cause for freedom and opportunity in many distant countries.  You will see the world!  You will have children –  two wonderful sons – and your brothers and sisters are still your best friends.  You still think of your parents everyday, and you grow closer and closer to your faith, knowing that “God plants you where he needs you.”  You will dedicate yourself to many different service projects at church and within your community, but you will never forget how important it is just to laugh and to try to bring joy to this often difficult, mixed-up world.

BIO:

Charlotte M. (Charlie) Ponticelli is an international and government affairs expert with extensive experience in Washington, D.C. She began her career on Capitol Hill and served most recently as Deputy Under Secretary for International Labor Affairs at the U.S. Department of Labor.

Previously, Mrs. Ponticelli served as the State Department’s Senior Coordinator for International Women’s Issues; Senior Advisor for State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration; Director of Human Rights in State’s Bureau for International Organization Affairs; Congressional Liaison for Latin America and the Caribbean at the U.S. Agency for International Development; and Director of Congressional Correspondence in the Legislative Affairs Office of the White House. She has also served as Commissioner Assistant at the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

In the private sector, Mrs. Ponticelli has been Program Director for the Balkans within the Eastern European Division of the International Republican Institute, Director of Media Relations at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty; and Director of Lectures and Seminars at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C.

Charlie Ponticelli is a compelling public speaker who has traveled extensively throughout the United States and the world, leading and/or participating in U.S. Government delegations to Afghanistan, Albania, Argentina, Belarus, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, France, Guatemala, Honduras, Iraq, Japan, Kuwait, Macedonia, Mexico, Morocco, Panama, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland (UN agencies in Geneva), Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, and Vietnam.

Mrs. Ponticelli is the recipient of several Superior Honor Awards from the Department of State and USAID, the Veritas Award from Albertus Magnus College, and the Outstanding Young Alumna Award from her alma mater, Hood College in Frederick, Maryland. Most recently, she received the Loyalty Award from the American Women for International Understanding, the Inspiration Award from the Foreign Investment Network and Global Trusted Alliances and the “Afghan-American Sisterhood Award” from Ariana Outreach. She is a member of several advisory boards and international organizations, including the Grossman Burn Foundation, the Council of American Universities Abroad, FUTURE (a non-profit organization supporting Iraqi Women and their families), the Bayat Foundation’s Afghan Trusted Network, and the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council.

Mrs. Ponticelli received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish literature from Hood College and her Master of Arts degree through New York University’s program in Madrid. She also completed two years of doctoral studies in Spanish at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

To purchase an advance copy of the Legacy Letters, click here.

ERICA NICOLE
Entrepreneur + Editor, YFS Magazine

Erica Nicole – Entrepreneur + Editor, Young, Fabulous, & Self-Employed Magazine

From Erica’s pen…

In this lifetime, you will overcome great pain and trials which will set the stage for rapid movement into your destiny. Great love is a part of that destiny. Learn to love yourself and operate in love – in all things; without love nothing else works. When it comes to matters of the heart, don’t settle for anything less than what God has for you. You have been empowered to fulfill a great destiny – and love is a ministry [purpose and service]. God will not send weak ministry to a great destiny. The difficult circumstances in life and the times of waiting often refine, teach, and prepare us for the future responsibilities God has for us. And while this may seem trite, learn to embrace rejection. Rejection is a divine announcement that a person is no longer able to support your destiny and purpose. Throw yourself a going away party and move forward in your purpose. In the end love has no guarantee. Love is an act of faith, and whoever is of little faith is also of little love. The lesson: develop unassailable faith.

Have faith in yourself. Happiness does not exist on the outside – it’s a root issue and it starts with you. Cultivate a state of thanksgiving in all that you do. Live your life pursuing your passions every day – try something new, venture into the unfamiliar, embrace knowledge. Every limitation is self-imposed. Don’t look for approval from others and stop living from the outside in. Happiness is an inside job.

BIO:

As a serial entrepreneur, small business expert, syndicated columnist, national conference speaker, Christian thought-leader and philanthropist, Erica Nicole is a global media & marketing powerhouse. As an accomplished entrepreneur, Erica leads a growing portfolio of varied enterprises. Erica Nicole is best known by the entrepreneurial community as the Founder of the internationally acclaimed and award-winning YFS Magazine: Young, Fabulous & Self-Employed (www.YFSentrepreneur.com). YFS Magazine is one of the largest independent small business news sites and a definitive digital resource for startup, small business news and entrepreneurial culture.

Erica is a Business Insider (BusinessInsider.com) and VISA Business Network contributing columnist. She is also a member of the Young Entrepreneur Council, National Association of Professional Women, a former Young Executive Member of Advertising Women of New York and the former VP of Public Relations for Pi Sigma Epsilon National Marketing organizations (NC). Her prior achievements include a Media Achievement Award, Cameron School of Business Leadership Award and certification from the University of Bremen, Germany in Money & Capital Markets.

As a Gen-Y entrepreneurial change-agent, Erica Nicole been featured in national media outlets including Forbes, The Huffington Post, American Express OPEN Forum, Business Insider, AllBusiness.com, Mashable, AOL.com, Examiner.com Portfolio.com, MSN Business On Main and more.

To purchase an advance copy of the Legacy Letters, click here.

SHONIKA PROCTOR
Small Business Expert

Shonika Proctor – Entrepreneur + International Business Consultant

From Shonika’s pen…

BIO:

Shonika Proctor is a Washington, DC native currently living in Chile, South America. She has led a full and happy life having done everything from doing a National TV Commentary on the #1 Business TV Show in the U.S. (PBS Nightly Business Report) to traveling to see the real Santa Claus in Rovaniemi (Lapland), Finland. Shonika loves, loves, loves making cool and random things with cool and random people. She has created a lot of incredible things in the name of entrepreneurship and innovation with her rockstar teen innovators and change makers from all around the world. When Shonika grows up she wants to be a Toy Designer and Interactive Game Inventor (which she discovered a month shy of her 39^th birthday). And then she will use all her money to build a modern day orphanage in the most beautiful and unbelievable place on Earth. But for now, Developing Chile into a first world nation keeps her pretty darn busy (and yes, her internal compass and a divine mystery led her there).

To purchase an advance copy of the Legacy Letters, click here.

CHARISSE NESBIT
Director of Production, Lionsgate Entertainment

“Every detour in life is just a new way into where you will end up. If it takes you longer to get there, so be it. Know that that there are no accidents in life, only new lessons to be learned. Always try and find that lesson and apply it. Don’t ever regret the choices or mistakes you may make in your life because it will all come back around. You’ve seen it already and you will continue to learn this as life goes on. Just as there are no new stories to be told, there are no problems that you can’t overcome, find your way through, and eventually make work for you. Someone once told you that nothing comes from sleeping but a dream, but while you are awake and listening, know that you have the power to make those dreams come true!”

BIO:

Charisse Nesbit is a Director in the Production and Development Department at Lionsgate. A graduate of The University of New Mexico where she earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, she received her Master of Fine Arts degree from Columbia College Chicago in Fiction Writing. Deciding to expand her horizons, she came to Los Angeles through the Columbia College Semester in L.A. Producing Program, eventually landing at Lionsgate where she worked her way up from intern, to consultant, to her current position. She is also the author of the novella, “Learning to Scream,” had an essay featured in “Children of the Dream: Our Own Stories of Growing up Black in America, and was editor and contributor to the book “A Dream Deferred A Joy Achieved: Foster Care Stories of Survival and Triumph” which was published by Strebor Books, an imprint of Simon and Schuster. She is happy to be involved in bringing the Obie Award winning play “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf” to the screen as a Co-producer and is also working on two projects with Harpo Films, one of which will star Chris Rock.

To purchase an advance copy of the Legacy Letters, click here.

1) Was there something from your younger  years that inspired you to do the work that you’re doing today?

2) If you could go back in time, what would you do differently?

3) If you were to send a letter to yourself 15 years from now today, what would you want to remind yourself?

4) What has been the most influencing factor in your life?

5) What advice would you want to pass on to your daughter(s)/granddaughter(s) when they are teenagers from your life experiences?

Taylor: Was there something from your younger years that inspired you to do the work that you’re doing today?

Tuanni: When I was in 6th grade my teacher Ms. Boltax showed me my voice.  She was the first teacher who believed in me.  I was quiet, smart and often overlooked.  She encouraged me to join student government and step out of my shell.  Because of her I was a leader in student government throughout middle school and high school, and excelled in community based organization outside of school and in college.

Taylor:  If you could go back in time, what would you do differently?
Tuanni: I would dream bigger!  I grew up in South Central LA and while I had a lot of opportunities I did not realize how big the world was until later in life.

Taylor: If you were to send a letter to yourself 15 years from now today, what would you want to remind yourself?

Tuanni: I would remind myself that life is about stages and purpose.  In each stage my goal is to fulfill a purpose that is not always clear but will help in my next stage.

Taylor: What has been the most influencing factor in your life?
My family!  Through them I understand that life is about hard work, love and forgiveness.

Taylor: What advice would you want to pass on to your daughter(s)/granddaughter(s) when they are
teenagers from your life experiences? Never give up.  Life gets better if you give it time.

Bio
Tuanni Price is a senior manager at Demand Media and the owner of Zuri Wine Tasting. She is the  mother of two teenagers and resides in Los Angeles.