ONE DREAM AT A TIME
What really matters to me in life is seeking God's will, and then actively fulfilling it. According to my family, I've been telling stories since I was three. My passion for writing has always been strong, but I didn't quite know my path. In 2009, I stepped out on faith and pursued my dreams as an author and in 2010, as a filmmaker. It wasn't easy...I had to build up the courage to live out childhood reveries. Every journey is different - here is mine.
ONE MIC CHECK AT A TIME
Journalism is my foundation. Since I was quiet, I knew I needed to throw myself into something that would give me an excuse to talk to people. I am a proud graduate of both Hightower High's Award Winning Media Academy and Prairie View A&M University! With a degree in Mass Communications, I utilized my early experience to produce original content for the campus television station. I gained more experience when I started my own show, "Hill Views". This led to inheriting a popular weekly gig, serving as a radio personality for a current events show on the public radio station 91.3 FM. I landed two summer internships at Radio-One Houston, another great experience. Throughout the years, I felt honored when asked to be a mistress of ceremonies for some awesome campus-wide events at the HBCU! Let's just say, I valued all experiences on the mic. But there was another side to me...
ONE PAGE AT A TIME
Minoring in English allowed me to really find my "lit" self. It wasn't until taking an Afro-American Lit Studies course that I felt understood. I admired the works of many and especially Zora Neale Hurston's courageous way of bringing the challenge and joy of womanhood to the forefront. I felt she knew a story dear to me heart, as well as the women around me. I knew I had a book in me. In college I started drafting one.
ONE SCENE AT A TIME
Later, taking a filmmaking course at the university also helped to springboard a number of original projects. While at PV, I tried my hand at directing after writing and producing three short films that featured local talent. I also enjoyed, with my no-singing self, working with local producers and singers who could bring my songs to life!
ONE CHAPTER AT TIME
When I graduated, I knew there were not a lot of creative type jobs in Houston, which was heartbreaking - I wanted to write in my hometown. I found work in fashion and beauty industries as a stylist and make-up artist for the time being. I worked on a few local short films and small-budget projects. Shortly after, I became a teacher and valued working with my high school English, Journalism and Speech students. But I knew early on, I was losing myself. I was dying inside to return to something I had been doing since I could remember. I knew I had to finish what I started.
ONE PASSION PROJECT AT A TIME
Seeing the importance of authentic storytelling, branching out as an indie felt natural and was one of the best decisions I've ever made. Many people describe this route as an ambitious one, and I agree. It is not for the faint at heart. "Indie" projects get overlooked, but I personally believe supporting one's local creative community is something that not only benefits the artists involved, but it benefits you. A decade later, thanks to all who have supported this mission and my book-film-web series projects.
If we don't tell our own stories, who will?
What really matters to me in life is seeking God's will, and then actively fulfilling it. According to my family, I've been telling stories since I was three. My passion for writing has always been strong, but I didn't quite know my path. In 2009, I stepped out on faith and pursued my dreams as an author and in 2010, as a filmmaker. It wasn't easy...I had to build up the courage to live out childhood reveries. Every journey is different - here is mine.
ONE MIC CHECK AT A TIME
Journalism is my foundation. Since I was quiet, I knew I needed to throw myself into something that would give me an excuse to talk to people. I am a proud graduate of both Hightower High's Award Winning Media Academy and Prairie View A&M University! With a degree in Mass Communications, I utilized my early experience to produce original content for the campus television station. I gained more experience when I started my own show, "Hill Views". This led to inheriting a popular weekly gig, serving as a radio personality for a current events show on the public radio station 91.3 FM. I landed two summer internships at Radio-One Houston, another great experience. Throughout the years, I felt honored when asked to be a mistress of ceremonies for some awesome campus-wide events at the HBCU! Let's just say, I valued all experiences on the mic. But there was another side to me...
ONE PAGE AT A TIME
Minoring in English allowed me to really find my "lit" self. It wasn't until taking an Afro-American Lit Studies course that I felt understood. I admired the works of many and especially Zora Neale Hurston's courageous way of bringing the challenge and joy of womanhood to the forefront. I felt she knew a story dear to me heart, as well as the women around me. I knew I had a book in me. In college I started drafting one.
ONE SCENE AT A TIME
Later, taking a filmmaking course at the university also helped to springboard a number of original projects. While at PV, I tried my hand at directing after writing and producing three short films that featured local talent. I also enjoyed, with my no-singing self, working with local producers and singers who could bring my songs to life!
ONE CHAPTER AT TIME
When I graduated, I knew there were not a lot of creative type jobs in Houston, which was heartbreaking - I wanted to write in my hometown. I found work in fashion and beauty industries as a stylist and make-up artist for the time being. I worked on a few local short films and small-budget projects. Shortly after, I became a teacher and valued working with my high school English, Journalism and Speech students. But I knew early on, I was losing myself. I was dying inside to return to something I had been doing since I could remember. I knew I had to finish what I started.
ONE PASSION PROJECT AT A TIME
Seeing the importance of authentic storytelling, branching out as an indie felt natural and was one of the best decisions I've ever made. Many people describe this route as an ambitious one, and I agree. It is not for the faint at heart. "Indie" projects get overlooked, but I personally believe supporting one's local creative community is something that not only benefits the artists involved, but it benefits you. A decade later, thanks to all who have supported this mission and my book-film-web series projects.
If we don't tell our own stories, who will?
THE WILL-M-POWER MISSION - there is a void to be filmed...
"We live in a world where matches are struck without precaution, and the growing fire catches ones’ eye without censorship. The alluring blaze can spread so rapidly...so wildly, no emergency team can extinguish the flame. Although, the “hot” sells before you can yell…we are willing and ready to gather seeds to plant instead." - Micole Williams (2009)
One might wonder, why choose such a vigorous, time-consuming path when easier and more sensational routes are more accessible? Sometimes you have to go against the grain. Sometimes you have to sow value. Sometimes you have to surrender to instinct. Sometimes you have to be true to yourself.
To produce anything of substance calls for the use of four things and for them to be used wisely: your heart, your hands, your intuition and your vision. Stories that celebrate diverse women with their own southern charm, while catering to an audience that appreciates the arts is the focus.
Houston is my heart and the backdrop of the Tangled Web of True Love Tales book.film.web series. Although fertile ground is hard to find, I have found it in Texas! Green thumbs are rare, but I'm excited to share stories - stories that are rich in substance. Growing an eclectic garden results in meaningful crops, aesthetically pleasing sights, but most importantly, a form of continuous restoration in various communities. These projects will help fill in the gaps for a thirsty culture that wants “art” with a dose of hospitality.
Who said substance can't be entertaining? Who said women didn't have a story? These projects will-m-power!
