Believe in Your Own Fairytale

By Kay-Marie Fletcher

Believe In Your Own Fairytale narrates a young woman’s quest to achieve dreams all thought impossible. While being raised in a poor, black household on a small island does not make one the perfect candidate for a happily-ever-after, Fletcher shows that fairytales are real for those who find the magic in themselves. It is a journey of self-discovery, relationship with God and overcoming hardships including grief, disappointment, depression, poverty, anxiety and overcoming many psychological barriers to manifest true purpose. If you’ve ever doubted that your dreams are too big or maybe never believed in fairytales at all, then this is the book for you. It is designed for all the wanderers, dreamers and every person who has felt like their goals were so big it scared them and everyone else around them. It is for those who lack support from others and struggle daily to achieve their lifelong goals.

Yuh’ see when you’re born in 1990 and yuh’ grow up as an only child to a poor, black, single-parent mother in the Caribbean, wanting to become a New York Times best-selling author and broadcast journalist living in the big apple seems like a real FAIRYTALE. My childhood dream of becoming the “Caribbean Carrie Bradshaw” was often mocked and turned away by locals who told me, “give up Kay-Marie dem’ ting’ does only happen in books and movies”. Determined to prove everyone wrong and do so by age 25, I set out on the pursuit of happiness as a young, naïve but strong-minded island-girl. However, my journey to achieve these goals was often disrupted by many hardships and this book details how I dealt with them. These include grief, disappointment, depression, and poverty, anxiety, crossing geographical borders and overcoming many psychological barriers.

The unexpected death of my grandmother and uncle, which made me struggle to complete university, was just one of many. This caused me great turmoil, since Education had to be my ticket into a better life. After being rejected to do my post-grad studies in the U.S., I was forced to take an ordinary desk job to earn a living. Meanwhile, I hoped that finding true love would be a worthy compromise. Sadly, I looked for it in all the wrong guys.

Luckily, I landed my dream job as a journalist at the largest local news station back home. Soon after taking it however, my old dream resurfaced and I was finally given the chance to migrate to the United States. By then, I had to choose between giving up the life I’d always imagined overseas and accepting what seemed to be my new fate in Trinidad. But, what happened next completely overturned my life. After surviving a horrific car accident on my 25th birthday, I woke up to an epiphany that my fairytale was much more than just becoming a big city girl. Taking a leap of faith to go after my dreams, developing a relationship with God, and discovering my true purpose in life became my real happily ever after.

This book also gives an entirely new outlook to the traditional concept of what we know a ‘fairytale’ to be. Unlike others, each chapter unravels a whole new definition of the term ‘fairytale’ and intends to convince the minds of those who never believed in fairytales at all. When you read this book you will discover that your fairytales are your dreams, your purpose, your truth, your vision, your deepest thoughts, your inner magic, your baby, your goals, your prophetic call, your diamond, your destiny, and your recipe for success, just to name a few.

 

 

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson
• Release date: Jan 15, 2019
• ISBN: 9781595559357

Kay-Marie Fletcher

Kay-Marie Fletcher is a Caribbean author and broadcast journalist with a background in Psychology. As a female, West-Indian Christian, Fletcher believes she is often unrepresented in mainstream media. Her aim is to lend a voice to the voiceless and inspire a conversation of change. With the belief that books have the power to transform lives, she channels her unwavering love for God, continuous evolution of self-discovery and personal experiences unto paper in hopes of helping others.

Book preview

I DISCOVERED MYSELF IN MY WRITING

At twenty, an age when most young adults are trying to figure out who they are, my mother gave birth to me. I grew up as an only child, being raised by a single parent. My mother was a young, black woman from a huge, poor family. She had thirteen brothers and seven sisters. My father, on the other hand, who I later discovered had other kids, was much older. He came from a small, well-off family in comparison to my mother’s family, had a PhD, and travelled often. In a real sense, I am the product of two distinctly separate worlds. At a very early age, I began to wonder who I would turn out to be. I was a talkative child, an inquisitive child, always curious about everything around me. I was an observer; an overthinker, and my imagination got the better of me most times.

I had many cousins and was the youngest amongst them. As the baby, I often felt like I wasn’t being taken seriously. I decided then that in order for my voice to be heard, I would write my thoughts down and so began my dream of becoming a writer. Both my mother and grandmother would stress the importance of gaining an education so school became my focus. As a practice and something I would look forward to, my mother would buy me a new book every time I did well in exams. The further away these stories were from my reality, the more I enjoyed them. I soon gained a great likeness for authors such as Jane Austen, the Bronte Sisters, and William Shakespeare. The way they made their characters come alive and the construction of their words evoked a strong emotion of amusement in me. I was captivated by the fact that these books took me to a different world. Playing outdoors was short-lived. Instead, I stayed indoors to write stories and poems. My adventures were penned and my joy came from reading my stories to whomever would spare a listening ear.

I discovered myself in my writing. I observed my mother closely: how she struggled with self, relationships, family, and career. I saw how hard she worked to provide for me to ensure I was in need of nothing, so I wrote about strong women. I watched how often my grandmother prayed, so I wrote my views on religion. I listened to my girlfriends and their relationships with the other sex, then I wrote about love and sex. I examined how my country developed over time, so I wrote about politics and culture, how I often rejected my own culture and how disgusted I was at how everyone used the term culture as an excuse to get away with murder, rape, paternal absenteeism, to drop out of school, or become teenage parents. I wrote about healthcare, parenting, entertainment, and the dynamics of human life.

The more books, magazines, and news I read, the more I realized that there was so much more to life outside my tiny island, and so began my love and desire to travel. When I discovered the likes of Anna Quindlen, Helen Thomas, and Barbara Walters, my dream to become a writer extended into becoming a journalist. I realized that journalism would not only allow me to write but also investigate, report, and most importantly give a voice to the voiceless. For years I would oversleep, because all I could dream about was writing, exploring the dynamics of human life, discovering truths untold, and making everything to do with media and journalism my lifestyle. I was curious, passionate, and believed it was my personal responsibility to report on stories worth hearing. I didn’t believe I was born to have an average 8:00 – 4:00 desk job. I couldn’t live a routine life. I wanted to travel, write, explore, read, fall in love, and let my words become my magic. This was not going to be an easy task or an overnight success story because remember I was only a small twin-island girl with a wild imagination and big city dreams. However, Mark Twain said it best, Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

Now, I didn’t reveal all of these things to you for the sake of just telling you my business. Rather, I mentioned all of these things because these are the aspects of my life that make me who I am. These are the things I needed to fully explore in order to have the future I’ve always dreamt about. And figuring out who you are is a major key in fulfilling your fairytales. Today, I hope this inspires you to begin thinking about who you are too.

I realized that I did not want to feel lost forever, so I needed to start figuring out who Kay-Marie Fletcher was. I spent a lot of time alone discovering myself. I realized that not only were my accomplishments going to represent me, but also my mistakes and hardships as well. The older I got, I tried to paint a picture of myself. However, the reason why a lot of things didn’t go as planned was because I felt like I could do it all on my own. Word of advice: if you think you can do things on your own without including God in your life, then be prepared to go down the wrong path. It takes a lot of prayer, but when you do feel lost, ask God to show you the vision He has for you. One of my favorite bible verses to date says, "For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord. Plans to PROSPER you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a FUTURE."—Jeremiah 29:11–13, NIV

For me, it was only after a lot of prayer and supplication that I was able to figure out what God’s plans were for my life. Until then I was of the firm opinion that I had it all figured out. But when I surrendered it all to God, no longer did I look at it like my plans kept failing. In fact, I realized that God was just telling me, I have much better in store, baby girl. When I accepted His plans instead, my life changed. What is even better is so can yours. When I accepted His will, I was finally able to complete my first official manuscript. For a writer, completing a manuscript can be very arduous, take many years, and involves a lot of trial and error. But it is also the most fulfilling feeling in the world. Fast forward, having this book published and available on bookshelves around the world for special people like you to read is evidence of my heaven-sent plans being fulfilled.

Making your fairytale become a reality involves a lot of figuring things out. And that’s okay. Now more than ever, you can start doing that. Even if you think you’ve done it before. There’s so much more to gain if you take a chance on yourself to try something different. Remember that picture I just said I painted of myself? Well, I had to scrap that picture and start all over. I had to face disappointments, take sabbaticals to write, cry many tears, and reject everyone else’s opinions for my life. But through it all, the greatest feeling was figuring ‘me’ out. Now I can stand firmly in my skin and be proud of the woman I’ve become. Now I can testify that my plans are much bigger than me. Now I know the significance of writing in my life and more than just that, now I have the task of encouraging you to do the same.

I also want you to know that your visions correlate with your association. By that I mean your vision should align with your relationships, friendships, the books you read, the places you go, and even what you spend your money on. Knowing the vision for your life can help discipline your entire existence. Think about it like this: if you found out that you’ve inherited a trust fund that will secure you financially for the rest of your life and that you’ve been appointed the ruler over your country, I have a strong feeling you’re going to begin acting differently. You’re no longer going to settle for less than the best. Why then don’t we apply this same principle to our goals? Where our goals are concerned, we do not need to wait until someone tells us that we can inherit a better future before we begin to act like we already deserve it or do. Since we’re currently in the ‘figuring out stage,’ now’s the perfect time to think about your associations. Are they even helping you in any way?

How can we want to be happy but only listen to sad music? Want blessings but not believe in prayer? And want to change but continue to associate ourselves with the wrong company? More than just that, how can we want to become writers if we don’t read? How can we desire to become athletes if we don’t put in the practice? Or want to fulfill a huge vision for our business if we don’t associate ourselves with like-minded entrepreneurs?

What do you desire today?

It all begins in our minds, but we have the power to outline exactly what our fairytale should look like. As such, if we begin to act like our vision is sure and begin to align ourselves accordingly, don’t you think it’ll be easier to come to pass? I sure do think so.

What are some of the things you dream about? If you are not quite sure what your purpose is in life, then I urge you to start looking at the things and people around you. What do you like to do? Who are the people in your life who influence you?

Sometimes, if we’re honest with ourselves, we will realize that some people are in our lives but not really making us better. In fact, they are stifling who we’re really meant to be. Even some of the places we go and things we do block us from what we’re really supposed to be doing. I even think after reading what I just said, you have an idea of the things or people holding you back. Or if not, you know some things and places you wish to be associated with. This is all part of the process of writing your own fairytale.

As a teenager and my mother’s only child, I often thought she was hard on me. She was extremely overprotective and I was never allowed to do things that my peers would usually be allowed to do. In high school, my friends would be talking about boys, mall dates, going to the movies, sleepovers, and the like. I was not part of it. Then the older we got, the more these conversations matured into talks of parties, the latest outfits, and their first kiss. However, I was not able to contribute to any of these conversations either, because I was not allowed to go to parties, let alone talk to boys on the phone.

When I graduated from high school, I still hadn’t experienced my first kiss. Did my mother only want me to be a nerd or end up a lesbian? I wondered. I often felt like I was at a disadvantage. I thought my mummy was mean to me and was plotting against my popularity and happiness.

I always did well in school, so why wasn’t I allowed to go out like my friends? I could hear her voice now as she always told me, Kay-Marie, what missed you won’t pass you. Oh, how I hated that saying. Truth be told, I never understood what it meant. What a dumb thing to say, I thought. If I missed out on it, I can’t get it back, Mummy.

The funny thing is I found myself giving that same advice to others in my adult years. And now in my late twenties, I thank God for blessing me with the mother He did. Because of the way I was raised, I was able to avoid making silly and irreversible mistakes that my other friends made. If it weren’t for my mother instilling valuable lessons in me and her strict method of doing things, I probably would have ended up as a teen mom, not being able to further my education or heartbroken like a lot of other girls I attended school with. I said all of that to say, for all the years I wasn’t allowed to do things, God was shaping me for better. Maybe you’ve felt the same. Especially in the age of social media and everything being available at your fingertips, it’s so easy as a young person to get caught up in the hype. Today I urge you to not feel left out if you’re not allowed to do all the things that your friends appear to be having such great fun doing. Or perhaps, it has nothing to do with friends at all. Maybe you just feel stuck. In that case, I want you to know that whatever it is you do not have access to right now is probably for the best, because God has much better in store.

While other girls in my class spoke about boys or social events, I read books, watched Disney channel (maybe that’s why I’m hooked on the word fairytale), and wrote in my diary. I was writing down all the things I dreamt about doing when I grew up, while others were busy growing up too fast. At age fifteen, the only guy I was in love with was William Shakespeare. The only time I was allowed to go out without parental supervision was when I was shadowing my older cousin Shamillia.

I remember one weekend I spent with her, when she had to go to a meeting. I attended the meeting with her and it changed my life forever. We attended a group session with students all older than I was, to discuss becoming part of a new student newspaper. It was there that I was introduced to a man by the name of Kerry Peters. Peters was the founder of the student newspaper called The Student Press. Peters helped teenagers develop their talents, from writing articles, drawing, or taking photos. It was here that Peters helped us discover a whole new world called journalism. At age fifteen, I could admit that I didn’t have it all figured out yet. And I don’t expect you too either. However, I already had an inclination to the fairytale I wanted to exist in, and so I willingly associated myself with the newspaper.

At fifteen, I wrote my first news article. It was here I discovered that nothing is impossible. Or rather, the things that appear to be impossible to others were quite possible in my fairytale world. My first news article (which I never knew I was capable of writing before) became the cover story for the second issue of this new national student newspaper. In other words, all it took was association and vision to strike gold at my first attempt. Sometimes you may have a bright idea, but because everyone warns you that it may not work the first time around, you become demotivated to go after it at all. If I had that same feeling, or was not willing to try something new, I would have never discovered my talent for writing news stories.

Every month, students and teachers nationwide were able to read about current issues facing our twin island written by yours truly. Instead of trying to fit in with my other peers and go against the way I was raised to do things, I opted to remain patient, obedient, and authentic. I was then exposed to a whole new circle of like-minded people. From that moment, my life has never been the same.

After writing for the student paper, I was inspired to spread my wings and began dreaming of one day becoming a columnist for the national newspaper, to see my stories printed in magazines and to publish my own book one day. The fairytale does not happen overnight, but nevertheless here we are more than a decade later. The lesson is your fairytale does not have an expiration