THRIVING Melanin Family Magazine April 2017: Spring into Your THRIVE! | Page 20

Never in Your Time . . . Always in Perfect Time !

Kristle Shanell ’ s THRIVE is in full bloom ! Of course she is a single mom because we are featuring her , but she is also a singer , songwriter , radio and TV host for “ The Kristle Shanell Show ”, event host , mentor , speaker , HIV & AID ’ s advocate , STD ’ s advocate , addiction advocate , mental illness advocate , and event planner and coordinator . She is using everything she has been through to THRIVE in her life . After talking with Kristle it was clear that she was purposed to be who she is today and she is not just THRIVING in her life but she is also “ pollinating ” other people so they can THRIVE . Check out a piece of the conversation between Ms . Pink and the THRIVING Kristle Shanell .
Ms . Pink : How many babies do you have and what ’ s the co-parenting relationship like ? Kristle : I have one child , Elijah who is 8 and one in heaven that I miscarried at 4 months . My son ’ s father isn ’ t in his life , but I ’ ve made peace with that because God has blessed me with a man that has stepped in and be a father figure to my son . At the end of the day it is my son ’ s father ’ s lost and someone else ’ s gain .
Ms . Pink : How do you co-exist everything you have going on ? Kristle : It ’ s hard . My son suffers from chronic asthma , bronchitis , and allergies so I ’ m constantly at the doctors and taking care of him . Some days I just zone out to have a peace of mind and try and make it work . But life will always happen . My mom is battling breast cancer ; I suffer from fibromyalgia and chronic arthritis so I ’ m always juggling all of the family medical issues with work and my endeavors . There are days when I just don ’ t want to do anything , I don ’ t even want to have a conversation with my son and that ’ s okay . I literally talk to myself most days and keep myself focused and motivated to push through every single day and never give up .
Ms . Pink : This is the truest example of THRIVING on
YOUR terms . You aren ’ t doing it on someone else ’ s terms or trying to achieve what they want , but you are focused to move forward and flourish in your purpose . You didn ’ t just stop at the purpose you moved forward in everything . Kristle : When I started with Sun Trust I was a teller and then I worked my way up to a teller lead . And then they restructured and I became a teller again . And now 11
years later I am the second in command in the branch . There was a point during the journey when I didn ’ t want to go forward , move up because I just wanted to focus on my son and his sickness . But then I saw this opportunity and I doubted it because it was going to take me farther away from my son , but I had to plead the blood of Jesus over Him and do what was best for us . Ms . Pink : You are truly using your pain to fuel your purpose . You are not just using what you ’ ve been through but you ’ re also using the things you have experienced as a friend of someone who is going through to change the world and THRIVE . It ’ s a true testament of you blooming in your THRIVE . You are in full bloom like the flowers in Spring you are opening yourself up to allow people to come and take something from you so they can THRIVE ! Do you ever have those ah-ha moments of I ’ m really doing this ? Kristle : Absolutely ! On my radio show I am always trying to motivate , empower and inspire . I tell people all the time that it doesn ’ t matter if the person is homeless or a prostitute , I was both . So at times I get the WOW I ’ m doing it feeling . always make sure that I share that yes , I am a Domestic Violence survivor / overcomer I was an abuser first . I hit him first and more than once , and I had to pay for that . So I have to be honest and share that because we need the truth to motivate , empower and inspire others .
Ms . Pink : There ’ s so much power in hearing you share your story and taking ownership of it . The accountability and responsibility you take is where your true power lies . You shared that one of the things that you have overcome and talk about is prostitution , because that was part of your life . Kristle : It ’ s my story . How can I help the next person if I keep quiet and silent about it ? I was an in-house prostitute it came to me . But at the end of the day I had to do a 360 life changing experience for my son . God gave me many dreams and visions about how my life would end . If I don ’ t change
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