What is The Sunflower Factory?

"You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."

- Matthew 5: 14-16

My favorite thing to do is to wake up facing the sunlight. It reminds me to be thankful and even more so to be obedient. My whole life I’ve been a morning person and I pride myself on being a pillar of positivity. When I went to Howard University in 2015, I was introduced to a new world. Graduating from Detroit Public Schools, I was at the top of the food chain and PROUD to be the girl I was. I was cute, my grades were phenomenal, I graduated Salutatorian, I mean everything that was valued in my little bubble of a world I had on lock. I was doing what I loved, like actually. I found myself continuously operating in spaces that I loved. LIFE WAS GOLDEN! 

Then, Howard happened and being cute, having good grades, having good friendships simply was not enough. This is when the anxiety and doubt started creeping in. I felt like I just wasn’t good enough at anything. Everyone had something they were passionate about, whether it was a business, an organization, a social group, everyone had something. I began to think at night, what would my "legacy" be? I turned to my journal. I can't even count the amount of journal entries titled, "If I had a TED Talk today, what would be the topic?" But I didn't even know where to start. I watched an interview with Lisa Price, the founder of Carol's Daughter. She said that when she began thinking about her brand she wrote a list of things she was and one of them was "Carol's Daughter". I thought that was so dope so I wrote the same list. 

Anyone who meets my mom thinks she's the greatest person in the universe and SHE IS. Her unwavering smile and bold (GHETTO, according to my Uncle Jerry lol) laugh has the power to melt anyone’s fears and worries. But I realized something. I’m not just her daughter, I'm the sunflower that is a product of HER sun and HER light. So that's what I went with. I named my blog "Renee's Sunflower" and this was good. I wanted to share that light that was stitched in my DNA. That was a part of everything I did.

But wait, I missed something. Something that took me three years to learn, it was NEVER about me. The sun doesn't shine because it likes being hot. The sun shines to warm up everything in it's presence. So I changed it,

The Sunflower Factory.

and THIS is good.

forever blooming, 

Mikaela Amira