Today we’d like to introduce you to Keyundra Thompson
Hi Keyundra, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I’m a true southern Belle. I was raised in a small town in Arkansas where everyone knows everyone. I guess you could say I was always a bit on the nerdy side of things. I actually got teased throughout my childhood for being the “nerdy church girl”. Literature was my passion and hidden escape. I remember writing songs and short stories as young as 6 years old. Reading would be my way of escaping reality. With the right book in your hand, you can travel anywhere you want. It was just recently though when I decided to take that passion, and turn it into a career path starting with children’s books and poetry. I’ve done some blogging in the past during COVID, but this is my first time stepping out on faith, and really putting my work out there.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Like I said before, writing has always been a passion of mine. So the story telling element came fairly easy. Even as an adult, I cherish the fact that I can still tap into my creative imagination. That’s something I can definitely credit to working with children all of these years, and having very imaginative children of my own. The hardest part for me was and is allowing myself to be seen in a more direct light. I’m far from a social butterfly. I enjoy being in the background of life. Also throughout the process, my family was faced with a very tragic loss. A month ago I lost my mom. She had been battling colon cancer for the past few years. With me being a single parent, and especially with my son’s medical journey, I’ve had moments where I needed someone to lean on. Even when she wasn’t her best, she made sure she was the best mom and Nana she could be. I remember when I mentioned to her that I wanted to become a published author. She told me it was about time, and she didn’t know what I was waiting on. She was also right there to remind me to take life one day at a time, and to trust in God to handle things. So it’s been a pretty rough few weeks bouncing back into the swing of things, and not having her texting and calling daily or being able to share things with her like this interview.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
For the past ten years, I’ve worked in a developmental preschool and behavior clinic setting. I’ve ventured around the clinical setting in multiple areas, but I am currently a registered behavior technician in ABA therapy. This past November, I decided to make the clinical lifestyle part time and ventured off into the public school setting. It’s a blessing to be able to work at my old middle school, and to be a part of the special education team as a para. It was also during this time that I spontaneously decided to turn my mommy journaling into an actual book. I felt like I’d advocated enough from my own perspective via social media. So I felt a children’s book told from my son’s perspective would be best with helping other kids and even other parents with coping mechanisms and educating people on “problem feeding” and sensory aversion to foods. So my first of many, children’s book titled “Zaire’s Feeding Feelings” will be available soon.
What I am most proud of, would probably also be the thing that most sets me apart from others. That’s my ability to strive for what I want, and to never give up. No matter what detours life takes me on, I will always find a place to build a mansion.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Success to me is knowing that you’ve made a difference in someone’s life, even if YOU are that someone. It’s being able to feel proud and accomplished. It’s reaching the place where you no longer care who’s in the audience clapping for you, or who’s standing beside you, because everything you’ve done is FOR YOU. Knowing that you lived for you, and that it will inspire others to do the same. Success is also when you allow God to take the lead, and show you His blueprint and what He has in-store. Once you reach those points, there’s nothing anyone else can say or do to stop you from achieving further
Contact Info:
- Website: https://secretstoserenity4.home.blog/?
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keyundra_dominique?igsh=MWY0NGt3amZucnVrdw%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/LcbmhCYzJwRUSVFx/?mibextid=LQQJ4d
- Twitter: @iFearfullyMade
