Loren and I sat down like no time had passed. Just two girls, a cocktail, and conversations that pick up right where they left off. We talked about everything… careers, dating, life.

Then she mentioned her “habibi.”

After she showed me a picture, it clicked—this was her first time dating outside of her race. Something we used to talk about… wonder about… question if we’d ever do.

So naturally, my next question was about the sex.

“Okay… but how was it?” I asked, a little too eagerly.

She laughed.
“Girl… it was good. And passionate.”

Passionate.

What makes something passionate? I wondered.
Because sometimes… we mistake intensity for intimacy. Lust for love.
And I couldn’t help but ask myself—are we doing the same thing with passion?

She said the sex was rough but yet he made her feel comfortable.
Before bed he went to the store and made sure she had all her essentials including a bonnet. He woke her up to coffee. She felt… cared for.
In a way she hadn’t been in a long time.

And maybe that’s what she meant. Maybe sometimes… it’s in the quiet details. The consideration. The intention.

But Loren has always been… Loren. Unpredictable, Spontaneous, and a passionate lover girl at her core.

After we left Sedona, I went to Taya’s birthday party at Bad Luck Bar.

Walking in, I felt relief when I saw Cedes. Cedes and I were once closer in highschool but had a falling out in college was was the final straw to my distance from that group of friends.
Afterwards, Taya and I had remained closed but lately haven’t been the same.

Cedes and I, though… we’re better now. Not the same—but better.

We’ve found each other again in small ways. Random nights out with mutual friends, supporting one another on the internet, and we’re even in the same book club. We don’t use the word “friends” like we used to and that is okay.

I miss her.
But I also understand the distance. Because distance… it teaches you things. It makes you grow. It makes you see people for who they are without proximity clouding your judgment.

And maybe the real difference is…
we were kids when we fell out. Now, we’re women.
And the love never actually left.

---

The next day was full of beauty. My favorite kind of day.

The kind where I get to exist in something that feels bigger than me. Something that feels… aligned.

Because I’m learning—there’s a difference between passion and purpose. It took time and distance from what was comfortable to figure that out.

I’m passionate about a lot of things.
Music. Writing. and all the my intrest.

But this?
This work?

This feels like purpose.

Because every time someone looks at me and says,
“You made my day.”
“You made me feel beautiful.”

I feel “it”.

And if that’s not God confirming I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be… then what is?

---

My first client was Mo.

One of my very first paying clients, back at MSU—2017, in my off-campus bedroom. Back when this was just a side hustle that I enjoyed.

Now she’s sitting in my chair… getting ready for her engagement party.

Life really comes full circle.

She told me her story. Raised in Atlanta, but moved to Michigan for school. When I first did her makeup she was in a relationship that wasn’t quite perfect. On and off, in fact. Then she accepted a job in London shortly after graduation.

“After tomorrow, we’ll really be over.” – Her ex said

No conversation. No plan. Just… done.

So she did what most do when life shifts —
she went out.

And there he was.

The Alpha she noticed years ago but never acted on.

This time… different timing.

Different energy.

They talked all night.
Into the next day.

And before she left, he said,
“So… I really have to fly to London to take you out?”

That’s when she knew.

The difference between a boy… and a man.
The difference between surface-level passion… and intentional love.

Now they’re engaged.

Waiting. Growing. Building something that feels… meant. Something that holds substance and …purpose!

---

Later, I had another client at the MAC Cosmetics Counter

Another engagement.

Another love story.

She told me they had known each other since their twenties—but life had taken them in different directions. Marriage. Kids. Divorce.

Then one night… they found their way back to each other. A summer day in 2020, and she said they haven’t gone a single day without speaking since.

She smiled like she knew something I didn’t. Like she understood timing in a way I’m still learning. She called it her new beginning. Said he was sent to her.

---

By the time I finished my last three clients and my restock run, I couldn’t ignore it anymore.

The pattern.

The irony.

Every woman I encountered that day was stepping into something new.
Love. Commitment. Break up. Second chances. All were in new seasons, something… different.

And somehow, I was placed in the middle of all of it. Not just witnessing it. But contributing to it.

So I started to wonder…What was God trying to show me?

About love.
About timing.
About… me.

About the difference between passion and purpose.

---

Maybe passion is what excites you.
What you choose.
What feels good in the moment.

But purpose?

Purpose is what keeps choosing you.

It’s what finds you in different rooms, different people, different seasons—until you finally understand why you keep ending up there.

And maybe…

the real difference is this:

Passion is something you can walk away from.

But purpose?

Purpose will always find its way back to you because it is meant for you and only you.

-Your girl, D.