We had the good fortune of connecting with Desiree’ Lewis and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Desiree’, do you have some perspective or insight you can share with us on the question of when someone should give up versus when they should keep going?
What helps me to keep going is realizing that everything I go through in life is not just for me, it’s for the people that I will encounter while being on this journey. Praying and keeping God first helps me to remember that my steps have already been ordered, I just have to actually STEP. Even when I don’t know what is coming next, I must have crazy faith to keep going (Shout out to Mike Todd and TC Nation). If I’m being 100% honest, there are times where I have so many thoughts about giving up. I mean I’m human, who doesn’t?! That’s when I have to go back to the what the Word says and not go by what the world suggest.

It also feels good to know that there is always someone that is rooting for me even when I don’t have the strength to be my own personal cheerleader. By knowing that, it gives me the motivation to keep going. A skill that I am practicing right now is checking my heart posture and making sure my intentions are pure when going after something. I ask myself numerous of questions like, “Am I doing this because it’s something I am truly interested in, or am I doing it to win the approval of others?” If I’m doing it for all the wrong reasons, that’s when I know I should let something go or “give it up”.

I encourage everyone to keep the faith to keep going. You’ll know when something is worth pursuing and when to give it up.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am currently in my final year of graduate school at Mercer University. I am in the Clinical Mental Health program. I’m a future therapist for children and adolescents. I will be graduating Summer of 2022! I’m so happy to be saying that! This journey was not an easy one at all. I have always loved to help others. I wasn’t too familiar with boundaries at the time, so anyone time someone needed something I would be right there. So that definitely helped me decided that I wanted to be a therapist lol. I started therapy for myself in 2018. I learned that before I could be there for others, I had to show up for myself first. Mental health wasn’t really talked about much as it is now so it was difficult at first for me to get the help I needed at the time. I knew I wanted everything to be healthy in my life and that had to begin with me. I will be the first therapist in my family. I advocate for mental health any chance that I get. I want everyone to know therapy is cool and it’s okay to talk with someone about the things you’re dealing with. My passion has always been working with children and adolescents. I’m currently in my intern year and being able to assist children and adolescents with finding healthy ways to express their emotions has been amazing so far. I look forward to where my career will take me after graduation. I’m working on a platform to support rising therapist by giving them tools on their journey of becoming called The Desire to Counsel. I follow a lot of pages for mental health but I haven’t seen many that actually shows what therapist in training go through and what the journey is truly like. I’m excited to build this platform and help those in any way that I can. I also have plans to do a lot of projects for children and adolescents.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Honestly, I am a major homebody. My friends know that for sure lol. Although I am not from Atlanta, I do have some favorite spots. My favorite brunch spot is Atlanta Breakfast Club. I do enjoy going to the parks or just spontaneously finding something fun to do on a Saturday. When in doubt there is definitely a lot of restaurants and lounges to visit for the vibes.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I definitely want to thank God for being able have this opportunity again. I had this opportunity before but I let it pass me by because at the time I technically “gave up” on myself. A special thank you to my cousin Terrell for nominating me. He always believes in me and supports anything that I do and I love him so much for it! To my family and close friends for always having my back with anything I decide to do. I love you all more than you know! Lastly, shout out to my amazing therapist! She’s the GOAT for real! She’s plays a major role in the person I am at this current moment. I probably wouldn’t be in the space I am in mentally and emotionally without her giving me the tools to conquer each day.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ohitsjustdesiree/ https://www.instagram.com/thedesiretocounsel/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCD3ciFSna8ryxO8Hxtu5ABw

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