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

Hi Jalesa, 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?
My advice is that no one knows you better than you know yourself. Understanding there is a season to rest and there is a season to act. Personally, I love a good metaphor. My thought process is that no rainy day lasts forever. If I don’t ever take the risk I may miss out on the sunny vacation that life has to offer. Do not get me wrong, there are plenty of days I would like to give up and quit adulting. I even suffer from imposter syndrome. “Like can I really pull this off” or “Am I fully capable of doing the work”. But then I somehow change my mind and I trust God’s timing! Keep going, you never know what is waiting for you on the other side. There is someone or something waiting for you to share your talents. You may see similar talents and ideas out there in the world. You may even want to start comparing yourself to others. The truth is no one has the talent quite like YOU. I understand that you may not always feel ready but just know you can put a halt to and come back to the creation when you are ready. It is never too late. Nothing you do goes unnoticed and it all makes sense in the end. Eventually all that you poured into yourself will come into a full BLOOM. As my father would say ” don’t compare our life to others. There is no comparison between the sun and the moon, they shine when it’s time.” Continue to let your light shine.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Blooming Nicely is a wellness platform that focuses on the progresses of life no matter how big or small. I use this platform to introduce yoga and meditation practices to the black community.

I started this platform back in 2017 simply as a personal blog on how I navigate through grief. I experienced a great lost of a significant other during my senior year. I noticed I needed an outlet for my grief. My college roommate introduced me to yoga. Every since this moment yoga and I have been locked in and ain’t no switching up. Thank God I did.

I took a leap of faith and moved to Raleigh NC straight after college to pursue my legal career. I work odd jobs to make ends meet as I carried myself through my paralegal studies. I had no family and friends and suffered with anxiety tremendously. Yes, it started off rocky but I eventually found my footing.

2020 was a game changer for everyone! Not only was I concerned by Ms Corona girl, but starting a new career during a pandemic had me feeling like… Yikesss! Then I received the worst news ever! My father had kidney failure. I had to take a leave of absence and became a caregiver alongside my mother.

During this time, I introduced yoga to my family and friends back home in SC. Yoga has brought so many positive attributes into my life. I became more social, began eating cleaner, created breathing techniques, met some amazing people and began to heal. My father passed in 2021 and I know that yoga played a huge role on how I handled his death.

My dad was a comedian on the low. During our last moments together I remember I came in the room and asked him was he resting. He said: “no pumpkin I’m meditating like you taught me. “So I believe in my heart of hearts that he is meditating in paradise.

I created a podcast to discuss these things that I was experiencing. I called it Something to Say by Lesa K. I discuss all kind of topics regarding wellness and reference well known psychologist.

To fast forward I am now a certified yoga instructor and I travel the world with hopes to find new avenues to promote my brand. There is so much growth taking place on my journey. My father definitely gave me my flowers while he was here. I’m thankful for the journey and I’m choosing to bloom. And just like that Blooming Nicely was born. God is good!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Raleigh is a growing city in North Carolina. As a content creator I love to post my experiences on TikTok. I have been recently enjoying the Fenton Park area. There are nice wine options at the local wine bar called CRU. I recommend a dinner date at Colletta where they have a nice selection of Italian cuisine food and wine from Colletta. There are honorable mentions in the area such as shopping at LuluLemon, Sephora and Nike. Grab dessert from Honeysuckle Gelato. I also recommend catching a movie at Paragon Theaters. My favorite features are the heated seats and loveseats. Fenton park also has events to attend throughout the week. My favorite event is yoga in the park of course. I would take a friend to Barcelona Wine Bar downtown as well. Can you tell I love WINNNNEEE lol. For a fun girl’s night I would recommend rooftops bars such as Botanical Garden and The Willard. Wonderland is also a cool restaurant for photo opportunities.

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?
First, I would like to shout out God for always being by my side and guiding my path. To my parents Gail and Mike, thanks for seeing things in me that I didn’t see in myself and setting a firm foundation! To my brothers Justin and Travis for always pushing me to persevere through any hardship. To my best friend Kierra, thanks for being my travel buddy and always showing up when I need you. To my best friend Shaquel, always picking up the phone when I call to vent about my days and reminding me to stay out of my own head. To Deeariah, thanks for inspiring me to push myself to be the best boss babe I can be, and also encouraging me to share my story. I would like to shout out Victoria Privette and Shelley Carol and their staff at Victory Park Yoga and Dancing Dog Yoga for having such an amazing yoga instructor program. This was definitely an empowering and healing part of my yoga journey. To Jarrell Hana, It has been a pleasure to admire your work from a distance. Watching you bring yoga retreats to our community back home in Florence South Carolina has been inspirational. And to all of my family, co-workers, friends and sorority sisters for joining the yoga classes online. Also special shout out to Cherelle Hines and Erika Rouille at Show Out Nutrition for giving me the opportunity to teach at your shop and share my talents with the community. Thank you to all the readers who are reading my story and feeling inspired. Thank you SHOUTOUT ATL for this wonderful interview and sharing it with the masses.

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@lesak7115

Instagram: @bloomingnicely (blog)
somethingtosaylk (podcast)

TikTok: @lifewithlesak
Spotify: (podcast) https://open.spotify.com/show/0SQobhVFjarPJExF678Y2W?si=GSeSfAA_TGKR3l7hh6LRow

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