Blog Takeover Parent Appreciation by Alacia Reynolds

Through the journey of writing my book I’ve had the honor and pleasure to work with some very talented editors, cover designers, layout designers, you name it.  It truly takes a village.  

I’m excited to introduce you to my editor, Alacia Reynolds, who is going to be doing a GSD Factor Blog takeover once a month to share her own stories and perspectives on how the GSD Factor attributes have added to the fullness of her own life.  

I believe that the GSD Factor attributes live within each one of us.  Perhaps for you some attributes are active or others are muted.  We hope by bringing additional points of view to the table it will give you yet another lens for unlocking the GSD Factor attributes in you.

Take it away Alacia! 

Parent Appreciation

Alacia:

It’s that time of year again–Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.  These two holidays elicit strong emotions from people in all walks of life for a plethora of different reasons. One thing we all have in common is parents. Good, bad, present, absent or indifferent, we all have them, and our relationships or lack thereof with them often shape many facets of our personalities and how we maneuver through life.  

Thankfully, I have two amazing parents, who instilled important values into me that I have used to accomplish great things and live a full life.  I didn’t know it then, but as I look back on my childhood, I realize that my parents raised me to embody all six of the GSD Factor Attributes, which is probably why Misha and I get along so well.  As a childless person, I don’t have the experience of being a biological parent, but my own parents have taught me a few things about one attribute specifically: being resilient.  I could go on and on  about those many experiences, but I’ll briefly share one from my recent memory.

All my life I have excelled in music, specifically songwriting and singing, but for reasons I can’t explain, I chose to go to college and pursue a degree in English Education.  I taught high school and middle school English full-time for five years, all while pursuing a career as a gospel singer/songwriter in my free time.  Eventually, I became so jaded with the public school system and so laser-focused on my music career that I decided to resign and pursue music full-time.  It was a risky decision because I had no plan and no idea how to sustain myself as a full-time musician.  To make a long story short, I spent the next nine years of my life chasing a dream.  

As a single woman, one of the most difficult challenges during this time, besides negotiating contracts and collecting fair pay for my services, was the dangers of traveling long distances alone.  However, my parents were there for me the whole time.  I was a full-grown adult by this time, and they were still accompanying me all across the United States to every gig, no matter how big or small.  Then came 2020, and I, like most entertainers, was not prepared for a world-wide pandemic that would halt all in-person performances and about sixty percent of my income.  It was a devastating time for me, especially living in Nashville where so many other musicians were facing the same fate.  Thankfully, my parents were there for that challenge as well, supporting me emotionally, financially and spiritually.  

That year was life-changing for me because I made a decision not to return to the stage as a performer and focus on writing and working on the industry side of the music business.  Guess who was there cheering me on in  this new endeavor?  My parents.  When I felt like a failure for investing so much time, energy and resources into a performance career just to quit, they reminded  me that it’s never too late to pivot and make the best decision for me.  They helped rebuild my confidence after suffering through one of the most uncertain times of my life.  It has been my parents’ unwavering love, support and encouragement that has pulled me out of some dark places when my own faith wasn’t quite strong enough to do so.  Their love helped me remember that I am resilient, confident and capable to succeed in this new path, and I am doing just that.

Though I no longer look to a career as a professional singer to sustain myself, I now work for one of the largest music publishers in the world and have found a new passion for the entertainment business that has unlimited potential for growth as both an industry professional and even as an artist if I ever choose to return to the stage. I was already aware of the great influence my parents have in my life, but this experience just emphasized that fact even more. If you have the privilege of shaping a life as a parent, whether biological or otherwise, please don’t take that honor lightly.  Your voice still has the power to uplift or deflate your child’s spirit.  Please use that power wisely.  

To all the mothers, I wish you a happy belated Mother’s Day and to all the fathers, have the happiest of Father’s Days!