Olivia Jade Khoury-Román

“You have to be out there putting yourself out there consistently and it’s a lot. I’m learning to trust the process and also love the process while in the process of doing that. I just have to keep my eye on the why and why I’m doing it.I feel like creativity is kind of innate in me. My family is very creative, whether it’s music or them being an intellectual as their creativity. My mother was a writer, my grandfather plays the guitar, sings, and my grandmother was into crafts and just very good with her hands. I think just being around that energy, it was instilled in me. I’ve always been very creative, I like to draw, I’m a musician, and not a lot of people know that about me. I’ve always wanted to sustain and live off my creativity, but I never knew what that meant until this surge of entrepreneurship came to the surface.In college, I’ve always thought to myself ‘I don’t want to be at a 9-5’ and I just felt different than a lot of people. I feel those differences that I were once made fun of or once ashamed of are now coming to light as what I can capitalize off of. I think my ‘aha moment’ was in college when I was overseas in Paris. We were in a room talking about how much we hated our college and I said I would write a book about how shitty this school is and make a documentary on it. Everyone was down for it, so I went around and asked them all questions and did a legit write up on it. I just never put it out there. But it was that thought that made me realize I can create things from the thoughts and opinions I have and influence people. And it started from there.When I was living in New York, I was interviewing and working a lot of events for music and I knew I wanted to be in that realm because I loved music so much I just didn’t want to be under someone else’s control. That’s when I knew I have the power to do what I want.Everything I’ve created has been birthed out of pain or some discomfort. It was seeing how I can flip it and and maintain control of myself and turn it into something beautiful for others if they are going through the same situation. When I graduated, I was living with my boyfriend at the time and it was a very toxic space to be in. I felt trapped in my own mind and I was depressed and wouldn’t want to leave the house and though he would help me out in ways he would also make me feel guilty about it.It was a lot and that’s when I took to start writing in a journal, writing notes to self, as if I were to step out of my body looking from the outside what would I want to tell this girl to get out of the situation? And that’s when I started to blog. I named it Drinking the Sun, because I didn't want to be this person anymore, I wanted to be this person who was radiant and positive and doesn’t care about what others think of them. And I felt the opposite, so I wanted the blog to be an active change.I started to write essays on how to heal yourself and extensions of development, like how to maintain your friendships, all because of how I felt trapped in the situation I was in with this man losing my friendships. I would write about things that were really just me talking to myself as a way to cope. People started to pick up on it on Twitter, and I’ve always had a small following because of poetry I’d post on my tumblr, so when people would resonate with it, it really made me feel good which made me write more.Once I moved here and got out of that toxic relationship, I took a break from writing because I needed to heal myself and made me realize everything I was writing and putting out into the universe, I wasn’t putting in the work behind it. I was really talking to myself but not working through it to get to to the place where I was writing about. That all caught up with me and I knew I needed a lot of healing.From those moments of self-destruction, when everything is crashing on you, it’s soil to build more. Use those pieces to build again. I took a total break from all of that to heal and now I feel I’m on this journey of putting in the work. And just being intentional with who I am, what I want to do, and what I want to project into this world.From there, the idea of NightFlower came because I would find that in moments of solitude or being at home when I’m just up late at night, those were the moments I would have self-realizations and culmination. I just want to help other women who may feel like they are lost in their journey of development and need help or need assistance. That;s where I’m trying to build my personal brand, just trying to be the vulnerable and real me where I can help inspire others do it well. A lot of people speak about it, but don’t live that vulnerable life. I’m willing to bare my soul so others can recognize their own. And I feel like that’s just me as a person.Things are becoming more clear to me. I’m coming into myself more and learning more of who I am.”

[vc_row][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_masonry_media_grid element_width="6" grid_id="vc_gid:1503443119806-4efd1857-c09a-3" include="2594,2595"][/vc_column][/vc_row]To celebrate the start of Virgo season, it’s only right to show some love to one of our favorite Virgos, Olivia Jade. Olivia is a passionate and articulate artist whose talents lie in creating and expressing her own story though vulnerability. She isn’t afraid to be real and share the struggles she’s been through to help inspire others find strength in their own. We admire all that she does especially because she seems to give us the right messages at the right time. She’s got some great stuff to keep a lookout for, especially The Sweet Spot and Night Flower, so stay tuned and be sure to follow her as she continues her creative pursuit!