3 A.M. In Times Square

I was sitting in front of Starbucks thinking on how if I just had the right investors, the right financial support to focus solely on my photography & magazine, I would be on 'nother level.

Deep desire & emotion ran through my body that night.

So I walk into Five Guys to get some water. As soon as I walk in I see a guy that looks exactly like my CouchSurfing friend I met a few months ago. Something told me I needed to talk to him. & if I didn't I would regret it. So I did. Come to find out he came from France & is African.

My family speaks french & is from Ivory Coast. So we exchanged contact information & he was on his way to catch up with some friends. I'm feeling positive so I decide to go up the street & shoot.

Not even an hour of shooting, this guy with a broken arm keeps staring at me. Finally he comes up & asks "you a photographer?". So I explained him my story on how I was couchsurfing the globe, working on my photography..y'all know the story by now.

Come to find out, he's a Dallas Cowboy.

"Where you from?" he asked. "From Charlotte, man." 

"Yeah? We were just living in Concord but we're in the process of selling the house..."

“I'm from Charlotte but I lived in Concord with my family.” I told him.

Knowing that there's no such thing as coincidence we exchanged contact info & kept it moving. Feeling more positive than ever, I knew I was gonna meet one more person that night that would make my hostless night worth it.

And I did.

I believe that when you're feeling 100%, that great things tend to flow your way. So I went & bought a fat sack of gummy bears to treat myself that night. I'm sitting there snackin' in Times Square...then things take a whole 'nother direction..

Andre Berto & Andre Ward pull up to Starbucks a couple feet away from me.

At this point I'm trippin' BALLS. His trainer is outside checking his phone while the World Champions are inside ordering. So I strike up conversation.

"Yoo thats Andre Berto. What y'all doing here in the city?"

"Here for a press confrence, man...Say something to him when he comes out"

Best believe I did. But not before I called someone special first. I got my dad on facetime & told him he wouldn't believe who he's about to see. Berto finally comes out; I say whats up & with no hesitation, he talks to my dad for dang near a full minute. Seeing my dad so happy brought me so much joy.

They're done talking & Berto shakes my hand is on his way. But I couldn't end it on that note.

"Hey man, let me get a photo of you real quick"

"For sure" he said.

The rest is history.

See just the night before that I was in Virginia for my cousins wedding for the weekend. Before I left, my family spoke to me about coming back to Concord to spend time with my sister. She was going back to school in Poland that week. 

But I couldn't do it.

I can't go back home until I accomplish something big that I feel truly proud of. I miss my family like hell but its motivation for me to stay up on these sleepless nights & grind. So I came back to New York while my family went back to North Carolina. 24 hours later all these blessings unfold. The connection between the wedding & the boxers? My cousins husband is Hatian. Andre Berto..the humble world class champion?

He's Hatian too.