A large number of women who have fallen victim to sexual, physical, and emotional abuse in the past tend to live in fear most of their life. Some who survive their traumatic experiences manage to keep their past under wraps and move forward, yet a greater number of them continue to live with a victim’s mentality and are mostly unable to achieve peace of mind. Navahcia Edwards wants to empower women to find their center and courage to break free from the chains of the past by sharing her inspiring and uncommon story of survival.
Navahcia Edwards found herself in a tight spot when she ran away from the group home that the Department of Children and Family Services assigned her in. She was 16 and had nowhere to go. She took up the offer of one of her acquaintances to take private videos and photos of her for his personal pleasure. She was also promised payment for doing these things. Much to her dismay, she did receive any payment. What made it worse, she was later to discover that her private video and intimate photos were uploaded online, prompting a lot of people to assume that she had become a porn star.
She was 18 when she discovered this horrible turn of events in her life. The discovery broke her in ways she did not deem possible for one person. She opted to seek legal remedies to gain justice for an act that robbed her of her rights as a woman. Yes, she was a victim of an unjust act, but Navahcia pushed herself to rise above her dilemma so she can move forward with her life.
Some years later, however, she got mixed up in a crime and was incarcerated for conspiracy to commit bank robbery, bank robbery, and embezzlement in 2011. Navahcia served five years and ten months in the Federal Bureau of Prisons, where she learned new and priceless lessons that would later help her develop her personal brand, business, and consultancy services.
“Don’t be so quick to judge someone for their past! We all have a past, some worse than others. I’m not embarrassed or ashamed of my past because it allowed me to learn and grow as a woman over time,” Navahcia reveals.
Just like many people with a difficult past, Navahcia also found herself concerned about what others were saying about her. For someone who finally found a new path in life after her incarceration, she is concerned about the impact of her past on her future plans. She came to eventually realize, however, that she cannot live like she is still a prisoner of her past. She had to learn to let go and trust that better days are ahead of her. She does not need to be mindful of what others are saying about her; she only needs to be encouraged by how she perceives herself and her future.
“I want people to know that no matter what walk of life you come from you can still make it! Obstacles are put in your way to make you work harder, so you remember that where you are now in life did not come easy,” she adds.
As Navahcia Edwards continues to trudge forward despite her past, she knows that success awaits her in the end. By strategically building her personal brand, her consultancy service, and focusing on her writing, she can look forward to more productive days and new opportunities to inspire other women to be strong and courageous. With her book titled 424: Three I’ll Never Forget soon to be released, Navahcia is expected to create a lasting impact on women worldwide.
Find out more about Navahcia Edwards by visiting her website. Follow her on Facebook and Instagram for updates, or send an email to Thebrand@navahcia.com.
