NIKIVA DIONNE

  I’ve been starting my day with gratitude for the past few weeks. It was in a devotional I read and I tried it one day and realized how much it effected my day so now I do it each morning. It makes me realize how many things I take for granted. While I stayed home in my mothers bed on vocal rest. I watched Criminal Minds, Forensic files and other procedural shows with my nieces and expressed how much I’d like to play a detective on one of these shows. Now, I’m not from one of the best neighborhoods but every neighborhood just as every family has it’s own particular brand of ‘crazy’. What’s normal to your family/neighborhood isn’t so normal to other families/neighborhoods.  For instance, after a crime has occurred there is always a neighbor interviewed who says “I can’t believe this happened here” and it pisses me off. Because, the world is NO LONGER the community it was in the 60’s. You don’t know everyone in your neighborhood. You didn’t grow up with your future husband. Pe...

Hey Guys, I'm so excited to share this headshot shoot with you all. I've needed 'curly hair' head shots for so long and I finally found the perfect photog to capture the specific 'commercial look' I was seeking.  Introducing SHAUN NIX PHOTOGRAPHY About the shoot: Super quick- a little over an hour for 5 LOOKS Photog is really easy to shoot w/. In studio session w/ tightly cropped, crisp clear images The pictures were beautiful before retouching but after Shaun retouch them,  they were perfect! Not overly retouched. For ex: I have bad allergy eyes and he retouched my eyes without removing all of the texture. So I still look like myself which means I look like my new head shots :-) Color- I typically have issues w/ my complexion in pictures. I rarely feel like I look as pale, in person, as I do in pictures. M y skin tone in these shots look even and realistic.    Selection process is very user friendly and professional through his website, no ar...

    I've started 4 different blog entries and haven't finished one. I haven't finished a complete thought or come to a conclusion about any of it. So I know I NEED to write. It's a release and I just know it will help someone, somewhere, somehow. uughhhhh A few years back I finally got a tattoo and it says FAITH. I don't want anymore, It was a reminder to myself. I asked God one night while driving, to tell me what I needed to succeed. He said FAITH. Ever since, I've warn it as a badge of honor. I've fought for it. I've told others to get it. I've prayed for faith. I've actually developed faith in some crazy areas of my life. Yall, I've only survived somethings by FAITH! If you only knew what I meant when I said that. Anyway, here I am through every test, every trial developing this blind FAITH. I think I knew, I would have to apply faith in different ways. But yall when your loss goes from material possessions to losing your health to...

 Recently my mother told me “I didn’t worry about you in college because I knew you made GOOD DECISIONS honestly, I wanted to feel a since of pride but I immediately remembered all the foolish decisions I’ve made. Lol   But here is what I’m learning at this very moment. When you make decisions sometimes it’s not an issue of making a good decision. You need to ask yourself, Am I making a decision based on a perceived need I currently have? For example, I can recall a time I dated someone who I knew wasn’t ‘the one’ even before I agreed to date him. But, you know what he was. He was POSITIVE. He had dreams bigger than mine, He had a ‘can do’ attitude concerning anything. When I spoke to him about something, I walked away inspired. Believing in myself. He believed in me. He didn’t compete with me. And at the time he asked me ‘to go steady’ lmbo I needed that! You see, I had been THAT for so many other people for so long, I needed someone to be THAT for me! Or so I thou...

I had an audition on Monday which meant I needed to have my hair done. My hair has not been cooperating as of late. So I went to a Beauty Supply Store I use to frequent in my Weave and Wig days. I found a wig and as I walked over to try it on, beside the station was HEY THAT'S ME! I'm not sure I'll ever get 'use to' seeing myself in ads or on television. This business is such a challenge that it MAKES you appreciate every ad that actually gets printed, every commercial that actually airs, every scene that actually makes it to final edit. You see I've learned you can audition and be placed on hold but get released. You can shoot a project and it NEVER airs. You can shoot a project and just YOUR part is edited out. You can do tons of photo shoots and never see the images or how/where they were used.  So I have learned to appreciate each step of this journey. To be CONTENT with the resume I have currently built for wherever you are today, you may nev...

   When I tell you I have been WRAPPED IN THE WORD this month, sheesh. Every sermon has been about ‘Preparing for Your Next’, ‘Get Ready for This or That’ so I have been deliberate about just being open. Martin said lets go to this bible study at this woman from my jobs house. Typically, I would have said. 'Wait, how well do you know these people?' But I didn’t I just went. Randomly, a girl at church, who I barely knew, just started telling me that I should join this prayer circle for 40days. Typically, I would have said, 'let me pray on that' but I didn’t I just told her yes and got the book the same day.  Seriously this month alone my family and I partnered to do a fast with my church I began the 90 day Bible Challenge I began the 40 day ‘Draw the circle’ prayer journey I completed a 5 day devotional  Every prayer, devotional someones sends I've been reading it I’ve been wrapped in HIS word. I mean, I’ve been praying! Then today, The last day of our f...

 Ironically, LEMON HEAD was my nickname growing up, smh.  But honestly, SWEET & SOUR sums up my entire year in 3words, Lol.  I mean even down to the last two weeks of the year I’ve been forced to take every good thing along with something not so comfortable. It's like God says, I wanna make your hair grow like crazy in one year, ohh but u gotta take these THREE grey strands in your hairline as well.   #AboveallyourGETTINGgetWISDOM I’m gonna give you the thing you put on your vision board but it won’t happen AT ALL how you envisioned it. #mywaysarenotyourways I’m going to make sure you have the busiest December you’ve had since you started acting but you’re also going to have 4 days to come up w/ those SAG fees #doyoutrustme I’m going to give you the desires of your heart but since you don’t know how to surrender all, take these 3nights in ICU  #inyourweaknessIAMstrong And so on and so on and so on But through it all I’ve learned ...