Today we’d like to introduce you to Sonia Adams.
Sonia, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My story started at the age of 22 when I desired to move to California to pursue a modeling career and marry a professional athlete, or so I thought. But all that changed when the relationship fell apart, and I was left broken-hearted and not sure of my next steps. At that poignant moment, I decided that a man was not the plan and that I needed to find purpose and fulfillment in my life for myself. Therefore, I started a self-discovery journey and resolved that modeling was not the path for me. Since everything up until that point was about me, me, and more of me, I decided that I wanted to live a life of service and give to others, which gave me a real sense of purpose and fulfillment. My first inklings into service started at 24, working in Techwood Homes in the inner-city mentoring young girls. Years later, I am still serving as a speaker, author, and doing missions and non-profit work. My non-profit Blossoming Vines’ vision is to help women blossom where they are and extend their reach to others. Our Blossom Network is a group of professional women, including doctors, educators, engineers, entrepreneurs, and the like. We empower each other and then empower others through various service projects and campaigns.
Our Super Single Moms program is one of our biggest campaigns, which helps mothers and their families with multiple needs inclusive of food, clothing, rental support, and self-care and emotional support.
Since we started in 2011, we have grown to serve over 300 plus women through our workshops and empowerment seminars, and we have helped over 100 single moms and started a young girls program called “Little Blossoms.” Currently, I have written several books and journal guides that serve as sources of curricula and self-help for women and young girls. My “I Am” series is a three-part series, including the books I Am Pretty, I Am Ready, and I Am Married. I Am Pretty explores purpose, self-love, and living a triumphant life. It is accompanied by a journal guide to help women navigate between finding their purpose, strengthening their identity, and rising from life’s failures. I Am Ready is a book that explores the pitfalls of failed relationships and how to get ready for love. All my books fall under the genre of Christian, non-fiction self-help, and are written to help build and empower women.
My life’s mission is to ignite purpose and confidence in others, and I am beginning to blossom more as I am extending my reach and expanding my territory to reach more women and young girls here in the US and abroad. I have done work in Haiti, Kenya, and India, but there are more women to reach there also. During the pandemic, I have received several grants. I am in the planning phase of contracting with a traditional publisher, releasing my new make-up product, and doing more service work in my non-profit. The stars of the limit but my focus and perspective is balanced, and I realize it is not about me but about those I am called to serve. This season of my life has become the prettiest and most liberating, and I can’t wait to see the great things that lie ahead.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has not been a smooth road. In my early days, I was a stallion, both anxious and quick to pursue my vision, and my tenacity and commitment were tested, and I eventually ran out of gas. Then came the rejection, pain, and long years of what I termed failure. There were times I was disappointed by those whom I loved, and I felt so dejected, unappreciated, and under-equipped that I wanted to quit.
As a young woman, I spoke with boldness, and I often confronted injustice and challenged unhealthy practices or inequitable systems. Consequently, there were times I received backlash as a result of being bold. This backlash occurred several ways and sometimes people rejected me. And other times, people distanced themselves from me, dissolved our relationship, or disappeared. These hurtful occurrences began to rattle my confidence and shake my resolve. Rejection from a merger that didn’t work began to extinguish my vision and quench my creative flow. The leader rejected many of my ideas, excluded me, and my strong personality as a black, vocal female leader and my non-profit (Blossoming Vines, Inc.) was not welcomed.
This rejection diminished my zeal to continue to move forward. I began to withdraw from some and felt intimidated by others. I became passive and paranoid about everything. Intimidation had taken root in my heart, and I lost my confidence. No longer did I feel purposeful, and I did not feel received or accepted. I entered a state of depression and spiraled into an abyss of self-loathing, rebellion, and external gratifications to ease the pain and forget the hurt.
I needed God to do for me what I could not do for myself. I needed His touch to help me come out of the darkness and give me passion and purpose again. He gave me a rope and pulled me out of the abyss, and begin to nourish me back to health. My healing process included restoring my marriage, settling past issues, and learning to love myself, no matter how people treated me. After a few years of depression, I evolved with more confidence and a resolve to be my authentic self and do what I was purposed to do. This new-found confidence has helped me to share my story with others and not let anything or anyone stop me from being an advocate for others regarding injustice and inequities. I write with transparency and champion campaigns that I am led to be a part of. The struggles made me stronger.
Please tell us about Blossoming Vines.
Blossoming Vines Women’s Network—a group of like-minded women with various talents and gifts who comprise a collaborative group. Within this group, women grow from each other’s expertise, relationship bonds, and serve in the community in various ways (specifically to elementary, high school girls, and single moms and their families).
Blossoming Vines is a community outreach network with a focus to help women blossom where they are and extend their reach to others (youth, single moms, and women). It is a 501c3 non-profit organization located in Atlanta, Blossoming Vines provides a network for women of all ages, races, and professions to come together to build each other and strengthen one another in the areas of spiritual empowerment, education, creativity, professionalism, and service in the community. We fulfill the vision by empowering and equipping women, so they can flourish in their gifts and share and mentor elementary and high school girls, and support women and single moms.
I am most proud of my god-daughter, Bianca Mcneal, because she is a product of the Blossom Network, and now she is paying it forward. She is the director of Little Blossoms Girl’s Mentoring. As a pre-teen, Bianca was going through struggles and needed a light at the end of the tunnel to help her push through growing up in poverty. The women within the Blossoming Network took her single mother and Bianca under our care. The organization helped them financially and provided spiritual growth and an opportunity for her to move beyond a statistic as an African American young girl growing up in the projects of Bowen Holmes, BVM helped guide her from going down the wrong path, and now she is a college graduate, teacher, and director of Little Blossoms. What sets us apart from some organizations is the fact that we have a network of women from all walks of life who empower themselves and then empower others, and our reach extends to Haiti, Kenya, and India.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Tenacity! I have remained consistent and resolved to complete what I’ve started through the ups, downs, and uncertainties.
Pricing:
- Become a monthly sponsor $10, $20, or $30 a month
- Purchase my books at soniaadams.com: I Am Pretty and I Am Ready $15.00 and I Am Pretty Journal $20.00
Contact Info:
- Website: www.blossomingvines.com and soniaadams.com
- Phone: (470) 223-1774
- Email: blossomingvines@gmail.com or soniasiampretty@gmail.com
- Instagram: @soniaaadams
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/soniaaadams1/
- Twitter: @SoniaAAdams
Image Credit:
Dee Lee Photography
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