2 minute read

ACHIEVEMENT Gladys Tamekia Powell

from Summer 2023 Issue Gladys Magazine

by Gladys Magazine

from Summer 2023 Issue Gladys Magazine, page 126

Article from: Summer 2023 Issue Gladys Magazine

Kelsey SEPTEMBER

Occupation: teacher, breast cancer speaker, runway and print model, and entrepreneur

Social Media: IG: @twophaced_clothing, TIKTOK: @TwoPhaced2LLC

My name is Tamekia Powell. I am a survivor of many things but just to name a few, I am a survivor of depression and I am a two time breast cancer survivor. I am currently a teacher, breast cancer speaker, runway and print model, and entrepreneur. I’ve been modeling for a long time now even through my illness. One of the toughest challenges that I faced having to deal with rejections from fashion designers and the modeling world overall because of how I looked while sick. Despite my challenges, I continued to soar in life not letting the experiences, the things or the people sent to break me win and because of that, I’ve been in many fashion shows, pageants, modeled in New York fashion week, I’ve been in several magazines, I recently won the National crown in a pageant competition and was crowned for the year 2023 and I have my own clothing line called “TwoPhaced”. My clothing design represents bravery, strength, and survivorship. I created this design for those of us that are fighting battles that people may know we’re fighting (cancer, diseases, disabilities, etc…) or, for those of us that are fighting silent battles that no one knows of (suicidal thoughts, abuse, etc…) as I sit here with a big smile on my face I’m proud of myself. Proud of knowing that I never had the opportunity to focus on one thing at a time but I never gave up. I always kept my head up, kept pushing and kept being strong and in the end, I MADE IT! I was raised on believing that God gives his toughest battles to his strongest soldiers. But after going through life and experiencing everything that I have, I believe that God doesn’t give the hardest battles to his toughest soldiers; He creates the toughest soldiers out of life’s hardest battles. Some of my hardest battles that I have been through have come when I was at my weakest but with my faith it made me the strongest and made me who I am today and because of that, I STILL RISE!

-Isaiah 40:31 Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

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