Dare to dream and live your dream is what I told Kim a few years ago. We met online making idle comments on each other’s blog posts. A few short months later our friendship grew into spending a lot of time talking on the phone.
My name is Jaxs Powell and while I may not be a celebrity, I am a celebrity in the eyes of the people that know me. I am a multi-talented person that has worked behind the scenes of the entertainment industry and local theatrical productions. I dabble in song writing and have performed on stage to over 5,000 people.
I took a back seat to all things in 1999 to take care of my mother. I quickly learned nobody wanted to employ me so I set out to start my own game, so to speak, and to live out my dreams of production, writing and other hobbies I enjoy.
"The Eyes of Color" is a fitting poem tailored made for the transformation of my friend Kim. The eyes of color, upon a tree, transform this giant, into a brilliant beauty! Kim is very much a cave dweller. She has lived a life of being told you will never be anything. Kim has Epilepsy and panic attacks that have plagued her life.
I kept telling Kim that that isn’t a reason to never accomplish her dreams. Kim was so hungry for what I had to offer in being a positive influence; she literally scared the heck out of me. Kim moved out of her apartment in Michigan, bought a bus ticket and was on her way to Florida! I thought "Oh my God! What am I going to do?"
I live in my parents’ home and I am a caregiver to them. How was I going to explain to my mother that there is this person I had never met, moving to Florida and has nowhere to live and could she please stay with us? It's a good thing my mother is a good sport. My mother has had years of practice. I was that kid that brought home strays, injured animals, someone who could use a sandwich because they were hungry and I am still like that today.
This was not only the biggest decision Kim had ever made but also the boldest thing she had ever done. The transformation of this beautiful, talented, cave dwelling woman was about to begin. Kim has a natural gift when it comes to writing her poems. She uses her imagination to do the things she has only been able to dream about. Kim's poetry has received many positive comments from her friends on Opera.
Kim also loves photography and together we have taken many photos. We started our own photography business, Creative Images by Jaxs and Kim. All of the pictures you see in this book are pictures that Kim and I have taken on our walks and other adventures. Kim sometimes has problems with taking pictures because she does not have a steady hand. With a little editing magic I polish up the pictures Kim takes. Again Kim is learning to venture out from her cave, there is no such word as "can't", but there is "I believe in you".
Kim thought I had totally lost mind when I started photographing her beautiful cross- stitch and put them on the site. I find cross-stitching is too stressful! It truly amazes me at how many hours Kim can just sit and do her cross-stitch creations. These beautiful works of art deserve to be seen and that is why I added the images to the photography site.
Game developer Jonathon Barton, saw the image of a fox sea shell that Kim had cross stitched and fell in love with it. Today it is the card backing image to the mobile game Solitaire 3D for Android phones.
He also liked it so much that he asked for a set of playing cards made out of the Fox Sea Shell. With a new outlook on life emerging from her cave, Kim has dared to venture out once again, this time to get her poetry published despite her past failed attempts. Her efforts have been successful! I am so proud of my friend and partner.
You, Kim, have come a long way since I first met you. It is my fondest hope that you continue to overcome those things in life that have prevented you from living your dreams.
Kim has many talents and gifts that she has perfected over the years in her cave. Kim has not only taken the challenge to dare to dream but to live out those dreams. It is my wish that Kim's story, told through her poetry, touches the lives of others. To be an inspiration to "Dare to Dream" and "Live those Dreams”
Through the eyes of color, the tree doth live, if for only a few hundred years, it can say, I saw the Eyes of Color
Jaxs Powell
Close Friend and Confidante