We Fly High: An Overview to iFly Commercial’s Vision and Mission
“Whoever lets himself be led by heart will never lose his way.”
- Egyptian Proverb
Do you feel like your life lately has been more turbulent than terrific as far as your mental health, happiness, authentic social connections, and productivity? Do you feel like you’re sluggish and jet-lagged, lacking energy, passion, and purpose in life based on depression, anxiety, PTSD, economic problems, family dramas, racial marginalization, gender issues, or romantic woes? Well, this blog will enable you to fly high again as we proudly introduce you to iFly commercial’s holistic vision and mission. While we thankfully won’t offer the nasty airline food or cramped seats on a transpacific flight, we’ll equip you with something more valuable: skills, resources, and tips to empower your life through the mental, physical, and spiritual merits of travel.
Before we embark, fasten your seat belt, open your mind and heart, and let’s explore this journey toward transformation together. Are you ready to fly high?
Happy Birthday: Birth of iFly Commercial
Join me as we channel our inner Queen Bey (and Hova) and sing “Happy Birthday!” Today marks the birth of an idea that I conceived back in 2015. I knew that I wanted to create a platform that would add value to people's lives, apply my psychological degrees and trainings, and keep it real for men and women. After fighting against it for almost 4 years, iFly Commercial finally came to fruition. All in all, the purpose of this blog is to teach and inspire both women and men about the holistic benefits of travel, mind, body and spirit. I also want to confront issues related to gender, race, and socioeconomic class to make mental health equitable, attainable, and authentic not a taboo topic. Masuda’s (2014) book, Mindfulness and Acceptance in Multicultural Competency : A Contextual Approach to Sociocultural Diversity in Theory and Practice, uncovers how “ Although different efforts have been made to improve mental health services for ethnic minority clients, recent reports continue to document that mental health services were often inaccessible, inappropriate, or poorly delivered (p. 23). Save Taboo for the board game nights, right?
Un-Masking Minority Mental Health: My Motivation to Create This Platform
As a black female, I was also compelled to take a stand about the mask of shame that hinders so many minorities from seeking or sustaining mental health services. Research further reveals how rates of quitting mental health services are generally the highest “among non-white individuals. Previous studies have also found that younger age, lower income, comorbid mental health diagnoses, higher symptom severity, lower socioeconomic status, and lower educational attainment are linked to quitting mental health services for depression.”
Let’s stop the statistics and stretch our wigs in unity. In brief, I want to offer wings of resilience, pride, and advocacy in this blog and travel as a way to rise above oppression, depression, stereotypes, shame, and pain. Let’s use Andra Day’s “Rise Up” as our mantra on this mindful path toward embracing mental health as we all can collaborate, show empathy, love, and compassion when “You're broken down and tired/of living life on a merry go round.”
Join with me as we soar together on this jubilant but arduous journey called life. Whether you want to do the 2 Chainz version, the old school one, or my personal favorite by Stevie Wonder, let’s serenade ourselves with “Happy Birthday” and the start of proactive mental health, self-love, and self-care!
Travel Details:
Location: Giza Necropolis, Egypt
Highlight: The Great Pyramid of Giza, one of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World
Travel Tip: Be mindful when travelling during Middle Eastern holidays when students are out of school as it can get very crowded. Additionally, if you suffer from sinus and allergy issues (like me), have plenty of allergy medicine on hand as well as a mask to cover your face from the dust.
References:
Masuda A. Mindfulness and Acceptance in Multicultural Competency : A Contextual Approach to Sociocultural Diversity in Theory and Practice. Oakland: Context Press; 2014.