As the symbolic year 2020 continues, there was no better way for women to celebrate the onset of a new decade than to create their 2020 vision board under a night full of stars. Cortia Bingham, founder of We Inspire Women, successfully hosted an All-White Vision Board Soiree, A Vision Above the City Lights, under the theme ‘Make Room 2020’.

While vision boarding exercises are becoming increasingly popular, each one comes with a different approach. At We Inspire Women was a meeting of the minds of powerful queens to create their visions that will make room for their empowered and enlightened selves this year and onward. Beautifully adorned in white, sipping cocktail, envisioning our dreams and creating our unique vision boards was nothing short of immaculate.

Just before creating our vision boards, we were guided into this process by testimonials from Marcia Browne of the Guardian Group and the woman of the night, Cortia Bingham.

Browne aptly shared her story of setting and achieving her goal, and how goal-setting and consistency made it possible for her to take her daughter on a well-anticipated trip with the Guardian Group. This was no simple feat to accomplish, and as such she shared some key tips she learnt on the journey to her goal.

“You must learn to frame your world with your words,” she urged women. “Stick with the eagles, run out the doubters, and call in the shouters.”

In closing she quoted from the Holy Bible, Habakkuk 2:2, which says “Write the vision and make it plain,” urging us as women to write exactly what we want God to do in our lives.

After such a testimony, our cups kept overflowing as Cortia brought us to tears with her story as a 14-year-old with big dreams being daunted by her drug addict father.

Cortia, who at 14 envisioned herself rising above the slums of the ghetto to owning a Mercedes-Benz, was physically abused by her father every night for 30 days. This left her wounded and oozing blood, staining her white Mount Alvernia uniform, yet still she went to school throughout the abuse. At once the school notified her mother of what was happening and when her mother confronted young Cortia, she had asked who did this to her. Upon hearing that it was Cortia’s father, her mother simply denied such a thing and left Cortia to endure even more pain. By the help of God, one of her high school teachers requested that Cortia stayed with her to prepare for her exams and thankfully her father consented.

Despite being just 14 years old and with no hope to dream, Cortia held on to faith, and as such she had a testimony to share. The moral of her story, she staid, is that “Some of your greatest vision will come from a place of hurt because the ‘why’ of your story will be deeper and will continuously motivate you to your goal.”

With three tips, Cortia guided us on our path to vision boarding:

1. Ask with no limits

2. Ask with gratitude

3. Ask with faith

“The how is not your business, just dream and dream big. Feel the emotion that you will feel in the moment when your dream is actualized,” she said.

To close the night, we all pledged to not only create a vision of our best selves but to be the best version of ourselves, regardless of our current situation. We made room for 2020.

–Akeelia Richards