curateyourgenius

What does it take to be free?

Letter to a friend

Dear You,
I see you. You walk around with your juggernaut of issues, weaponising it, honking your horn, conveying the message: unsteady vehicle coming through! You deck your truck out with lights, furry dice and memories from home. You know that you have a considerable way to go before you can empty the load, but you long for comfort. You want the weight to appear manageable.

You guard the contents as if your life depends on it and when people get too close, you apologise for the shadow your burdens cast, yet refuse offers of support to repack. You’re a little bit defensive and shame is your companion. You know it well.

You arrive at pit stops and observe people with smaller trucks. They fuel up and leave, all while you’re still trying to park. You wonder why you’re lumbered with so much. You’re aware that storage units are available, but your pride won’t play, so you pay what it takes to fill the tank and get back on the road...

..Your truck is now empty but for one thing. A broom. You get up and start sweeping. The dust threatens to choke you as it whirls, but you persevere, willing the air to clear. It’s hard work but through the dust and sweat, you begin to see the beauty of the trailer.
Everything that was within has now been replaced by something more precious.

Your eyes well up. Release feels great. You understand that you must protect this space now. You don’t have to carry everything you encounter.
You pick up your keys and get ready to travel again, because now, your vessel is overflowing with something much lighter: peace.

You are extraordinary. You are remarkable. You are free.

Happy International Women’s Day from The Circle Network

Meet some of our Voices from The Circle:

1. Janine Palm BA (HONS) DProf Candidate is the Director of JP Equity Consultancy, supporting organisations to turn equity, ESG and social value into meaningful change. Her perspective is shaped by international work in youth and community development, bringing global insight to governance and strategy. Purpose. Policy. Progress — with a smile.

2. Shehnaaz Latif facilitates individuals, organisations and businesses to clarify the impact their work makes. She helps them to collect stories about their impact and creates spaces for people to celebrate their success. Shehnaaz educates and encourages people to prioritise their wellbeing by embracing natural wellness solutions.

3. Charlene is a teacher, mama, wife, friend and professional supporter. She is also the Racial Equity Lead at the school she works at.

4. Ingrid is a creative dabbler who likes to dip into a bit of this and a bit of that. Mindset is important because it controls your everything. The stories we tell ourselves (mindset) and each other (how we present) connect us and shape our lives. She wants people to be aware of the story they are starting in and their ability to change the plot at anytime.

5. Elle is a homeschooling mama whose life purpose is to be a light in the darkness. She is passionate about holistic living, wellbeing and healing 💜

6. Shekinah is a CYG Young Creator, an Unmute: Young Mental Health Ambassador, a Circle Network member AND an all round brilliant person!

7. Shae is the founder of Curate Your Genius Academy & Consultancy as well as The Circle Network

For more about The Circle Network or to join the community, DM

We said mitigate, not procrastinate

Talent is cute but consistency is key.

Use your creativity before it chooses another Valentine for life. Let’s gooooo!

The Enfield Youth & Community Alliance Launch & Reset meeting last week was such a powerful turning point. One of our key intentions is to map what is available for young people during half term and beyond. People are still sharing what they have to offer. You can see the mapped events and more on our Padlet (link in bio) 😁

A renewed Enfield Youth & Community Alliance!!
A shared commitment to young people and a moment to come together in Edmonton to collectively shape the future.

🗓 10 Feb 2026
⏰ 6 – 8pm (from 5:30pm)
📍 North London Community Connections, N9

If you care about young people, families, and community wellbeing, this space is for you. Will you join us?

✨ Come as you are.
✨ Bring someone with you.
✨ Let’s build what’s next together.

We’re proud to share that the Enfield Youth & Community Alliance (Edmonton Branch) has been featured in the Enfield Dispatch to raise awareness of the initiative. We’re even prouder to invite you to what comes next.

This Alliance brings together organisations, practitioners, residents and young people with one shared belief: young people deserve dignity, fairness and a hopeful future. Come along to find out more and to see how you can share your brilliance for the betterment of our youth too.

Launch & Reset Meeting

10th February 2026

6 – 8pm (refreshments & networking from 5:30pm)

North London Community Connections (NYCC), 34 The Market Square N9 0TZ

Whether you’re a parent, youth worker, school, community group, resident, partner or individual, if your work is focused on young people, this space is for you. Come, listen and connect to help shape what’s next for Edmonton.

This work is supported by collaboration across the borough, including LocalMotion Enfield and is rooted in the belief that real change happens with communities.

Please email Peaches or Shae to be added to the mailing list.

🫙💛 The Heart Jar Results Are In! 💛🫙

For Great Mental Health Day, we asked you to guess how many gems were in the heart jar. The guesses were vast, ranging from 75 all the way up to 3,000!

The actual number though, was 1,087 gems ✨

That means we have joint winners 🏆
Both guessed 1,100, just 13 gems away!

Huge thank you to everyone who joined in. Sometimes the most value comes from just taking part 💫

Congratulations to our winners — we’ll be in touch 💛

Last night our very own Trevor Blackman from Edmonton Community Partnership scooped up Community Broker of the Year at the FutureED Awards! Yep, OUR. We claim him LOL

Listen, the category was SO strong the judges couldn’t make a decision so they gave all three nominees an award. If the others are out here breaking down doors, smashing barriers and pulling off community miracles the way Trevor does on a random Tuesday, then they’re most definitely worthy too 🥰 Congrats to everyone.

But, let us tell you about Trevor: he is one of those people who quietly moves mountains while pretending it’s just a quick email. His vision, brilliance and absolute refusal to let any community or individual fall through the cracks is legendary.

Half the time he’s behind the scenes doing ten jobs at once and the other half he’s sending voice notes or emails that start with, ‘Shae, thoughts…?’ lol which always means something brilliant!

Trevor, you deserve this. Thank you for everything you do, everything you fix and for everything you make possible. You are appreciated!