Hello Guys,

Whew! I can’t believe it has been a whole year since I’ve written a blog on my site. After I ran errands and finalized some work stuff earlier, the feeling really hit me like, “Oprah, you LITERALLY haven’t posted in a year!” The thought of it is really insane, but lemme say that your girl has been learning and reflecting over the past year. I have definitely been productive in areas of my life and the space for my writing pretty much got put on the backburner temporarily. This blog will be a recap of everything I’ve been through this past year. It’s important to me to share with you the life rollercoaster I have been on. I also want to take out the time to my subscribers on here who have been with me since I started this platform! Thank you for your patience and the love you have shown me throughout the years of my progression in my writing and business journey! I love all of you!

Enough of the mushy stuff! Let’s get into what I’ve been up to this past year!

Today is July 30, 2025, a day away from the beginning of August. This summer has been filled with a lot of prayer and reflecting on the next chapter of my life. On May 31,2025, I resigned from my job as a supervisor where I was employed for almost 4 years. I had reached a point where my job wasn’t aligning with what I wanted for my life and what I had been praying to God about. It got to the point where I was truly resenting my job (not my staff), but the job itself. The role was mentally draining on most days to the point where I was actually dreading going to work. When this feeling started coming over me earlier this year, I started praying to God to give me guidance and re-direction for something better. This didn’t happen overnight of course, but God told me to leave my role. When I got the answer and confirmation from him, I was so nervous to step into new territory. I had faith from the get-go, but I was still on the fence because I was thinking of how to move correctly stepping into my next journey. I had so many questions in my head…

“God, how am I going to stay afloat if I quit my job right now?”

“God, how will I cover my bills and expenses for the time being until I find another job that aligns with my vision?!”

“God, how will I overcome my fear if it doesn’t work out in my favor?”

Those were just some of the questions that were circling through my head before I decided to put in my two weeks notice at my previous job. Through consistent prayer, being present in my church community, and self-care, I put my notice in with confidence knowing that God has the wheel, as he also has me. After my resignation from my job, it was time for me to go in full force in finding another job. About two weeks in of applying for jobs, I received a new opportunity for a company in the marketing/publishing industry. Even though the job is a new space out of my comfort zone, I’m truly thankful for God opening this new door for me. It was a gentle reminder that “when one closes, another one opens.” 

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”- Jeremiah 29:11

Over the past year, I have been very present with my family and friends. I really enjoy just being in the moment with family and friends where there is good vibes, food, and celebration involved without a camera being present. Some moments are not meant to be shared on social media, and those are the moments that I love the most. I had a good Mardi Gras earlier this year going to parades with my family. I also had a well spent Easter celebrating with my church and family while engaging in a park event that same day. My first cousin had a birthday brunch celebration early in June, and we had a great time! I also was blessed to go to my GREAT great auntie’s celebration who turned 100 years old! Experiencing her celebration was truly a blessing and it was great to meet family members that I didn’t know on that side of my family. In July, this month was mostly about reflecting and getting into the groove with my new career. As I progress through this new job, I am definitely facing new challenges everyday because it is a new field that is new to me and out of my comfort zone. Some days I am UP and some days I am somewhat doubtful from the new challenges that I’m not familiar with. Throughout it all, I trust God with all my being and I truly know he has the WHEEL on everything going on in my journey. I understand that he wouldn’t have given me this assignment if I couldn’t do it!

I also started a YouTube channel 4 months ago when God called me to start a “video diary” of me displaying my latest events and my journey. At first, I had no idea what to vlog about because I am very awkward in front of a camera LOL, but I will say it is getting easier as I post more. In the beginning, I had no idea what I was going to post about. God stepped in and gave me the vision to post a daily devotional that I upload consistently while also recapping my latest book club meetings, and my current book reads of the year. Please feel free to check out that journey on my channel http://youtube.com/@oprahzipbradford

For August, I have some great features coming up for us! I collaborated with some local authors in my community that will be featured throughout the month discussing their personal paths and the books they wrote! I am so excited to share their amazing stories with you in the upcoming month!

Once again, thank you to my readers and subscribers on this wonderful platform! I promise I won’t be a stranger. I love yall.

Until next time, 

Zip