We were lucky to catch up with Citria Jones-Williams recently and have shared our conversation below.
Citria, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
Finding my purpose wasn’t easy. I didn’t think I had one growing up. I always felt that I was here just because. That was my first step. Knowing that there was a reason I was put here on this Earth. My relationship with God opened my eyes to that. He is not a “just because” God. Where He allows life to be, it’s for a purpose. Even in knowing that, I still struggled with what exactly was my purpose. I have tried many different avenues that I felt was for me but didn’t avail substantial success. It took me having a sit down with myself and allowing God to show me, me. I found out that my purpose is to be a light. To help people overcome and become all that they are to be. To show people that there’s more than what they feel is all they have. I aspire to see those around me be free and walking in their purpose! That’s apart of my reason of being here. I am also called to the beauty industry as a makeup artist not just to provide services but to allow my light to shine there as well. To lead others to Christ and assist them in their walk of life. There’s so much more than is assigned to me that God is still revealing and allowing me to walk out.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
Since 2017, I have been doing makeup professionally. It is a hobby that became my passion. Although I have never been a fan of art, each client is like a canvas to me where I can be creative and express myself through. I have met many wonderful people over the years and cherish them all. My brand name is GEM Artistry. GEM is an acronym of Growing, Evolving and Maturing. That is something that God gave to me in 2019. In my career, I not only offer makeup services but classes as well. I enjoy teaching others. Classes are for those who want to learn how to enhance their own beauty as well for those who aspire to be a makeup artist themselves.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Three qualities that I believe were most important would be consistency, persistence and passion. Consistency allowed me to stay steadfast on what I wanted to achieve. It gave me the ability to form healthy habits daily and that wasn’t easy. It still isn’t. Persistence pushed me to keep going even when I didn’t see the results I wanted or desired. Despite difficulty and dry seasons, I’ve learned to stay persistent knowing that everything will be exactly what I want it to be. Passion is big to me. Not everyone, especially at my age, has something that they are passionate about and know that it is something they want to do for the rest of their lives. I believe that if you have passion for anything, you’ll always do whatever needs to be done to make sure that you progress and obtain that which you are passionate about.
What’s a current struggle you have?
Currently, this time of the year is considered a “dry season” for the beauty industry. That’s typically during late summer. That has been a challenge for me but I have learned that I still have to apply the same drive and commitment that I would during peak seasons.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.gemartistry.as.me
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/citriathemua
Image Credits
Vizion Concept Photography, LLC Still Shot Artistry, LLC
