I’m being more personal with you.
You see, I was pregnant with Maxwell my senior year in high school. Me, an athlete, the only girl in my family, a Catholic, from a small town (you get the picture). Our parents wanted us to give Maxwell up so his dad and I could have a “normal” college life. But, by the grace of God we both wanted to keep him. He was born 3 weeks early on senior skip day. A week later I graduate from high school. 8 months later Maxwell and I moved to Madison to see if I could handle college and raising him. His dad was already attending school at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, so we worked out our schedules, took care of Maxwell, and had our “normal” college life. It has forever been ONE of the best decisions of my life! I graduated and got a Commercial Art degree from Madison Area Technical College; and Madison has become my home where I’m living out my passion and purpose. I call Maxwell every year on May 19th, at 9:25am, the time that he was born, and leave an emotional message on his voicemail about how blessed we are to have him in our lives and how proud of him we are. He always calls me back and says “Thanks for keeping me alive mom.”
Maxwell is filled with love, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, intelligence, and humor. God has blessed him with an amazing spirit! He is a joy to be around and easy to love (ask anyone who knows him).
I’m sharing this with you because it was Maxwell’s birthday yesterday. I thought it would be a great way to celebrate him by showing you a few things he’s been working on. I love that he’s living his life on purpose and doing what brings him joy – working in the movie industry. He lives in downtown L.A. and graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee with a Film Degree. He’s working towards becoming a director. Currently he assists directors, is a production assistant, and was a featured extra in a film (see below). He was blessed to travel to Australia last year to shoot one of the films below (he now has the travel bug).
Here are a few of the most recent movies he’s been a part of…
THE LAZARUS EFFECT
(released in January)
SAN ANDREAS
(releases May 29th)
THE GIFT
(releases July 31st – Maxwell is a featured extra in this film)
I hope that by sharing a small part of my story, it inspires you to do the same. We learn, heal, and grow from each other’s stories. I also hope you are living your life on purpose. It’s ok if you don’t have a plan, God does! YOU are here for a reason, whether your parents planned you or not.
Shine Brightly,
Ali
P.S. If interested, here are some of Maxwell’s personal projects.
Beautiful Ali. God bless you!
Awe, thanks Jill, so sweet of you!