Dare 2 D*zigher: How to Rise To Your Royalty

By Cindel Hollancid

“Not knowing your worth is like blowing in the wind; having no sense of direction or alignment” — D*zIGHER

That was the genesis of Cindel which led her to feel rejected, unwanted, insecure, and ultimately to spiral into years of depression. From not having her father around to help her navigate those early years to never being told she was beautiful were all invisible chains that contributed to her low self-esteem and not realizing her true worth. She was:
•Bullied because of her thick lips.
•Laughed at in school because of her heavy Caribbean accent.
•Shipped from house to house as a teenager.
•Looking for love and affirmation in all the wrong places and from all the wrong people.

UNTIL...

Her spiritual pregnancy (journey) gave birth to a royalty mindset and understanding — Dare 2 D*zIGHER. This book will help transform the way you think, the way you walk and dress and how to be intentional about making those changes. This is the solution you’ve been waiting for to finally Rise to your Royalty and fearlessly wear your crown with confidence, dominion, and power!

Cindel Hollancid, RN, BSN is the founder of Fashion & Image Christian Consulting Enterprise (F.A.I.C.C.E.) and D*zIGHER-Us Events. She bravely embraces her royalty and lives on purpose sharing how her Heavenly King has made provisions for her to fulfill lifelong dreams such as producing events, modeling, youth leader, Doctoral candidate of nursing, clothing designer and lifestyle coaching. Learn more at www.dzigher.com.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cindel Hollancid
• Release date: Jun 24, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463022238

Cindel Hollancid

Cindel Hollancid, RN, BSN is the founder of Fashion & Image Christian Consulting Enterprise (F.A.I.C.C.E.) and D*zIGHER-Us Events. She bravely embraces her royalty because she has realized and acknowledged who she truly is and Whose she is. She now lives on purpose as sharing how her Heavenly King has made provisions for her to fulfill lifelong dreams such as producing events, modeling, youth leader, Doctoral candidate of nursing, clothing designer and lifestyle coaching. Contact her now at www.dzigher.com. She has realized (and wants you to realize as well): •When others say you’re not pretty enough, God says, “You are fearfully and wonderfully created. You are MY incredible work of art.” (Psalm 139:14) •When others say you’re not good enough, God says, “I chose you; (and not only are you good enough) I ordained you! (In addition) You will bring forth fruit and whatsoever you shall ask of the Father in My name, He may give it to you.” (John 15:16) •When others say, you are not going to make it, God says, “I have plans to have you in high places, My Princess. Plans of hope and a great future.” (Jeremiah 29:11) God has given her a voice and stage to help save lives by being a source of inspiration to young ladies who face similar struggles like she did: In various platforms such as youth conventions, social media, conferences, and charity events geared toward empowering young ladies; in addition to publishing creative curriculums for summer and after school youth programs. Cindel also recently became a part of the Live Out Loud Charity which is an amazing organization that aims to bring awareness to suicide prevention. As a model for this organization, they don’t just walk down a catwalk but they do so in solidarity to uplift each other from brokenness and years of depression — thus empowering each other to do the same in their communities at large — as ambassadors.

Book preview

INTRODUCTION

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I am your Contestant #2..." A phrase Cindel Hollancid will remember for a very long time.

She had begun memorizing it from that monumental day in early February when she received the letter notifying her that she had been selected for the 2nd Annual Ms. National and Independent Gospel Music Awards (N.I.G.M.A.) Christian Pageant in Greenville, South Carolina.

As a child growing up in St. Lucia, she remembered how excited she always was when Queen Elizabeth II would visit the island.

When preparing for the queen’s visit, it was as if the entire island were preparing to see Jesus himself, at least for Christians. Each school would send a few selected students to represent that specific school at the airport where the queen was landing.

For the Anglican Primary School, the elementary school Cindel attended, preparations months before the queen’s arrival would include reminders from teachers to have their green overalls and beige shirt jacks perfectly pressed and looking brand new. Girls needed to have green ribbons and hair well combed. Black shoes well-polished and forest green or beige socks with no holes.

Once the day arrived, the students would leave school early and hop on the buses that were Vigie Airport bound. Queen Elizabeth appeared to be an elderly and pleasant lady, who continued to smile and wave as she walked past each school represented with her team of bodyguards.

The other phases of her visit, which Cindel was never selected to attend, were intended for entertaining the queen during the weeklong visit. Some students were selected to dance, sing and even recite poems. Again each school from the island was expected to select the best talent for entertaining the queen.

One of the more memorable visits was in 1985. Cindel was nine. Queen Elizabeth wore a yellow silk dress paired with white gloves and a white hat. Around her neck was a pearl necklace which she matched with pearl earrings. She looked so elegant and royal as she waved to the crowd. This left a lasting impression.

Now, June 20, 2018, Cindel was about to have her own royal moment.

As unbelievable as it was that Cindel was standing in front of an audience with a new sense of confidence which symbolized for her a crown of boldness, courage and self-worth, it was just as unbelievable to recall that this naïve immigrant had lived many of her years enslaved to fear, negativity, and insecurity. This was an extraordinary moment for her – the first chapter of her new life.

It was June 20th, 2018.

Cindel held her breath as she waited for the next name to be called. It was down to her and one other contestant.

It had been a journey to get here. Six months earlier, Cindel had responded to an advertisement for the pageant and was delighted to find out that she had been selected to represent the state of Michigan shortly after.

Although Cindel knew God was taking her on a journey to self-love through this pageant, she came dangerously close to giving up. It was overwhelming. Feelings of inadequacy kept creeping up. But every time she made up her mind to pull out of the pageant, someone would come along and ask her about it.

Initially, many family members and friends had promised to attend the pageant to support her, but as the date approached, suddenly no one was able to make it.

It became evident that God intended for her to go alone. She needed that one-on-one time with Him.

Strangely enough, during this Christian pageant for women thirty to fifty years old, there was a section in the room that would stand up and cheer wildly for her whenever she walked on stage. She didn’t know them, but they supported her like they had come just for her!

Days earlier, she’d gotten a chance to mingle with the other contestants and felt intimidated by their successes. Many of them were established gospel artists nominated for notable awards.

"How in the world can I compete with these women?" she had thought at the time.

Now, as the women stood there holding hands, at the final moments of the National and Independent Gospel Music Awards Christian Pageant, thoughts flooded Cindel’s mind.

"God, am I really here?"

All of a sudden, past moments of rejection came rushing back.

"Cindel, you’re not good enough."

"Cindel, you’re not pretty enough."

But as she stood there, she pushed those negative thoughts aside and couldn’t help but be amazed.

"Wow, look at how far God has brought me."

And then it happened. Her name was announced as the 1st Runner-Up and Overall Best Talent!

This was more than just a title to her. She was good enough. The entire experience confirmed that God loved her and that He had chosen her even before she was in her mother’s womb. And because of that, she vowed to no longer be oppressed by negative connotations. She would choose to ignore all the negativity that was embedded in her soul since her early teenage years. Now she could walk with her head held high because she finally knew who she was in Christ.

What made this moment so monumental was the journey it took to get here. A journey that began decades earlier.

PLEASE, MOM! TAKE ME BACK!

Think like a Queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. All my life I have always known I was born to greatness.

– Oprah Winfrey

Life in St. Lucia was good. Cindel grew up about thirty miles from the beach, in a home with her mother and three siblings – one older sister, one older brother and one younger brother. A home as small as it may have been, with three bedrooms and a small living area, was always filled with cousins or friends whom her mom had taken in. There was never a dull moment in the Hollancid household.

The family lived in a two-story apartment complex in Castries, the capital city of St. Lucia. The complex was comprised of several clusters of six to seven apartments. The apartments were cream with a staircase on the building’s exterior that led from the first floor to the second floor. The floors were red, and the second floor had a balcony decorated with several pot flowers.

This was home for many years.

Cindel was heavily involved in church activities and spent her Sundays at the beach with members of a young adult club called Pathfinders.

While that time in her life was a period with no cares or worries in the world, it was also a time when she felt her father’s absence. Her father had left the family and was living in Florida, so her mother worked many hours as a Registered Nurse trying to leverage between being mother, father and sole provider.

Eventually, Cindel’s mother was able to build a house in a better part of the city and moved the family there.

Low body confidence and selfesteem affect young people’s learning (worldbeautyfacts.com).

With her mother tied up with numerous responsibilities, Cindel, or Dello, as everyone affectionately called her, had plenty of opportunities to be out gallivanting and hanging out with friends. As with many children, the lack of adult supervision led to mischief.

The group of friends would sometimes go to the local store and steal from vendors. But the girls were most notorious for writing notes in church that read Kick Me Please, sticking them on the backs of unsuspecting church members and being thoroughly amused when their victim would walk around oblivious to the fact.

The irony of it all was that Cindel’s mother was highly religious and often officiating during church services.

Regardless of how secretive Cindel tried to keep her indiscretions, some way or another, her mother always found out what she had done, and a beating was as sure as Christmas in December.

Her mother’s favorite instrument of discipline was a black leather belt about two and a half inches wide and about half an inch thick. It was a heavy belt with shiny silver rings from the buckle to the end of the belt. The inside of the belt was brownish in color.

Depending on her mother’s rage, Cindel often had markings on her skin from the silver rings. Although her sister got beaten as much as she did, the boys didn’t.

Cindel hated the beatings and made sure her mother knew that. Every beating she got, Cindel would talk back and have a few choice words for her mom under her breath. It was torture, but, for whatever reason, Cindel found herself getting back into mischief. She would not be beaten into submission.

Something she always did when going out on school events was to take a change of clothes, like pants, because in the islands, old school parents like hers did not condone girls wearing pants. So if you wore pants in public you were a disgrace to your parents.

Cindel, however, had a mind of her own. Rules were made to be broken. There was an easy way around this ancient mindset.

She would bid farewell to her mother dressed in a dress or skirt and get mom’s stamp of approval. Concealed in a bag, however, would be a pair of pants or shorts. And as soon as she was out of her mother’s sight, Cindel would change her clothes and have the time of her life with her friends.

On the way back home, she would pull her dress over her shorts. She did this more times than she could count. Cindel also oftentimes altered her school uniform to show off her legs. Her skirt was supposed to be knee-length or longer, with a button-down shirt. But Cindel would roll up her skirt at the waist so