The fire that started it all!!!

The Fire That Started Annaka's Paige. I came to open a bank account. Not for me. For my daughter. And the woman across the counter talked to me like I was asking her to dig a hole to China with a teaspoon.

You know that tone? Polite, but dripping with everything I wasn't allowed to want. I walked out cold. Angry. Empty. An hour later I get an email. She's sick. Going home. Midday. I should've been annoyed. But instead I started digging through old files, anything to show them what this actually means.

And I clicked on the Google Slides I'd built months ago. Meant to show friends, never got around to it. There, nestled in the top right, was a button. Create video. One click. And suddenly every bullet point, every shaky sentence, every tear I swallowed—moved. It breathed. It wasn't pretty. The colors were off, the pacing rushed…… But I watched it three times and cried. This is what purpose looks like.

Not glossy, not edited. Not even finished.

Just raw, and mine. And Annaka's Paige—spelled A-N-N-A-K-A apostrophe S, P-A-I-G-E—was suddenly real. Not an idea. Not paperwork. But a beating thing. She won't see the video. Not yet. But when I add the voiceover—one line—‘This is what purpose means. And this is why I won't let anyone tell her she can't have it,' I'll hit upload. And it'll stay. Rough edges and all. Because fire isn't clean. It doesn't wait for permission.

It just starts. And mine started with a button I almost missed.

Love,

Todd