FLM
FLM
Fete Lifestyle Magazine
Publisher's Note
As we approach the close of another year, I always feel compelled to pause and reflect. I began 2025 the same way I usually do, not with resolutions, but with goals and hopeful expectations for the many lanes of life I try to balance: personal, family, business, and everything in between. And if there’s one thing time has consistently taught me, it’s that life is fluid. What we plan rarely unfolds exactly as we imagine, and more often than not, it doesn’t fully align with what God has in store for us.
Over the years, I’ve learned to embrace the wins and sit with the losses and setbacks long enough to actually learn from them. What I’ve discovered is this: I don’t celebrate the wins nearly enough. The setbacks, while very difficult in the moment, are rarely as devastating as they first appear. When I pause to reflect, I discover that there is something that I learned waiting on the other side.
And right now, reflection feels more necessary than ever.
With so much uncertainty, devastation, and division happening in the world, it’s worth asking ourselves some deeper questions. What do we truly want our lives to look like? And just as important, what do we want our communities to feel like?
Do we want to continue down a path where hate and vitriol are normalized? Where discrimination, bigotry, and intolerance for cultural differences are excused or even defended?
When times get tough, people often look for someone to blame.
Historically, those who look different, believe differently, or love differently become scapegoats for problems they did not create. Too often, prejudice is being masked as “politics,” making our country—and our world—more dangerous, not stronger.
This season we have the opportunity to choose differently.
Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or another tradition this December, my hope and prayer is that you feel safe honoring your heritage and culture and that you extend that same grace and joy to others, even (and especially) those who may not look like you or live like you.
As we step into a new year, let’s reclaim our sensitivity, our empathy, and our acceptance for one another. Let’s commit rising above the fray, to building communities rooted in compassion, understanding, and love.
God bless, and thank you for being part of the FLM community.
D.C.
A Season to Reflect, A Choice to Rise
Cover Photo by James Gustin
On the Cover:Kevin Boehm
Location: Chicago, IL