Life after incarceration was brutal for Navahcia Edwards because she felt judged continuously by the people around her. People have read news stories and articles about her and think that it sums up her life and the entirety of who she is as a person. “You won’t know my life story from a news article. People think they know me, but they have no idea,” she says. In life, people commit mistakes. These mistakes are often small ones, but sometimes they can have harmful effects. These wrongdoings should be addressed, and when people grow and learn from their past mistakes, they should be given another chance to lead a better life. Navahcia Edwards was once incarcerated, and today she lives her life bearing the lessons from her past.
Navahcia Edwards had a difficult childhood in the foster career system. She was transferred from home to home, and she suffered different forms of abuse. At sixteen years old, she was homeless. A friend of hers at the time convinced her to share explicit videos and photos with him. He then went on to post those online without her consent, but Navahcia only found out about it two years after the fact. “He lied to me,” Navahcia says, “I was sixteen in the videos and pictures posted of me. How would I explain this to my future children?”
Despite the hardships she has endured, Navahcia Edwards wanted to make a better life for herself. Eventually, she found a stable job as a bank teller while also working towards advancing her modeling career. But old patterns are tough to break, and trauma can come creeping back into one’s life. In 2011, Navahcia Edwards was incarcerated for bank robbery, conspiracy to commit bank robbery, and embezzlement. She spent five years and three months in prison. “I made one bad decision, and it changed my life forever,” Navahcia says.
In the age of Google, people can find information in a matter of seconds.
She has worked hard to build her life back up. She has been home for almost four years, and she has built successful businesses in that time. Aside from being an entrepreneur, Navahcia Edwards has also been busy writing books. She has three books in the making, and one of them will touch on her life story and everything she has had to endure.
“I have been through a lot, and I made it out alive. Yes, I made mistakes, but I have learned from them. I have grown into a better person,” Navahcia shares. She is a fierce advocate for previously incarcerated women and children in the foster care system. “I have been where they are and I know how difficult it can be. I want them to know that no matter what walk of life they come from, they can still succeed.”
Navahcia hopes her story inspires others to own up to their mistakes and grow from them. She also hopes to encourage people to look beyond the surface. “Don’t be so quick to judge someone for their past,” she says, “We all have a past, some worse than others. What’s important is that people have learned from their mistakes.”
Navahcia Edwards was once a lost little girl. Currently, she is a successful businesswoman and aspiring author. “Obstacles were put in my way, but I never gave up. I worked hard, and I have grown into the woman that I am today.”
For more information about Navahcia Edwards and her upcoming books, you may visit her website. Follow her on Facebook and Instagram for updates, or send an email to Thebrand@navahcia.com.
