Eryka W. Jackson | The Brand Ambassador

A parable about power, proximity, and swimming in your own current.

In the mixed waters — where sharks strutted like they owned the currents, dolphins ran in tight circles, and every whale species had its own clique — lived Flo.

Flo was a Great Whale. The only one of her kind, but she didn’t know that yet.

She spent years trying to “go along to get along,” swimming with creatures who were loud, shiny, and well‑connected. The kind who said things like:

“It’s all in who you know.”

“Stay close to the current.”

“We’ll circle back for you.”

Flo believed them.

Because that’s what everyone said in those waters.

The Big Fish & Their Games

The Big Fish weren’t the biggest, but they were the most visible. They swam like they were always on camera. They spoke in polished bubbles. They avoided accountability with phrases like:

• “The timing wasn’t right.”

• “Let’s revisit when the currents settle.”

They were masters of saving face — even when they were dead wrong.

If they ignored you, it was “a miscommunication.”

If they dropped the ball, it was “a shift in the tide.”

If they didn’t show up, it was “a boundary.”

Flo kept trying to fit in with them, thinking proximity meant progress.

But the Big Fish only liked Flo when she was:

• helpful

• quiet

• agreeable

• shrinking

The moment she needed clarity or consistency, they swam off like they never saw her.

The Sharks & Their Teeth

The sharks weren’t subtle. It was clear they wanted power. 

They respected strength, not softness. They respected presence, not politeness.

But even they sensed Flo didn’t know who she was yet, so they treated her like a big fish with small‑fish confidence.

The Dolphins & Their Circles

The dolphins were friendly — and loud.

They loved to be seen loving Flo.

But when it came time to show up?

They were suddenly “busy,” “booked,” or “in another current.”

They were the queens of performative support. They clapped loudest when nothing was required of them.

Flo’s Breaking Point

One day, after being ignored, dismissed, and spiritually gaslit by yet another Big Fish who said her “energy wasn’t aligned,” Flo swam upward to breathe.

And for the first time, she saw her reflection in the surface.

Not the minimized version.

Not the agreeable version.

Not the “let me not make waves” version.

She saw her size.

Her strength.

Her capacity.

Her calling.

She wasn’t built like them because she wasn’t meant to move like them.

And far beyond the mixed waters, she saw something new:

Open ocean.

Unclaimed currents.

Waters that didn’t require permission.

The Revelation

Flo realized she didn’t need:

• the Big Fish’s approval

• the dolphins’ applause

• the sharks’ validation

• or the politics of proximity

She didn’t need to “stay close to the current.” She was the current.

The “bridge” she thought she needed — the guidance, the access, the alignment — was never a bridge. It was a leash.

Flo didn’t need to cross anything.

She just needed to swim.

So Flo inhaled deeply — the kind of breath only a Great Whale can take — and she moved.

Not to prove anything.

Not to spite anyone.

Not to make a statement.

Just because she finally remembered she could.

And the ocean responded.

The waters parted.

The currents shifted.

The horizon widened.

Flo didn’t look back.

She didn’t wait for a callback.

She didn’t check who approved.

She swam.

And the ocean made room for her.

The Lesson

Sometimes the “network” is just noise.

Sometimes the “alignment” is just avoidance.

Sometimes the “bridge” is just a boundary someone built to keep you small.

You don’t need their current.

You don’t need their circles.

You don’t need their politics.

You’re a Great Whale. You can swim.

And the moment you recognize your own size? The whole ocean shifts.

I am Eryka. Eryka I Am.