Fun Facts?
I played the trumpet when I was young, and would love to play it again.
I am a mother of 6 children, whom none where planned.
How do I reduce my stress?
I enjoy listening to all genres of music, traveling, lifting weights, gardening and plants. I also enjoy playing beat saber. I enjoy a nice cup of coffee and a cigar. I appreciate the slience in life
Favorite Books?
Where Do We Go From Here: Community or Chaos
The Parable of the Sower
The Lovely Bones
Favorite Plant
African Violet and Elephant Ear ( her name is Sunshine)
Orchid (her name is Orca and Purple Rain)
Leopard Lily ( her name Queen)
What am I proud of
I am proud of being authentically me and not giving up on being. I am also proud of never giving up, even in my failures!
Hobby?
Making soap, whipping shea butter, making t-shirts reading, traveling with my husband, and playing with my kids .
We all have a story and a purpose, here is mine!
Shortly after meeting my husband I wanted to enroll in grad school(I couldn’t do anything with a degree in Sociology). So, my husband afforded me the opportunity to go to grad school full time, I thank God for him daily, for being able to “hold it down” while I pursued me Masters in Social Work.
During grad school we welcomed 4 more kids to our lives, and I stayed home with them, it was just cheaper, being honest! I wanted to be an active Social Worker so I joined my professional organization and thru networking, I was given the opportunity to work at the local psychiatric hospital, where I still teach psychoeducation groups.
My story has lead me to my purpose in this life. I believe my purpose is to engage, educate, and enlighten those that come in my path that they can do it, when they are authentically operating in who they are created to be. YES! it requires work, but everything you need to succeed you already have. It is my life purpose to pour out all that is in me to teach people the skills they need so they can go and be everything they were born to be.
I never wanted to be a social worker! I always wanted to be an actress living in California doing movies and playing roles in soap operas I watched with my grandmother. But, like so many of us life happens, and it happens fast. By the tender age of 17 I was a mother of two daughters, with no plan, but to finish high school and hope for the best.
I was given the opportunity to go to Job Corps to get my Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) so I could work and provide some type of living for myself and my daughters. So, I packed up a bag and made a hard decision and left my daughters (I later returned to get them and they joined me in Albany, GA). During the time away from my children, I found myself by myself a lot using that time to discover who I was born to be. What I realized was really, I was a people pleaser and wanted people to like me, so I did things thinking it would show my loyalty to those I wanted to accept me, but in reality, I needed to accept my authentic self.
So I read a book by Iyanla Vanzant, In the Meantime, and it changed my life. I no longer needed to be accepted by people who didn’t accept who I was. I lost many friends, but gained self- confidence and self respect. After leaving Job Corps and epic failure living in Atlanta, I returned home, moved out of my Godparents home with my daughters, met my now husband and finished my college degree in Sociology.