Proverbs 31 DIVA! Petal Locs

Yes I could have smiled but um, I didn't :( 

I will smile now!  Not my son but my buddy! Hey Malik! 

The Roaring 20's: Reflection of my Preparation Year's pt. 3

I am creeping up to my 30th birthday and am becoming discouraged... This happened last year as well. I do not know what to do and when because I am on everybody else's schedule. Kind of feels like I was born only to serve others on my birthday :) Maybe that is a good thing.

Anywho!

My past has been so vital to who I am today and who I will be in the future! It has been and is exciting reflecting on my life! God has been so amazing! I have been through a lot.

I did some really stupid stuff and God has kept me. I was reflecting some time ago and I saw the Hand of God all through out my life protecting me from dangers seen and unseen! Even as a child, God really kept me so I know I have some things in store that are and will be great! One example is that I was about 9 years old and I was sitting on the kitchen counter putting the glasses in the cabinet and all of a sudden the shelf fell and all of the glasses fell AROUND me. I was not touched.

Another example is that when I was in 1st grade I was in a truck with a friend and her dad, we were going to softball practice. I didn't shut the door good and didn't have my seat belt on and we turned the corner and I fell out. Only a scrape on my elbow and landed on my tummy. I do not remember falling out until I was on the ground. I was scared that was it. Got up walked into the ambulance and was FINE! Can you see God's hand protecting you through out your life?

In the years 22 and 23, I started going back to church and singing in the choir. I missed that. I grew up in the church and was religious! I tried dating but wasn't really successful. Guys for some reason was not trying to be in a RELATIONSHIP with me :( 

• Lesson 1: Denials are lifesavers! This is something I learned actually starting college all the way up until my last boyfriend. This lesson can go across any area of life. I personally was not "Putting Out". Most guys that tried to get with me 90% of the time only wanted sex. Every time I showed interest in a guy and I told them I was not having sex they disappeared. Man think about all the emotional baggage and even physical baggage I saved. I was weeding people out. If you look at denials as lifesaver's you will be a much happier camper. Many get distraught and it does not have to be that way. 

I was finishing up my bachelors degree and it only took me 5.5 years! Remember how I was telling you I was failing and withdrawing? I forgot to mention I kept changing my degree. 

• Lesson 2: If you are not ready to go to college don't force it! I am glad I stuck it out but those classes are expensive! I switched my degree, first it was Psychology, then Criminal Justice, and then, Restaurant Management, and the Business Management and then I finished with Business Admin. I was a random girl and if you are not ready to commit then do not! It is a waste of time and money! BUT I DID GET MY Bachelors Dec. 2008! I brought my GPA from 2.0-2.8 which still isn't the best thing. I struggled in those math classes. But I did everything to pass the classes. I didn't fail any after I transferred so that was good! 

I moved back in with my mama when I came back from Orlando. I am the only child so I liked being alone. I worked, went to school, went to church and partied. Although I felt I was GROWN my mama still put her foot down and I had to respect that.

• Lesson 3: If you cannot respect the persons that are putting a roof over your head then GET OUT! I respected my mama all the time though. I was not the child that yelled at my mom, slam doors or leave. But then my mama also treated me with respect as well. She gave me a curfew. I did miss it a lot. But one thing I did not miss was no matter how late I came in I BETTER BE AT CHURCH. And I was. I drank a lot and would wake with a hangover and still be at church. A hot mess I know but I was there. I had to. My mother was letting me, a "GROWN" woman live in her house FOR FREE, she cooked and bought groceries. I have a problem with parents and children when they cannot communicate and just disrespect each other. If you cannot live by their rules then get your own place.

I was close to the last year of my degree. I was working at a restaurant and I wanted to advance my career. There was the internship that I wanted to be a part of. I was working really hard and I thought that my boss really cared and that she wanted the best for me. I watched all the business interns and I wanted to get into management.She told me to apply and I did. I thought I had a great relationship with the bigger boss but I guess I was wrong. 

• Lesson 4 and 5: Not everyone REALLY wants to see you succeed and COLOR STILL does play a big role. She kept saying "Yes, he will be getting back to you." or he would say, "Yep I will be interviewing soon. Month went by and I would see new interns and I was not even close to getting an interview. Too me color still is bright as day but people think they hiding in the dark and we cannot see. All those interns were Caucasian. If I recall, I do not remember seeing anyone in a leadership role a person of color. I was heartbroken and was ready for a change. I couldn't be a hostess with the mostess for the rest of my life. I was not being challenged and those people were not trying to hear me which was an eyeopener. I left in July and looked for a new job.

Well stay tuned for more lessons on my roaring twenties, the preparation years. Coming up, I MOVED OUT OF STATE by myself. 

Can you remember when you were 23? What was something major happening in your life?

Peace and Blessings,

Cicely

The Roaring 20's: Reflection of my Preparation Year's pt. 2

I will be turning 30 in September and I am so excited. My hubby would say, "We are in a good place and it is only going to get better!" Right now we are pretty young, married with no children yet! We have a great relationship with Christ and highly active in the church. We make good money, almost 6 figures. We are givers. College educated, I have my Master's in Educational Leadership and he is completing his Master's in Non-profit Admin. We have great careers in the non-profit field and we are growing together through Christ everyday! I have a small business I am hoping will get bigger and I just enjoy life, traveling and stuff! So I feel like we have a great foundation that will be great as I enter this next decade of life.

As I said before, my twenties was just preparation for the future. I am excited about my future.

When I turned 21, I was participating in the Walt Disney World College Program and they worked us like um, yea they worked us. We had to pay our own rent, buy our own food, buy our own household items and other things. I made $7.25 an hour! So I made about $350 before taxes a week. For me, I was serious about getting my education on, so I signed up for online classes to take while I was in Orlando and got some extra money to live off of. While I was there I met a girl (No Names) who was a virgin and was so serious about her walk with God. She was so inspirational to me. We became great friends. She actually was from Louisiana and that was August 23, 2005. We had just been there for I think a week or two and this happened. She was devastate, she couldn't go home for a while. She was able to to speak to her family that survived, their house though was under water. But through it all she gave me my first lesson in my twenties:

• Lesson 1: Stay faithful to God despite what you go through. She was a really strong influence in my life. I do not think I ever told her either. But the way she stayed true at such a young age and not question God really helped me stay somewhat close to God. God is so faithful to us even when we do wrong. Just imagine the blessings and favor God will have on you when you also stay faithful to him no matter what the situation looks like. 

My mom really did not let us celebrate Halloween. People may say that it is not an evil "holiday" but I feel that halloween is a gateway to some real evil and perverted ways. I was so glad to have my friend from Louisiana because we both did not celebrate Halloween. But some of my other friends wanted to go out anyways so I just went out which brings me to my next lesson:

• Lesson 2: The devil and his lil minions and demons are real. That night some spirit crept on me and I had my first real encounter and it was so scary. All I remember thinking was Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. I kept thinking that and I guess I fell asleep and woke up. If you allow even an inch the enemy will pounce on it! So I began to really see evil and the good! 

My work place at Disney World was at Disney Quest- a 5-Story virtual amusement park. Best place ever. This program brought people from all over the world and I met some really cool people and I am sad to say I do not have their contact info and cannot remember first and last names :(  but the next lesson I learned:

• Lesson 3: Get out the box! Of course people tend to flock to what they are familiar with and never really explore differences. My co-workers, an older lady, an awkward black girl just like myself, this cool white guy and many more cool people. We would go and enjoy the parks together. One day, two of them were like let's go see a movie. I was like sure which movie? They said "Walk the Line". I was like what is that? They were like you don't know who Johnny Cash is? I was like nope! During the movie, I was like huuhhhh what is this!!!! And I was eating little squids and was grossed out! But let me tell you! Ring of Fire is like one of my most "favoristist" songs and I love calamari! See what getting outside of the box, the norm and yourself will expose you to! 

After I completed the Walt Disney Program, I went to visit my grandparents for a couple of days in a little town called Plant City! My grandmother took me to see the ocean for the first time. It was amazing. 

I moved back in with my mommy and she bought Malik my little cousin a dog. THE CUTEST AND SWEETEST dog in the world. I started school and bounced from job to job until I landed on one that I really enjoyed. 

• Lesson 4: Hard work pays off. As I worked at the Walt Disney World college program, I learned how to really work. Having good work ethics is a must. I was able to get a lot of little jobs because of my experience, I was able to put in words during interviews and they were wowed! They were wowed by my hard work and commitment, I could have easily quit but nope! Went out on my own and owned that experience. 

Well stay tuned for more of my life lessons from my twenties! It was just preparation for my future.

Thank you for reading! 

Cicely Renee