When we started the S.O. What! Foundation’s STEP-OUT (Self-esteem, Teamwork, Exposure, Personal development-Overcome, Understand, Triumph) program, I knew I wanted to take the special kids in our program on a flight to Washington, DC. Why? Because they followed the S.O. What! curriculum and read about my first flight as a scared, pregnant 15-year-old. And later […]
Several years ago I nervously left my son at home alone in my new apartment for the first time since my divorce. When I came home from the birthday dinner I had gone to, I didn’t know whether to be proud or sad. With a tie sloppily hanging from his neck, my son said, “YouTube is […]
If you’ve been following my blog for any amount of time or just know my story, then you know my birthdays are “special”. Y es, everyone’s birthday is special, but my birthday is also the anniversary of the day I got pregnant by someone I did not know. A day that changed everything about my […]
Today is a huge day for the city of Memphis. I am with my 96-year-old grandmother in Jackson, but she was living in Memphis on this day 50 years ago. She recalls being at the laundromat the moment Dr. King was shot and killed. She talks about the progress we’ve made, and how things have […]
When I quit my job at ServiceMaster, I had about two months before I started my new job at FedEx. I opted out of the COBRA insurance which would have provided me with coverage in between jobs because it was so expensive. So I told my son who was 12 at the time to be […]
Minimizing our place in life to be about luck simply relieves us from responsibility for our circumstances. It says we think we have no control over our situations, and that we don’t feel accountable to or powerful enough to change what we don’t like.
I can remember being in high school seeing girls getting flowers and stuffed animals at school on Valentine’s Day. In college, more of the same. My friends often got gifts and went on dates, but I didn’t. Sometimes it bothered me, but most Valentine’s Day it didn’t. I was a single mom and often didn’t […]
A ring is just a symbol of what can be a very beautiful union when it’s done right. But when it’s done wrong, or done in a rush or under pressure, it can be a very ugly and painful situation with long-lasting consequences.
When I entered my senior year of high school in 1996, I couldn’t wait for it to be over. Not because I didn’t like school or people there because my school, Jackson Central-Merry, was amazing. We were award-winners and record-setters both academically and athletically. From CNN Contributor Van Jones to NFL players Al Wilson and Artis Hicks (who […]
