Before we leave 2020…

Before we leave 2020, a year full of devastation for so many I want to share a message I think is important.

People I love lost people they love, and I even witnessed my aunt take her last breath and can’t get that image out of my head. I’ve other hard experiences this year that I’ll never forget. I think we ALL have.

Lessons Learned in 2020

My plan is to also never forget the lessons I learned this year. Like love the people you love (like for real) because tomorrow is DEFINITELY not promised. Get prepared by saving more and creating new revenue streams. Appreciate every little thing including every breath you’re able to take.

And so many other lessons I learned or really that were just emphasized. But one of the lessons that I hope most of us learned is that we are overcomers. We CAN survive hurt, loss, confusion, frustration and devastation. We CAN figure out what to do and how to make “it” work. How to move forward.

Acknowledging Milestones

So as I think about the horrible year that was 2020, I am also reminded that going into 2020 I was excited about celebrating some important milestones in my life. Not just things that just happened, but each of these things MAJORLY changed the trajectory of my life.

Like in 2020, during each of these points in my life I experienced a roller coaster of emotions. There was hurt, loss, confusion, frustration and devastation in each of these experiences. Then there were huge blessings on the other side. And these are only the 2020 anniversary events so I have many more lessons and blessings from other experiences.

But these points in my life reminded me of everything I had to do and be in 2020.

• I had to be brave.
• I had to have faith.
• I had to focus on just surviving right then AND prepare for the future.
• I had to figure things out…often alone.
• I had to make a lot of sacrifices.
• I had to look for the positives in the process even when it was hard.
• I had to allow myself to cry but never so long that I stopped making progress.

And that’s how I got where I am today. That’s how we got through 2020.

And that’s how we can make 2021 and every year after it amazing.

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I’m Summer Owens, and my passion is helping youth and young adults realize success no matter what obstacles they face. As an international resilience and leadership keynote speaker, author, S.O. What! Success Coach, and creator of the S.O. What! Literacy, Life Skills, and Character Education curriculum, I empower people to say, “So what!” to even their greatest challenges.  provide a framework to help people see past their challenges and focus on solutions using the S.O. What! Success System (Overcome Obstacles + Eliminate Excuses + Calculate Choices = S.O. What! Success). Through keynotes, workshops, books, online courses, and workbooks, I use life’s challenges and my own story of resilience as a rape survivor and teen mom success story to help others confidently pursue their dreams.

Looking for an inspiring college motivational speaker? A high school literacy curriculum? A middle school life skills workbook? A great example for teen mothers? A women’s empowerment or single mother’s conference speaker?  I’m your girl and will help any audience say, “S.O. What!”.

www.SummerOwens.com