When you think about what others are going through, it really puts your “challenges” into perspective.
Tonight I spoke to my friend, one of the sweetest women I know. We had not talked in a while, and I forgot she lived in Baton Rouge. When I remembered, I called her. And she was excited to hear from me and was so curious about what was going on with me that we were well into the conversation before I could address why I called her. She was positive and upbeat, but…
Her home was flooded. She, her husband, and three daughters basically lost everything including their cars that were flooded out. No flood insurance because she wasn’t in a flood zone. Home insurance refused to cover the damage. However, she was thankful for a place to stay (her in-law’s), a vehicle to drive (her friend’s), and for her family’s safety.
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Yesterday, a long-time friend/grandmother called me.
She asked me to pray for her family, especially three of her great grandson’s because their father, her grandson, had hung himself.
She said he struggled with depression and was diagnosed as bipolar, and went to the extreme of taking his life. And she was obviously devastated but was mostly concerned for his wife and kids, and her daughter.
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Last week I attended the funeral of one of my amazing line sister’s mothers.
I had memories of her mom, and my friend was her mother’s baby girl. At the funeral, my friend sang a beautiful tribute to her mother that brought everyone to tears. During the service, I also learned that my friend’s brother who had been sick passed that morning. The day of his mother’s funeral.
This post isn’t just a post to share sad news. It’s a post to remind us that people deal with so much and just maybe what we’re dealing with isn’t as big as we think. Also, it’s a reminder of the strength in people and that we too can demonstrate strength and press on no matter what we are going through.
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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
