Remember this when you feel like giving up
Before finding out that I was pregnant, I had dreams.
I wanted to go to college. I wanted to be successful. I wanted a career. Then at 15 I got pregnant by a guy I didn’t know and was soon a single, teenage mother. If you have found yourself in the same situation, you may feel like giving up. Don’t give up because your dreams are there for a reason. Despite the setbacks and unexpected struggles, I didn’t give up and my dreams came true. I graduated from college with honors and went on to have a successful career. Don’t let a lifetime go by without going after your dreams.
When you feel like giving up, remember someone else has done it before or lived through a similar experience before you.
You can find and seek mentorship from someone like that to teach, encourage, guide and instruct you. While your family can often guide you, seek a mentor outside your immediate circle. I did this with my son and he benefited from having someone outside of me to look up to. So, seek a mentor then pay it forward by becoming a mentor.
Perseverance pays. See your dream to the end when you feel like giving up.
How many things have you started and quit? It was hard to work 60-80 hours a week and go to grad school. I had no family to help with babysitting. But now more than 15 years after graduating with my Master, all the late nights, constant tiredness and lack of a social life are now a blip on the radar. I’ve reaped the benefits many times over since that time. That’s why I encourage you to keep going. Push yourself to get through it to the end.
After several unsuccessful relationships, I had given up on finding someone to be there for both my son and me. Relationships become more complicated when you add on the single mother element. While I was excited to get into a new life, things didn’t always happen as quickly. But all relationships have challenges. I had to learn to be patient in every aspect of my life. If you feel like giving up, focus on becoming a better person. It will happen in due time if it’s in line with the word of God. When I least expected it, I met someone who showed me how to love and to trust again.
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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!”.
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