Your Story

This blog post is different than the others that I have posted before; this post isn't my experience. I love this story because it made me reflect on how often in my life failure has been the neighbor to success! I strongly believe that we can learn great lessons through other's experiences. Her story inspired me and I hope it does something for you as well. Thank you Deja for allowing me to share your story.

After college, getting validation was a massive thing for me. I was wondering if I was doing “this” the right way. Am I supposed to have my place, a brand new car, go to grad school immediately, or be making a certain amount? In college, we have things to do to control our time, so when I graduated, I realized, I was now in control of my time. As relaxing as that control felt for the first couple of months, I got too comfortable with being comfortable. I had the urge to grow. I was becoming unsatisfied; unsatisfied with how much I was making, dissatisfied with paying bills and not having much leftover, and unsatisfied with feeling like all of my hard work was for nothing. Along with my dissatisfaction, I felt as if no one understood my struggle. I was struggling mentally, physically, spiritually, and emotionally. I began trying to find solutions like maybe pledging a graduate chapter, applying for a better position at my job, going back to school, starting to dance again, creating a LinkedIn (why haven’t I done that during my five years of college, who knows?). My life began to include many failures. I was failing at everything I tried or more so, giving up. I kept asking myself, “What can I do?"

I was applying to jobs and would continuously get rejected. To me, my skills were not measurable, and I hated it. I am not in grad school, and I failed to do any internships, I did not work numerous jobs on campus, go to networking events, or earn innumerable certificates. I made the mistake of not making the proper connections in college. I was mad at myself for not maximizing my time at Central. After being rejected so many times, all the while knowing I am talented, intelligent, and competent, I found myself no longer believing those things about me.

I had been broken down, and so I began the process of building myself back up again. I began to watch inspirational videos, pray, and even become comfortable in my solitude. I understood that God couldn’t and wouldn’t give me everything I wanted if I was not doing well with what he has already given, so I changed my mindset. I learned a sense of accountability and responsibility. I stopped feeling sorry for myself. And while some days are magical, and some are hopeful, but some are still very hard. However, I am content with that, because every stage in my life, there will be a struggle. 

Good things have come to me since then. I am very grateful for the people I have been able to rub elbows with. My support system is amazing. I am exactly where I need to be. My story was already written, and I am only at the beginning. I am proud of where I am at 24 years old because my grind stems from being hungry; I will remain unsatisfied. I have so much life to live, and I could never say this three months ago, but I am excited about the future. For anyone else that is reading this, understand that you are not alone. Keep searching for what you are looking for. Stay curious and keep failing because every failure puts you so much closer to your success. Your story is already written.