The Beginning of a Journey

I was born in the Mississippi Delta. I was born to a teenage mother. I was born an African American female. Some would say I was born a statistic. …

The Beginning of a Journey

This morning, I was reading my journal and saw that I had written my “very first” blog post (that’s what I had written) seven years ago. All I could do was smile because I had forgotten about my other blog site that I have neglected over the years. Ugh… It was the one I created with my first business venture, The Research Diva–RD. I revisited the site to see what I had written seven years ago (December 6, 2017). Smiling even harder now and crying a little because that post wasn’t my first. My first post was actually written two days earlier, on December 4, 2017. I can’t believe I didn’t write about it. Anyhoo… With my permission—I don’t want to plagiarize myself even though I’m not going to cite it properly—I am copying and pasting my entire post. It’s also reblogged above. And y’all, the title has me choked up. I can’t help but add “…with God.” It defines the beginning of my journey with God. Whew!!! When I tell you, I have chills. Who knew?! Listen, when I tell you, the last few days have been like a whirlwind. Yesterday, I was reconnected with someone I wanted to work on a project with 10 years ago. Y’all, ten years ago!! Yeah…this morning I’m pretty emotional. This journey of mine has definitely been quite interesting.

Okay… without further ado, here’s my very first blog!

The Beginning of a Journey, December 4, 2017 written by I Am LaShaundreaB

I was born in the Mississippi Delta. I was born to a teenage mother. I was born an African American female. Some would say I was born a statistic.

When I was a little girl, I didn’t know we were poor. My concept of poor, or impoverished, came from the children Sally Struthers represented during her Saturday afternoon broadcast for the Christian Children Fund. Unlike the children on television, we had food to eat, water to drink, clothes, shelter and a working mother. We were not poor…so I thought.

As I got older, I realized we didn’t have as much as some, but sometimes we had a little more than others. I can remember getting hand-me-downs from other families and eventually passing those hand-me-downs to other families in need. Believe me, we were very grateful for our new clothes. We were also grateful for mayonnaise sandwiches.

My mother always worked- from chopping cotton to being an administrative assistant. She always had a job or two. However, she never made enough to get us out of poverty. Some how she managed to make too much to receive government assistance. Funny how that works. I believe that’s when I became familiar with the phrase “the working poor.”

In high school I discovered the Peace Corp. One of my French teachers had just come from Sri Lanka. Her stories about helping people in need was so exciting. I had already taken three years of Spanish and was on my second year of French. My plans were to be an interpreter at the United Nations or for a big corporation. I had big dreams. Well, after hearing her stories, I thought back to Sally Struthers’ show and so many like them, and decided I wanted to use my linguistics skills  where they would count– underserved/undeveloped populations.

Unfortunately, I never joined the Peace Corp. God had other plans. I joined the Air Force– Aim High! In hindsight, it was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I had the opportunity to travel to different countries and interact with other cultures. One significant thing I learned was, we were all alike. The younger people reminded me of myself and my friends; the middle aged ones reminded me of my parents’ generation; and the elders reminded me of my great grandparents. It was a wonderful experience.

In 1999, I decided to return to Mississippi. My mom had moved back to the Mississippi Delta, from Kansas, a few years before. My plan was to enroll in a Hospitality Management program and eventually open a bed and breakfast. Again, God had other plans. Instead of majoring in Hospitality Management, I majored in Culinary Artistry. Which led me to the Dietetics profession.

Dietetics. I love my profession! Dietitians ROCK!! Just had to add that little plug before I continued. 

Here’s where the research part comes in. During my last semester of undergraduate school, I was introduced to a research project that was taking place in the Mississippi Delta. The location was approximately 30 minutes from my home town. I wanted to know more about the program so I volunteered to help with data collection. It was during this time that I actually paid attention to the statistics. I knew the Mississippi Delta was considered the poorest region of the state, but I hadn’t seen numbers. Numbers make a difference.

I saw the poverty and I didn’t see it. It’s hard to describe. My thoughts were, the people in the Delta just had a few setbacks. They looked happy. They were eating. Some were working. Most actually had new clothes. However, many had chronic diseases, were depressed, in debt, jobless and hopeless. The more I worked within the community, the more I became aware of. I started asking questions about their health and employment opportunities. I started paying attention. I was saddened by what I saw (it was like blinders had fallen off). I believed that if the situation in the Delta didn’t change, it would eventually become a ghost town. Then I thought about my great-great grandparents and all they fought for— owning land, voting rights, to be seen as an upstanding citizens, etc., and I knew I had to do something.

After completing graduate school and my dietetics internship, I had the opportunity to work on another research project in the Mississippi Delta. I was grateful for that opportunity because I saw it as a way  of honoring my ancestors and fulfilling their dreams.

Two years ago, I had the opportunity to meet Kennedy and Jessica Odede, authors of Find Me Unafraid. After reading their book about finding hope in the midst of hopeless circumstances in Kenya, I had to meet them. If you’re familiar with the bible, I felt like the woman with the issue of blood that had to touch the helm of Jesus’ garment. I just knew if I could touch someone who was able to bring hope to a community that resembled so many communities in the Delta, so could I. It was also at that moment that I decided my work needed to be global. I believe children in the Delta would benefit from interacting with other children around the world. I believe it will give them another outlook on life. The theme of my new venture is Connecting Communities Through Research. There are numerous research projects funded every year that are similar.

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Wow!! Again, I can’t believe I had forgotten I had shared this. Y’all, God is sooooo amazing! I needed to see this. I needed to be reminded of my Why.

Thank you for reading. I know it was long but I thought it was best to share it in its entirety instead of only sharing the link. I pray that you have a lovely day.

My late brother’s only child, my niece, is graduating from college today. I can’t wait to celebrate with her!🥰

Enjoy your day!♥️

Love you,

Shaun