My life. My world. Love, hope, & happiness.
Faith requires work; and you best believe trust and patience are work!♥️
Trusting God when you cannot see how something could possibly happen, is work.
Having patience during the wait because you don’t know when it will happen, is work.
Y’all, FAITH is work! The funny thing about faith is once you believe you have it mastered, you enter another realm that requires even more faith. I guess this is a good thing. Guess it means you are actually making progress.
Faith…
News Flash!
Our dreams and goals require that we work for what we want. We must also be patient and trust God’s timing while we work. Eventually, our hard work and dedication will pay off.
Have a blessed Sunday!♥️
Shaun
I have so much on my mind. Trying not to overthink everything and just go with the flow.
About two months ago, my supervisor decided to step down from a project and make me the project lead. It wasn’t something I expected or wanted, but I’m here still trying to adjust. Since I was already doing most of the work, she said I would be able to handle it. Well, I am, because that’s what I do, handle it. But now I have more responsibilities on top of my other projects. I love multitasking. I tend to thrive on it. However, things have become a little overwhelming.
And then there’s the book anthology. Don’t get me wrong, I am excited about this new venture and telling my story; however, I’m not as excited as the other authors. I keep trying to pump myself up, but it’s not working. I guess you could say I’m not excited about my part in it all. Listen, don’t misunderstand, I’m excited for the other authors, and I love their excitement, but I don’t share their same feelings. Although the book is about being an overcomer, most of the authors are entrepreneurs or aspiring entrepreneurs. So they’re super excited about the opportunity to promote their businesses. Which I completely understand because I was there a few years ago. I was just like them, all enthused and ready to make money! Today I’m in a different space. My goals are more service driven than financial. I enjoy hanging out with them because I love hearing about the services they provide. It’s information I am able to share with others.
Just had to throw this in– Y’all, there are some fascinating people in this world who offer amazing services. I’m always in awe of their stories as well as their services. To me it represents God’s manifestations.
With all of that said, I do have my baby, Mississippi Thriving. I’m so happy I created this social media platform. It allows me to share resources and information with other Mississippians. In my mind, I’m bridging gaps by connecting Mississippians to one another as well as resources and services. It’s my way of giving back.
So what am I going to do?
How do I plan to move forward?
I guess, I’ll do what I always do, go with the flow. My projects will be handled, and I will continue to participate in promotional events for the book. Y’all, I’m trying to get used to the interviews. Ugh! At the end of the day I know that I can always find solace in Mississippi Thriving. Grateful.
Why is my alarm about to go off?!! Ugh!! My life…
Yes, it is Sunday again! Seems like time is passing at warp speed (Star Trek- lol). I would love for it to slow down a little. I need time to process a few things.
Woke up thinking about the turn of events over the past month or so– personally as well as professionally. Even though I have been blogging since 2018, it was not until May of this year that I was ready to share my blogs with the world. In May, I also started volunteering again. It had been ages since I last volunteered. And, when I woke up this morning, I logged onto my professional social media accounts and began updating them. Also, this morning, it finally dawned on me why I had neglected those accounts for so long. Y’all, I did not want to be that person anymore.
Okay… moment of full transparency.
It all began two years ago. Whew, I never thought I would talk about this. At the beginning of 2018, I was asked to do a presentation for an association that was having a conference in Mississippi. I was so honored and hyped about it. I was given a topic, asked to come up with a few objectives for continuing education credits, and told I would be working with a local chef on a menu and food demonstration. Y’all, it was like a dream come true! It was everything I imagined I would be doing at this point in my career. I was ready!
The first hit I took was when I found out the association I was presenting for was not a diverse association but a national, all-Black association. Some would say I should have been honored. However, it was like receiving a blow to the heart. You see, I was asked by a predominately (99%) white company to deliver the presentation.
Just to give you some background on my relationship with this company. For several years, I had been invited to attend their sponsored events. At that time, I knew the state and regional directors well enough to contact them personally whenever I needed a sponsor for one of my events, educational materials for health fairs, or incentives for community projects. So when asked to give this presentation, I automatically assumed it was because they valued our relationship, not because they needed a Black registered dietitian to present to an all Black audience. That stung!
The second thing that happened was they changed my entire presentation. I was initially told they wanted the session to be fun and interactive. Which was right up my alley. I hate boring presentations! Well, after submitting my presentation for review, it was returned to me butchered. Y’all, the entire flow was all wrong. They kept the objectives but added random information. Even the fonts were inconsistent. They also added pictures that did not go with the text. Now, I might write crazy things in my blogs, and make all kinds of grammatical errors, but when it comes to my professional work, it has to be almost perfect before I present it. Honestly, I felt like my work had been sabotaged. Y’all, I cried.
The third thing that happened, and what finally made me question if I even wanted to be in that space anymore, happened during the night of the event. As I said– FULL transparency. This was a month and a half before my hysterectomy. My cycle had just started. Which meant I was extra irritated, cramping like crazy, and blood was pouring out of me. I wore a navy blue suit, and put on an adult diaper lined with two overnight pads, to hide or prevent any accidents. Y’all, I did not want anything going wrong. Well, I arrived at the venue and EVERYTHING was white. I mean— EVERYTHING! The floors were white. The linens were white. And ALL of the chairs were white– white cushioned chairs, that is. Talk about anxiety!! All I could do was pray– “Lord, please don’t let me have an accident on all of this white.” I kept thinking, what would I do if I stained one of the chairs? I tried to remain calm, but I was all nerves. So when I got up to present, no matter how professional I tried to be, it did not happen. Here is how the night went.
When my audience arrived, they were tired from attending hours of educational sessions. I was later informed that they thought my presentation was supposed to be entertaining. HA…so did I! Y’all, they had access to an open bar, and boy did they drink. Some, a lot more than others. Needless to say, I was giving a presentation to a room full of tired, tipsy people. As I said, my presentation had been changed. What I did not mention is that I had only received the revisions a day or two before the event. Which was not ample time to thoroughly review the changes, so I felt unprepared. I also did not have a microphone so I had to walk the room so that everyone could hear me. Funny story- There was this elderly lady that kept yelling, “I can’t hear you!” The night was a mess. When I tell you this crowd asked questions I had “zero” answers to! LOL! Funny, but sooo not funny. Y’all, I felt like a failure. Most of the night I deferred the questions to our host, the one who revised the presentation. At one point I stopped presenting because a few people would not stop talking. Y’all, one thing I hate is rudeness. And when the entire audience can hear your conversation, you, my friend, are being rude. So I stood there and glared at them until they stopped talking. Was I unprofessional…HECK YES! Y’all, I was fed up, I was sick, and I felt humiliated. I felt like an imposter– WOW! I just pinpointed when I began feeling like an imposter.
After that night, I swore I would never attend another one of their company’s events. That was also the last time I really posted anything of worth on my professional pages. I went into my shell and never wanted to come out. Honestly, I had given up. I had lost my confidence. That was two years ago.
As I mentioned, May was my turning point. Slowly, I am regaining my confidence. Maybe I did need two years to Reflect, Regroup, Refocus, and Rebuild. I do believe I am wiser and better prepared to handle the unexpected. I am also working on the way I deal with my imperfections. Recently, I attended a Zoom call with a lot of unknown attendees. At first, I was not going to turn on the camera. You know, leave the nice, edited picture displayed. At the last minute I was like, why not! I did not have on makeup. I had on a t-shirt and my hair held back with a headband. And my lighting was bad. But, I decided to show the world me. Part of my personal and professional growth is about me becoming comfortable with my imperfections. Slowly, but surely, I am growing.
Y’all, I am so grateful God loves me. Moving forward.
Shaun
It’s Shaun’s World 