Life After High School: 10 Years Later

"Um...I created post-its."
That infamous line from the movie "Romy and Michele's High School Reunion".

Today marks 10 years since I've graduated from Creekside High School. When you attend your class reunion, you'll usually get questions about your accomplishments and what you have been up to all of these years.

My answer? Life.

I remember May 21, 2005 like it was yesterday. I was excited. My parents was proud. It was an end to an awesome high school career for me. I was a honor graduate with a 3.6 G.P.A and in the top 20 percentile of my class. College was definitely an option but I was actually late making that decision which landed me at Atlanta Metropolitan College for a semester. I watched that semester as several of my friends attended 4-year colleges/universities as well as football games, step shows, etc. By the end of fall 2005, I had made the decision to transfer to my now alma mater, Alabama State University in Montgomery, AL, a place I was very familiar with. (I stayed in Montgomery 4 years prior to moving to Atlanta).

College was very different than the life I was used to at home. It was definitely an eye opener. I started to experience LIFE. I experienced drama. I experienced having to cope with people. I experienced living with others besides my family. I experienced dating. I experienced heartbreak. I experienced stress. I experienced loneliness at times and several other things.
I'm like whoa...hold up...wait a minute. Life is knocking me left and right. But would I take it back? Absolutely not. Life has taught me some very valuable lessons.
I would not be the woman I am today, if I didn't have to go through "life".

But I also had a lot of awesome times in college as well. I made the honor roll a few semesters. I was crowned as a dormitory queen and participated in the 2010 Miss ASU coronation. I participated in the Turkey Day Classic parade twice. I marched in a MLK parade. I visited several historical sites. I volunteered a lot and met new friends, who eventually became life long friends. I started my makeup career. I attended several football and basketball games as well as other events. I traveled a lot, and found a second church family.

I graduated from Alabama State University on December 11, 2010 with a bachelor of science degree in Biology.
Since moving back home, I've held a few jobs here and there at restaurants, salons, etc but I've been working as a certified pharmacy technician since January 2012.
I'm not married and I don't have kids yet. However, I do desire it, but in God's timing.

Sometimes, people's biggest fear when attending a class reunion is feeling like they are inadequate or not as successful as some of their other classmates. Some may feel like they have to redeem themselves from the person they were in high school. God has put everyone on different journeys. Never compare your journey to anyone else 's journey.

                                              So how was I in high school?

Me? I was just really quiet. I got along with anyone I talked to. I wasn't well known or one of the popular kids but I had the few friends that I hung out with, which whom I'm still friends with to this day. I was very focused academically wise. I did not take high school for granted though. I was gonna make sure I enjoyed it even though I was the new kid. I joined several clubs and extracurricular activities, including the marching and concert band and I was inducted into the Beta Club. My parents were very involved with the school as well. They were band boosters and my dad worked the concession stand at football games. Honestly, the only thing that has changed about me is that I have a sense of who I am now. I wasn't always comfortable or confident within myself...but hey...I was just a 17 year old girl.

Although these may seem like huge accomplishments, my biggest accomplishment was gaining a closer relationship with God. I made the decision that it was not my will, but His will be done in my life. I got tired of trying to do everything on my own and surrendered my life, my plans, my goals, etc to Him.

Proverbs 19:21 (NLT) says, "You can make plans, but the Lord's purpose will prevail."

Now is it easy? Noooooo...not at all. Sometimes I don't even understand God's plans but I have to trust His leading and His timing. But one thing I do know is God will never steer me in the wrong direction.

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) says "For I know the plans I have for you" declares The Lord, "plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

God has a purpose for everything we had to go through in life. What seemed like a setback in life was actually a setup for your comeback. God put me in position to head a teen empowerment ministry called Princesses of Power, where I hold a bi-annual event called "The Princess Tea" in which we issue out purity rings. I also started a Christian-based blog, called "Perfectly Imperfect: Just a Woman Living for God." I get to speak at different events about things I never thought I could give insight on..things I used to struggle with as a teen like confidence, beauty, public speaking, etc. I get to minister to ladies in my makeup chair when they don't feel too confident about themselves. NOBODY and I mean nobody could have told me I would be doing any of this 5-6 or even 10 years ago.

If anyone was to ask me what my biggest accomplishments were since high school, it was receiving salvation through Christ and working in my God-given purpose. It's not about having this awesome career, making this amount of money, having this number of degrees, living in this type of house, driving this type of car, etc. I'm not saying that those are not good things to have but we can sometimes be so focused on placing our identity around those materialistic values and impressing others. I know that my desires and my success is found only in Christ.

Psalm 37:4 says, "Delight thyself in The Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart."
Pour into God and He will pour into you. I can do nothing but give God glory for all He has done in my life so far.

To the Creekside Class of 2005: This is a time to celebrate! We made it 10 years! A whole decade...lol. So yeah...we're starting to get old. I wish nothing more than that you keep prospering and succeeding in all areas of life.
However, we know that everyone did not make this journey with us but they are in our hearts daily and in remembrance. R.I.P to our fallen angels

To the class of 2015: Congratulations! You have reached a huge milestone in your life. You have a journey ahead of you but KNOW that God is with you every step of the way. Put Him first in everything that you do. The sky is the limit! No...I take that back. There are no limits with God.
Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Trust in The Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding (6) In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."


Acknowledge. Fix. Keep it moving...

Photo Credit: Cheryl Johnson