Happy Self-Love Sunday!
I know it has been a LONG minute since I have posted a blog. And honestly life hit & it hit hard, but in such a good way. I graduated from college last month with a Bachelor’s of Business Administration in Information Security and Assurance. Not only did I graduate last month, but the Lord also blessed me with a job offer for a job in my field. And with that job offer came the need to rent my first apartment. Like I said, life hit hard! But I am so blessed and thankful for all of the blessings that God has presented to me. It feels so surreal that I graduated and am actually working. I started my job on June 17th at one of the most wonderful companies ever. This month has been filled with a lot of reflection for me. Reflections of the ups and downs it took to make it where I currently am today, embarking on life post-college, my new beginning. These reflections and a cumulation of events in my life have truly inspired this blog, I hope you all enjoy!

Sometimes in life we experience moments where our life seems to be in a standstill. We don’t know what will happen next and that is truly frightening. It seems as if everything that we planned and hoped for is so far away.  We start feeling emotions of frustration and hopelessness. These emotions can put us into a place of deep despair. However, I truly believe these standstills and periods of confusion can lead to new beginnings.

Disclaimer: This blog will be a little personal. I know most of my blogs are personal, but this one especially hits home for me. I will be sharing a story I’ve never really spoken on before.

As Fourth of July approaches, I feel it’s an appropriate time to write this blog. Last Fourth of July was the worst of my life. I woke up that morning with my front tooth chipped. I was grinding my teeth so hard while I slept due to the bountiful amount of stress I felt. If you truly know me, then you know I love my smile & my teeth, so I was heartbroken & devastated. I began to feel super self conscious about my teeth and my smile. Not to mention, it seemed as if my life was beginning to fall apart at this time. The life I lived and planned for the future slowly disappeared and became only memories of the past. It seemed as if my tooth chipping was the beginning of a series of misfortunate events. Events I would never truly understand until now. I embraced the pain & emptiness brought out by these events. I carried on with my life, but I was truly hurt and these painful emotions always manifested themselves behind closed doors. I was in a period of standstill. Little did I know that God was orchestrating a new beginning in my life.

I spent most of last school year coping with what I deemed as a great loss, of my perfect smile and other issues that were causing me turmoil. Then, as I entered my last semester of college, hopelessness took over. On top of the emotions I was already dealing with, I began to stress about life after college. I had no clue what I was going to be doing. Of course I told everyone I wanted to go to graduate school, but I didn’t just want to be a full time student again. I wanted to work and make a living for myself. And I wanted to wake up with my whole life figured out. You know who thought that was funny? God!

Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” On a day when I literally felt like giving up, God revealed his plans to me. It was a Friday afternoon, I just got off a call with my dad in which I was in tears out of frustration of not having a job offer. Literal moments after our conversation ended, a recruiter from my current job called and offered me a position. I literally got on the floor, cried, and started thanking God while the recruiter was on the phone continuing to speak. God knew the plans he had for me, even when I began to doubt. His plans for me included a new beginning. And just as he has plans for me, he has plans for everyone.

The purpose of this blog is to share my story, in a short and condensed format. But I hope you all get the message and see the bigger picture. I thought I took myself out of the race, but God was still running in my place. He knew what the finish line looked like, even when I became hopeless. He knew that in order for me to reach the finish line, that I would have to stay in the race and because I began to discourage myself, he seamlessly tapped in for me. And he will do this for all of us, every single time.

See, I am a planner. I love to have everything planned out. I wanted to know what was at the finish line for me and I wanted to see the results instantaneously. But that’s not always how life works. You can plan and plan, you can envision a future for yourself, but sometimes life just happens. Life happened for me and even though I tried to endure, I reached a standstill in which I began to throw in the towel. But literally as I raised my hand to throw the towel in, God put my hand down and I received a life-changing phone call.

For those of you approaching graduation experiencing feelings of confusion and hopelessness, know that it is okay. You don’t have to have your life figured out by the day you walk across the stage. Of course it would be a blessing to know what comes next immediately. But sometimes we just don’t know what will come next until God is ready for us to know. Do not be discouraged, have faith, and keep making an effort to work toward what you want. If you want a job by the time you graduate, apply to multiple places EVERY DAY. Go to every interview possible, send thank-you emails and cards, follow-up, and network. And even if you don’t get the job in the exact moment that you want, what is meant for you will be for you in due  time. Be persistent, regardless of what you’re hoping to achieve. Your new beginning is coming!

Today, I challenge you all to remain encouraged because your new beginning is right around the corner. Whether it’s a financial breakthrough, overcoming a struggle, obtaining a job post-college, or so much more. There are endless opportunities available to you, to us all. These opportunities are available because of God’s love and just because these blessings aren’t occurring when you want, doesn’t mean that they won’t occur. Make sure that you aren’t holding yourself back. Be willing and open to embrace a new path in life. Because when God blesses you, it will begin a new chapter, a new beginning in your life.