“It all starts off with a simple dream, the power to persevere, and overcome life’s obstacles, a commitment to make things happen, encouragement, and most importantly the readiness to believe in GOD and you.”
-Jamella Renée Taylor
Despite all of the turmoil and pain that I have been through, God has truly blessed me with gift of internal peace and wisdom to overcome obstacles and stand tall. In the future, I would like to continue to believe in my dreams and aspiration, and use it to help others realize their full potential through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This vision will be accomplished through one-on-one counseling sessions and self-help guiding tools that enable people, including myself to understand our strengths and weaknesses.
Everyone has dreams, but some of us have trouble believing that we have the potential and courage to fulfill them. By believing in yourself and God, you will soon discover that many things are not as difficult as it appear to be. I, myself, have experienced so much negativity in my life. When I first started attending the Technical College of the Lowcountry, I was not so sure of what to major in. All I knew is that I wanted to go to college and make something better of myself.
Initially, I declared Pre-Allied Health Studies with an emphasis in Radiologic Technology. While enrolled in the second semester of the program, I soon began to experience some serious back pains after assisting to lift the patients off the stretcher. Ultimately, I had to make the decision to leave the program or stay and ignore pains along my back. I have to admit I did feel like a failure, but deep down in my heart I realized that I was making the correct judgment. At that very moment, my family began to criticize and announced me as a “quitter.”
Every night since then, I kneel down on the floor and ask God to point me in the right direction and tell me what my true calling is. A couple of weeks later, I completed a Career Pathway Questionnaire to determine what my occupation should be. The questionnaire revealed that I should be a counselor. Then, it finally dawned on me, that by utilizing my interpersonal, linguistic, and intrapersonal skills, I could help someone overcome their own personal problems and obstacles. I filled out a change of major form and registered for the Administrative Office Technology associate degree program. The courses were very rigorous, however from that point on I was earning straight A’s. By August 2010, I graduated "Cum Laude" and received numerous awards and certificates including my induction into Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society of the Two-Year College. I now currently hold Bachelor of Science in Human Services, with a concentration in Sociology and Spanish at the University of the Carolina, Beaufort. I received distinguished honors as "Magna Cum Laude," along with membership in the Xi Alpha Chapter of Alpha Mu Gamma National Collegiate Foreign Language Honor Society and USC-B Chapter of the Gamma Beta Phi Society .
My personal vision statement is a reflection of the many experiences that brought me through this most positive stage in my life. The severe back pains have enabled me to realize that I was not destined to become a Radiographer. If it were so, then I would be taking x-rays of the human body at the hospital or a clinic. I fell into dark depression, because I allowed others, including my family members (cousins, aunts, uncles, and my sister) get inside my head. They tried to convince me that I should drop out of college and work at Wal-Mart or McDonald’s. What some of them fail to comprehend is that I worship a God who sits high and looks down low. I am not a failure, I just needed to revamp my career goals and decide on a profession I could possibly benefit from. Suddenly, I forgot how society acts or thinks. Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinions, but if you allow Cooley’s Looking Glass Self to prevent you from doing you, you have bigger problems. By moving on to a new goal, I have made the commitment to make things happen. I worked and studied hard for the awards that I have received, thus far. The same family members, who laughed at me back then, are now crying, because I wanted to expand my horizons and venture out into my future. I was highly enthusiastic about actually attending USC-B and establishing new goals for myself.
That same gift of peace and wisdom needs to be shared among everyone I meet. If a client walks into my office, and she told me that she never completed high school because she got married at a young age, had kids, and her husband refused to let her out of the house. I would look at her straight in the eye, and tell her that she needs encouragement, love, and support. By making the appointment to seek assistance, she has made effort to take action and better herself and her family. This young woman has to believe in her capabilities to advance and grow. My gift of internal peace and wisdom has allowed me to move and achieve the “so-called” impossible. God knows what you are going through, he enabled me to persevere and remain standing tall.
