Personal Childhood Web

There are people in a child's life that influence them to be more, try harder, believe in themselves and love them unconditionally. In my life, those people are my mom, my dad, my brothers, a great pastor I had in my life for 10 years and a third grade teacher who pushed me to succeed without even realizing it. I have lifelong skills because of these people. I have pushed myself to do more because of these people. I know that I can accomplish hard things because of these people. I only hope that in my career and in my life, I can be in a child's web! 

My momma. She has always been my biggest fan and one of the greatest influences of my life. She was a single mom of three kids, me being the baby, and worked full time while going to school to earn her A.A.S. in Child Development. She always just made it work! A few years ago she was diagnosed with breast cancer and it was a very scary time. She fought hard and I am thankful to say that she in remission and doing well! She taught me to love Jesus and pray about everything.  When things would get hard for me in school or life in general she would say, "It's nothing for a stepper like you!" every time. To this day, she tells me that when I feel overwhelmed or out of control. She loves me unconditionally, and is one of my best friends now that I am an adult! I am eternally grateful that God chose her to be my momma! 

 

My daddy... I am a daddy's girl to my core. He loves me so and I love him. Growing up, I had weekends with him and vacation times from school with him. My mom never kept us from my dad and I could be with him whenever I wanted to and I am grateful for that. My dad and I have a different relationship than my mom and I. We joke a lot, we play silly games, we connect differently. We don't speak everyday like my mom and I do, but we never miss a beat when we do get to be together.  My daddy taught me to never say anything behind someone's back I wouldn't say to their face and to never back down from what I believe. He taught me about Southern Gospel music, that I didn't always appreciate as a child, but LOVE as an adult and to love Jesus with my whole being and tell people about Him. He has always encouraged me to do the things that I love with passion. Life is too short to not love what you do.

I am the youngest of three children in my family. My oldest brother is 12 years older than me, and my other brother is 6 years older than me. They have pushed me, challenged me and taught me that if I could stand up to them I could do anything! The greatest thing I think my brothers have taught me is to laugh at myself, with others and not take things too seriously. I am a bit of an overachiever, a.k.a a "geek" to my brothers, and they encourage me to relax, enjoy the journey and laugh A LOT! I told them once and will stand by it always, "Michael was the baby for 6 years and then came Gary. He was the baby for 6 years and then I came and I will be the baby FOREVER!" :)

Pastor Phil... I met this amazing man when I was 10 years old. I was struggling with my parent's divorce and he was a father figure to me as well as a spiritual mentor. He taught me how to study the Word, and how to study for big exams in school. He taught me to use a planner and color-code it so that I could look at what I had to do and prioritize accordingly. He taught me things such as speak to the person who answers the phone when you call for someone, THEN ask to speak to the one you called. He taught me to trust my instincts, to find something to passionate about and to "get over it" when I was so easily offended. Pastor Phil passed away several years ago, but I will always be grateful for the time I had with him and the influence he had on my life.

Mrs. Ross... My third grade teacher.... This is going to sound strange, but she was awful!!! She worked us so hard during the day, worksheet after worksheet, paragraph after paragraph, book after book. THEN.... she sent at least that much work home as homework. I did homework from the time I got home, until dinner, and sometimes after dinner. It was an awful year! I hated all the work, I was so mad at her most of the time because of the workload. This was the year my momma started saying, "It's nothing for a stepper like you." It was awful... just awful. BUT... I made it through that year. I succeed in her classroom and was on the A honor roll all year long. I can see now, as an adult, the work ethic she instilled in us way back then. I am able to complete lots of work now, because of the way she taught me. I wish she was alive now so I could tell her thank you and apologize for the eye rolling I am sure my 3rd grade self gave her!