For context, I was 12 years old, weighed 86 pounds, wore glasses and was freshly removed from an unforgiving elementary stint with braces. There was no mistake. His cruel taunts were in reference to my noticeably underdeveloped body.

Throughout my adolescent years, the destructive messages I internalized were everywhere. The lighter skinned, long-haired women frequently featured in music videos on BET’s 106 & Park told me that my short hair and darker skin were not as pretty. I seriously believed nothing about me would ever be desirable.

We had a blast at our South Jersey Moms Coterie family splash party on June 24th at Goldfish Swim School in Mount Laurel, New Jersey. 

Diaper change number four. BEEP! Good, laundry load number 2 finished. BUZZ. Text: "What’s for dinner?” Sigh. Well it’s thirty minutes until nap-time, so soon I can figure that out, and maybe wipe down the kitchen. Wait, isn’t church Bible study tonight? I haven’t done the homework! I'll have to scan it on the drive over.

What story? That of a writer, an artist, and someone who typically loved to uplift and encourage others, who had been battling with a serious feeling of inadequacy as a mother, wife, business owner, and most importantly, as a Christian. This feeling had affected me so that it actually silenced me for an unfortunate amount of time. I went from being encouraging and speaking of God’s graciousness almost daily, to feeling as if what I wanted to say just wasn’t good enough at all. That I couldn’t possibly put into words just how great He is, has been, and forever will be. And so, I managed to just not say anything. Every time I would go to praise Christ openly, I was at a loss for words. Seriously, the words just left me.

So in 2009 when I married my sweetheart of 5 years, babies where far from our minds and finishing school was my number one priority! It ended up taking me 7 years to finish my undergraduate degree because I held down a 50 hours a week full-time job while attending school. I majored in Information Systems Security and I had aspirations to help change the stigma of women (especially women of color) not pursuing careers in the I.T. Industry. By the time I finished my course I walked across the stage to receive my B.S. Degree 5 months pregnant! With child and all, I remember thinking that the sky was the limit!