I am less than fifty (50) minutes away from this Monday being over.  I decided to wait until this Monday was almost over in order to find the motivation to push me through the rest of this week.

I planned to have a long post about visiting Michigan State University over the weekend with a close friend, and one of my student’s but that didn’t happen. My friend became ill on Friday, and the plans from my end were then cancelled.  I had high hopes for celebrating a student visiting an institution that was soon to be their home in the fall.  Things happen, and sometimes you must rock with it.

I didn’t have enough sleep last night, and I woke up with a million things on my mind.  I had no intentions of writing a Motivation Monday post until I was on my lunch break.  That didn’t happen either.  I spent my lunch break running errands for work, and the day was slipping away from me.

And then….

It was 5:45 pm.  I was in the lab at work, and a student comes running in, “Ms. RJ, Ms. RJ! Look! Look! I got in! I got in!”

A student that I’ve been working with, and anticipating an answer about his college admissions FINALLY received the response that he desired.  I screamed, and he yelled.  After the celebration I see him put his head down on the counter, and looks up to say, “I’m out of here.”  In that moment that student had the world in his hands.  He knew that the possibility of leaving the hood that raised him to embark on another journey was within reach.  His eyes bloodshot red, and myself trying to fight back tears.

Not in my wildest dreams would I have ever imagined that I would be in this place.  Assisting our future with college applications, scholarships, FAFSA, military, technical school, and shoot let’s be honest…LIFE.

I am inspired, and motivated daily by the young people I service everyday.  I’ve had people question why I decided to take on the position of working with local teens.  My answer is someone gave a damn about me, I must pay it forward. They invested in me, encouraged me, and motivated me to be the best person that I could be.  I see so much potential in our young people.  You remember the saying, “…it takes a village.”

I learned one thing about my encounter with this student today, when you want something bad enough don’t give up until you get it.

XOXO,

RJ