NOT DEFINED BY MY DARKNESS

I remember the look on my dad's face when I announced to him that I was going to study abroad. I had flunked high school, merely got accepted to college and was continuing the trend of failure. It's not that I didn't care at all about doing well, I just wasn't focused.

A year into college my dad lost his job and I was forced to leave school and find a job. As I saw my college classmates graduate and move on, I decided I didn't want to return there, I wanted a fresh start, a new environment. I wanted to be successful.

So I made the decision that I wanted to study abroad. And with my C's and a few D's neatly written on my well tucked away transcript, I boarded the plane to NY.

Everything was supposed to be against me
1. I came to the US with one semesters tuition- instead, I wasn't kicked out for none payment.
2. I was an international student paying out of state fees- instead I graduated without student loans
3. I always got low grades- instead I graduated with a 3.7 GPA
4. I didn't have a job offer when I came here- instead I always got a job on campus and off campus as well to help sustain myself.

Circumstances at times become the fuel that drives us. For me it was the embarrassment of having to go back to a school when all my friends had graduated, having to find the tuition to complete school each semester and the embarrassment of being a failure. That sparked in me a desire to excel.

Allow your dark moments to fuel your drive for greatness. Don't allow yourself to be sucked in by them, instead grow. Continue reaching for the stars. You were made to fly.

I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.

One Love
Danni