What I look forward most to in my future is a mind of peace. Working on the lessons I’ve learned at Hope’s Crossing, and applying them have already made a huge difference. I look forward to a healthy sense of confidence within myself that will give me the strength to press on with this never ending the journey of self-reflection. One lesson, in particular, Generational Pathology, opened up my eyes to negative repeating patterns in my life that must be changed. I will continue to work on re-learning new, healthy instructions (spiritually based) to reset my mentality and transform those unhealthy patterns into healthy ones. Learning to not act on the way I feel was a revelation for me because I am very emotionally driven. I realize the way I feel is not always based on what is realistically happening. Due to the bad and negative information, I was exposed to growing up, and from multiple traumatic experiences, I foresaw only negative outcomes in practically everything. I took everything personally and my soul was lost. I was not able to deflect all that negativity then, but through re-learning, soaking up, and telling myself good and positive information now, I’m beginning to have a new sense of reality that doesn’t always look negative anymore. I have the Shield of Truth up, a new truth, and now my soul has hope, I have a purpose and most importantly I have a mind of peace.
I envision spreading my message of hope to other women by telling my story. I may feel different or like I’m the only one going through a battle in my mind but I know I am not alone. Anyone who has ever been through traumatic events has been negatively affected mentally. I would especially like to help those who have been to prison and are losing or have lost hope. If someone enters prison with a broken spirit, that spirit will either break down further and possibly be destroyed, or it will be reborn as one grows closer to Christ. I was lucky enough to have been reborn, but I could not have continued the journey on my own outside those fences. I still have Christ, but with the world’s distractions and design for man to fail; I needed a spiritually based support group like Hope’s Crossing, to keep me focused. I will never forget where I came from and I will continue to move forward with my new found confidence.
I plan to apply the lessons I have learned to my professional life by realizing my worth and going for my dreams. I will not let my negative thoughts about myself dictate how far my future will go anymore. I will press on to accomplish my goal of opening an auto repair shop. I will use that platform to empower women to take initiative and have confidence in learning how to take care of themselves starting with their vehicle. There are similarities to how a car works and how the human body works. One analogy I can think of is with gasoline. Putting cheap, bad gasoline in your car will affect its performance negatively and could even damage the car, but by simply emptying the tank and refilling it with good, quality gasoline, there will be a noticeable improvement in how the vehicle performs and can even prolong the life of the car. This is a wonderful metaphor to negative self-thoughts and the impact on one’s performance in life. In my personal life, I plan to apply the lessons I have learned by continuing to participate in our Community of Hope.
The role I would like to play in our Community of Hope, besides as an alumni member, would be in a supportive role. I want to be available to share my journey with someone and be a source of support for them as they go through theirs. I am so grateful for this organization that has been a beacon of light at the end of every week. No words can describe the impact of this organization on my life and I would like to continue to be a part of it and pay it forward to someone else.