I'm Officially a New Yorker!

September 1, 2010
Ephesians 3:20 

10 years
120 months
522 weeks
3653 days
87,672 hours
5,260,320 minutes
315,619,200 seconds

I’m so humble, but deadass... can’t nobody tell me SHIT!!! I'M OFFICIALLY A NEW YORKER AND MY BLOG TURNS 3 TODAY! 

God, what is life? You gave me a dream that only I understood. You gave me a path that only I could walk. You gave me struggle so I could realize my strength. You gave me the right skills so when opportunities presented themselves, I would be ready. You showed me what divine timing looks like when I tried to rush the process. You prepared me for Your plan and purpose. You told me to try You, to trust You, and I THANK YOU! You kept Your promises. You increased my faith. You gave me beauty for ashes. I would be NOTHING without You!

Today, my blog turns 3. MY BLOG TURNS THREEEEEE!!!! My baby is growing up on me. God, You told me to write my story. I bared my soul and became vulnerable writing "Fuck It! Let's Go to New York." It was healing. Cathartic. Therapeutic. After I wrote it, You told me to share it. You told me to buy my domain and build a website when I was broke, and barely had $100 to my name. I didn't know my blog would lead to a job as a Web Developer in the finance industry. I didn't know You were setting me up for something bigger than I could've ever imagined. 

I didn't know You were preparing me to experience such wonderful things that wasn't even on my radar. You allowed me to meet people I looked up to as a little girl with big dreams living in Little Rock, Arkansas. You allowed me to attend events and capture moments to share with others. You showed me what obedience looks like. You took me from homelessness to a beautiful apartment in the heart of Bed-Stuy with a view of the city. I go to sleep every night looking at the blinking light atop the Empire State Building. You took me from working as a Student Assistant for Grambling's football team to Super Bowl XLVIII. You took me from wearing multiple hats while working games and events to the #suitelife at MetLife Stadium and Yankee Stadium. You told me I don't have to pay to see Beyoncé, they will pay ME to see Beyoncé! You told me I would share these opportunities with my family and friends.

My first international trip was to London when I was 26 years old. I had only been in NYC for 6 months when I lost my job and then was quickly hired by their competitor. I had to get my passport expedited, because they wanted to fly me out to London as soon as possible for training. I lived there for a month on the company's dime. I was able to travel to Amsterdam and Paris while I was there. God, You did that! You know how much I love Bob Marley, and You allowed me to travel to Jamaica as I wrapped up my Jesus year and embraced my 34th revolution around the sun. You gave me self-knowledge and allowed me to learn the genetic ancestry of my mom and dad. You answered the prayers of my ancestors and allowed me to experience The Year of Return in Accra after you showed me EXACTLY who I am. You allowed me to visit Cape Coast and Elmina Castle exactly 400 years to the date when the first ship of enslaved Africans arrived in Jamestown, Virginia on August 20, 1619. God, You did that! 

I'm still on a spiritual high from The Commitment March. You allowed me to be interviewed by a major media company because I wrote about getting laid off. You wanted me to share my story because You know so many other people are going through the same thing during this pandemic. You told me to yield to spirit. Peace be still! God, You did that, too!

I say all this to say... THANK YOU GOD! I really can't say thank you enough! It's because of YOU I am who I am and where I am! Your unconditional love, grace, mercy, and favor is not lost on me. I breathe it. I feel it. I walk in it. It's humbling AF! I brag not on myself, but on you GOD! I KNOW this is God engineering. I KNOW IT'S ALL YOU! And so I Thank You. I Thank You! I THANK YOU!!!

Peace and blessings to the next 10 years, and all that You have in store! Ase. 

"where I learned patience at, Little Rock and Hard Place, Grambling to Brooklyn, then I left a hard trace..."  ​