09/11/2026
Long Post alert! But worth the read to the end!
Always a Visionary! āØ
From a very young age, I have always been a forward thinker. I was the child who wondered what existed beyond the skies and what adventures were waiting on the other side of the horizon. Adventureāand perhaps just a little troubleāmust have been intertwined somewhere in my name. š
I used to say that if I ever pledged a sorority, my line name would be Enigma. Why Enigma? Because I have always considered myself a puzzle waiting to be solved. And just when someone thought they had figured me out, I would change the dynamics! Maybe it was mystery. Maybe it was growth. Or maybe it was simply my way of maintaining control over my own story.
But somewhere along this journey called life, I allowed people, places, circumstances, disappointments, and even my own experiences to dim portions of my light and distort pieces of who I was created to be.
But today marks the beginning of change.
As I sit on this yellow school bus traveling to Starkville, Mississippi, to serve as a parent judge for the Murrah High School Speech and Debate Team, my mind has been traveling too.
And yāall already know the driving force behind me being on this busāyep, you guessed it: Royal Princess Gabby! šš
Her 10th-grade year has taken off with a blast! She came out of the starting gate like a racehorse, determined to leave her imprint on this world. And before anybody asksāNO, I am not judging any of her categories! We must maintain integrityā¦and, perhaps more importantly, peace in our home. š Yāall already know I might be just a little harder on her than everybody else!
But somewhere along this ride, my thoughts traveled back to my own high school days as an athlete, then to my years as a Soldier, leader, and officer in the United States Army, and through the many chapters God has allowed me to experience since.
And I simply said, āThank You, God.ā
Thank You for my life.
Thank You for my journey.
Thank You for every mountain, valley, victory, disappointment, closed door, open door, lesson, and second chance.
Then I prayed: āGod, restore the years that the cankerworm and palmerworm have eaten. Restore my vision. Restore my passion. Restore my purpose. Put me back on the path You designed for me and give me the courage to keep moving forward.ā
I cannot change yesterday, but I can decide what I will do with today.
So today, I choose to reclaim my light.
I choose purpose over pain.
I choose movement over stagnation.
I choose vision over limitation.
And I choose to become an active participant in the change I want to see.
The visionary is still here.
The dreamer is still here.
The adventurer is still here.
The woman God created me to be is still here.
And perhaps Enigma was never meant to be solved.
Maybe she was simply meant to keep evolving. ā¤ļø
Determined to be part of the change and the solutionānot a contributor to the problem.