I think that I wanted to start this blog because there are so many girls and young women that have grown up in homes that enable them to be raised by the streets and it leaves them empty and roaming through life without embracing who they can be as a woman. I love being a woman!!!!  The softness of our skin and delicate feelings…the fact that we can wake up looking like a complete mess and walk out of the house looking like a work of art, and the independence that we display while we cover our dependence on the security that the love of a real man can bring. As a girl, many of us have been raised in homes where our parents worked a lot and we were left to raise ourselves and maybe even a sibling.  We experienced working and “dating” at early ages and maybe even being taken advantage of by an adult we trusted. Those experiences helped to shape our lives and create the people that others see in us today. Many of us use our upbringing as a crutch for why we are in our current situations and want to lean on the heartache in order to stay where we are in life without taking responsibility for our response to it. I went through a lot as a young lady but have been determined not to let those things define who I would be the rest of my days. I wrote down my dreams a long time ago and I read them when I get down on myself. At my age, I am itching to start seeing those dreams come true so I am working toward building the foundations of those dreams and looking forward to building up. I want to see other girls and young women dream again. They need to know that they can see those dreams come true; they can be full-grown women who do not have to depend on a man to survive, just allow him to compliment who they are. We need to really stop and “smell the roses”, embrace being a women and get all that we want out of life (if it is in the Will of God, of course). I want to share what I am learning about being a woman: a beautiful, intelligent, powerful woman. I do not have  lot of financial success but I have had many other successes being a mom, wife, friend, student, leader, and woman in general; and that is to just name a few of the hats I wear; of course we women wear so many more. Life is full of ups and downs and I want to share my thoughts on them to show that we are not alone in our journey and we should not have to feel that way. Life’s journey is about continuous adjustment and personal growth so we must go THROUGH it; why not embrace and ENJOY every nook and cranny. May we laugh, cry, and do what we have to do along the journey as long as we GROW…