College Dropout
I dropped out of college 5 times from 2009-2016. Tune in to learn about my story, life-changing lessons and this new journey as I re-apply and prepare to re-enroll for the 6th time.
“Its never too late to finish what you start.”
Here is one of the essays I used for a recent college application.
The question was, “Can you tell us more about yourself? Relate one or more experiences or circumstances that have contributed to your personal and /or academic development.” The school also requested I explain what I have been up to since previously attending school.
“Thank you for the opportunity to share about myself and the experiences that molded me into the person I am today. If I had to describe myself in several words / phrases, it would be “Leader, Change Maker, Family Business Advocate, Social Impact Activist, Gifted and Breaking the Cycle of Poverty To Create Generational Wealth”. I am a Serial Entrepreneur, Business Coach, Realtor, Social Impact Investor, Private Equity Fund Manager and Mom.”
I have an abundance of experience in the Real Estate industry and am very passionate about creating and implementing real estate solutions that address disparities in underserved communities. I have been an entrepreneur for as long as I can remember and come from a family of business owners / operators / innovators.
My upbringing and the exposure to business contributed significantly to who I am today. In addition to being exposed to entrepreneurship at a young age, I also spent a lot of time in two completely different socioeconomic environments which contributed to my motivation and desire to stay committed to my life's work.
I grew up on an island outside of Seattle, was raised by my mom and spent summers in Philadelphia with my dad and his side of my family regularly. Spending 10 months on Bainbridge, a high net worth environment and transitioning to Philadelphia for 2-3 months out of the year, submerged in severe poverty was always challenging. Even though I went back and forth my entire life, the transition as an adolescent was not easy and never got “easier”.
I experienced a significant amount of trauma in both environments for different reasons. I always appreciated the privilege and abundant resources I received from Bainbridge but struggled to fit in, was made fun of and bullied my entire life.
My mom worked hard and did everything she needed to, to provide for me and my older brother. We always had food and a roof over our heads. My mom always went out of her way to put us in the best schools and traded her hair stylist services with clients that had programs for extra curricular activities for us to participate in. She would cut hair 20 times if she needed to, to pay for me to enroll into a new program, summer camp or art class.
I knew from my exposure to severe poverty in Philadelphia that our living conditions weren't poverty - we just had less money than the majority of the surrounding (privileged, generational wealth filled) population.
I was always in the best painting, photography, knitting, weaving, pottery, glass blowing and cooking classes. I was not lacking anything. Even though I knew the name calling, racism and classism wasn't a result of what I deserved, I still found myself caring about that judgment and let the hateful things people said impact me and how I showed up.
I have been very insecure for a lot of my life.
Visiting Philadelphia was a breath of fresh air every year. Although the environment was drastically different and lacked a lot of the goods and services I was used to - I enjoyed being in an environment with predominantly black residents. I enjoyed blending in and not being the only person with brown skin. Once I settled into my summer routine, the breath of fresh air wore off and I was exposed to new trauma and a different type of toxic. The increased crime was always challenging for me because I wasn't used to it.
Hearing gun shots, witnessing fighting, learning about the nearby kidnappings, seeing caution tape, not having any food in the neighborhood, hearing about the murders….My young self was suffering. I remember being made fun of for being “privileged, too emotional and talking white”.
Anytime I acknowledged my fear or discomfort, the 4-18 year old me was criticized and made fun of. The narrative about me being a spoiled privileged brat was always perpetuated so I eventually learned to keep my feelings and fears to myself. That caused more trauma.
Now that I am older and have spent a lot of time healing, learning and growing… I realize that although it could have been worse and I was blessed and still am very blessed for many reasons, those environments were toxic and contributed a lot to my trauma and suffering.
I am resilient and knew that my experience didn't have to destroy me and my purpose. I knew that I was exposed to those different environments for a reason and believe very strongly that it is what motivates me to push community redevelopment projects forward in underserved communities.
Despite some of the negative experiences I had growing up, I knew I wanted to be in Philly longterm and I knew the neighborhoods and its residents deserved better. I saw what it was like to have access to resources, safety, security, healthy food, etc. and I wanted to do whatever I could to dismantle the existing poverty -supported infrastructure and implement new solutions that promote health, wellness, abundance and generational wealth.
This process, my career, my continuing education efforts have not been easy.
I have struggled a lot throughout my life but one thing has been consistent the entire journey - I never gave up and I am committed to creating generational change for myself, my family and the communities I serve.”
Now that you know a little more about my story… I wanted to share some life-changing lessons i’ve learned over the years with hope that it motivates you if you’re interested in going back to school or finishing something you started. Its never too late! The plan might have to change but you can still push your agenda forward.
One day at a time!
MINDSET: Take the time to master your mindset. Mindset is one of the most important keys to success and happiness. Having a good mindset doesn’t mean you wont deal with sadness and challenges but it will contribute to how you respond and move forward.
MANIFEST: I’ve experienced more times than I can articulate that manifestation is real. You can create the life to desire. Be patient and trust your process.
PEACE: The process can be peaceful, it doesn’t have to be hard. A lot of the challenges and suffering I experienced were a result of decisions I made and bad habits I had. I contributed to the trauma and realize now that I didn’t have to be in pain for so long. I enabled my own pain. I did things that stunted my growth. Be honest with yourself. Do what’s needed to create peace within your life and your home.
COUNSELING: If you are in a space where you are unhappy and feel like you want to create change in your life, seek to connect with a mental health professional. I have worked with a counselor consistently for 8 years. It created space for me to heal and grow.
FINISH: If you’re interested in going back to school or finishing a project, plan, business you started… I want to encourage you to explore your desires and take action if you decide thats what you truly want.
PURPOSE: Everything happens for a reason.
ENJOY: Take the time to discover the good throughout your life. Pay attention to moments of happiness. Acknowledge it even if its something small. Everyone’s circumstances are different but how we view our situation is at our discretion. Take the time to project love and positively into your life and your journey.
PERSPECTIVE: Don’t get caught up in the delay or what happened in the past. Each experience was an opportunity for you to learn and grow.
PLAN: I dropped out of school so many times because I was unstable and lacked guidance and mentorship. I was just going with the flow and didn’t have a solid plan. Take the time to cultivate your PLAN. Align yourself with experts and don’t rush your process.
COMPANY: Who you surround yourself with in this season will absolutely impact you in the next. Be mindful of the company you keep. I spent a lot of time healing from the toxic connections. Do what you can to consistently evaluate your circle and make sure you are eliminating habits and people that are no longer serving you.
CHANGE: Things change… your plans will change. People you associate with will change. Your dreams and goals will change. You will change! This is okay. Take the time to aknowledge when things are changing.
YOU: Take care of yourself!! Do what you need to do for you to enjoy life.
HEALING: Do what you can to expedite your healing process. I wish I had enjoyed more of my life. Take the time to heal. Take the time to do the inner / outer work. Its worth it!
FOCUS: A lot of your life and what happens is out of your control. Be mindful of how you respond and internalize those things. If you cant change it, try to focus on what you can do.
SCHOLARSHIPS: Apply for scholarships! Aside from my instability and personal drama, a huge reason I continued to drop out of school was a lack of financial resources. I didn’t have a plan in place to pay for college and that proved to be unsustainable. If I had secured more assistance, I probably would have a degree or be a lot further along.
GRANTS: Apply for business grants if you are an entrepreneur or has a business idea you are developing. Funding is available for all phases of your journey and having extra resources is a huge factor that contributes to success and sustainability.
FUNDING: Secure funding! Solidify your income strategy. Cultivate your investment plans. Lack of money creates a lot of unnecessary challenges. I started many businesses and tried to implement dozens of plans without proper planning and funding. Its not impossible to create something out of nothing but you can mitigate a lot of risk by using resources as leverage.
FOUNDATION: Take the time to plan and build your foundation. I have rushed the process dozens of times (personal and business) and what I created, collapsed as a result of it. If you want the experience / business / wealth / abundance / success to be long-term, take the time to build a solid foundation.
START: Its okay to start over! Every moment, every day, every week, every month, every year, every decade is a new opportunity to create a new life. This is your life. You can restructure whatever you want. Identify what works and what doesn’t work. What needs to change and what doesn’t need to change.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. I appreciate you and your support. I hope this information was helpful and look forward to connecting again soon!