Have you kept up with your commitments (resolutions) so far?

I know that many of us own vehicles, so you know that after a certain mileage (my warranty information says every 5000 miles) we have to change our oil. If you are wondering what oil has to do with commitments and resolutions, well…….

Since April will be here in any minute, it is time for me to check and see how I am doing with regards to the commitments I posted earlier this year. I need to (and you to if you made commitments/resolutions) go through and see where I am at with them and to let go of negative ideals, decisions, and people I have obtain this first quarter of the year.

Lets start with determining if I have added negative ideals, decisions, and people into my life. NO!! (Confession – maybe a bad choice or two when it came to men!)

Now that I have that out the way, lets get to the commitments.

Stop living to please other people. This one I am being tested on currently. I am trying to not care what they (meaning family mostly) think and continue to live a life that makes me happy, but……. Basically I still need to work on this one. I purposely did not tell anyone except an extremely few that I was taking on the task of applying to law school. I have enough things to worry about so I do not need anyone telling me I cannot do it or telling me I told you so if I do not get accepted. A major example is me not telling my fam and friends about my blog. Well they know about it, but I will not give them the site. I know that if they were to read it, I would censor my posts and that’s not fair to me or my readers.

Bringing positive people in my life and eliminating the negative ones. I feel like I have accomplished this task successfully. It’s to the point where I am now (thanks to Nerd Girl) trying to be more positive myself. When someone asks me how I am doing, instead of focusing on the negative, find something positive to say. However if I have nothing positive to say, just say I AM DOING GREAT!

Always have something new and big on your agenda. Lets see………..I can safely say that this is going well also. Career path – CHECK! Hobbies – CHECK! Training for my marathon – NOT YET

Never live in the past. Also a work in progress. I have learned to forgive individuals who have wronged me, but I still cannot forget nor stop feeling the pain they have caused me. This makes me feel even worse because I need to learn how do you forgive and let go. This is something that I pray about daily. However I do know that I have made progress. TRUST.

I am getting better at living life and learning to appreciate this stage (chapter) of my life!

The LSAT is less than 90 days away!!!!!!

JUNE 16, 2008. I have less than 90 days left before I take an exam that will make or break my chances into getting into law school. I am planning to study 3 days a week and every other weekend until it is time for the exam. Next Saturday I am schedule to take a practice exam and after the exam they will provide me with the score, my weak areas, and suggestions to obtain a higher score. There are several preparation courses out there, but I do not have $500 - $1000 to give to them. Even though my job is willing to reimburse me, I do not have the money upfront (sad but true). I am just blessed that I have a job that is willing to pay for me to take a test to see IF I can get into law school, much less extremely bless because they are willing to pay for me to take a preparation course for the test. I feel like they can see the potential in me and willing to invest the time and money for me to obtain a higher degree.

I personally see it as a win - win situation. They invest the money and resources in me so that once I receive my law degree, I can become a staff attorney and give them a number of years of employment. I see me benefiting from this because:

1. I am securing myself job security at a job I presently love going to (even though some new management get on my nerves).


2. I will be working under (and I hope she writes one of my recommendation letters) one of the only ladies in the franchise law arena.


3. I will be gaining tons of experience in the corporate world and in three to four different areas of law. (franchise, contracts, trademarks, real estate)

So I think that everyone will win in this matter!!!! Please wish me luck!!! I will keep you updated.

Again here I go being M-I-A

Hello everyone,

WARNING: This post will most likely be everywhere because basically my mind is!

I know I been M-I-A for a couple of weeks, but I just been trying to get everything in my life on a well thought-out path. I feel I am trying to do too much at one time, and now I am working on getting everything in an organized motion so that I will not get overwhelmed. So I am working a full time job, trying to obtain a part-time job, study for the LSAT, self bible study, exercise, and write my blog. I know some may think that this is nothing or I am just whining, but there is only 24 hours in a day. We sleep 8 (at least that what I am suppose to sleep) hours away, work 9 (maybe more depending on my mood), and then we have my 2-3 hour a day work commute. That leaves me with 3-4 hours during the weekday to do everything else. With all this activity I should not have the time to even consider thinking about a man, or my lack of having a man. Nevertheless I do, a lot, no all the time, no ALL DAY EVERYDAY!! I have too much going on and here I go wanting a man. I need to be focusing on the process of finding myself and making sure I know myself, but how can I do that if I cannot get wanting a man out of my mind. Maybe it is because all my close friends are going through the same thing and that’s all we talk about. So bear with me while I try to clear my mind and get the thought out of my head that I want a man. I am a work in progress!!

Here is a poem that expresses how I feel exactly:

I said that 2008 would be the year that I find myself; concentrate on not worrying about others and their impression/view of me, and achieving the goals that I set forth for myself. With April coming up and a quarter of the year behind us, I feel like I am doing well and I am on a good path. However I know that I am work in progress.

Right now this is the song that I have on repeat:

Rejection

I consider myself a God-fearing, motivated, ambitious, and goal driven individual. Nevertheless due to certain circumstances that have happened in my life (good and bad), I am now prone to procrastination. I plan everything I set out to do (yes I am truly anal like that) to the very "tee". Meaning day to day, month to month, year to year. I have been doing this since the summer before my freshman year of high school. I had a pretty good track record too. I complete everything I set forth in doing that I put on my "To-Do List for Life".

I went to the college I wanted to go, made the GPAs I set forth to obtaining, planned what semester to get a car, planned what semester to move off campus, to join my sorority, and planned to graduate early from college to rest and get prepared for my ultimate goal in life. The goals that I mention—ACCOMPLISHED.

Nevertheless the ultimate goal has yet to be "accomplished".

Completing law school.

Have you ever worked extremely hard to get somewhere and when you made it there you wondered why am I here?

Rejection.

I was afraid to move, to succeed at what I worked for, for as long as I could remember due to fear of failure and rejection.

Initially, when I thought about my history it didn't make sense to me. How can I be afraid of rejection when, on most accounts, I haven't experienced it? After digging a little deeper I realized that I've seldom experienced rejection, not because I'm so grand or anything like that, but because I'd never put myself out there long enough to be rejected.

Well I was rejected (flunking out of law school) in a sense, by my own doing. This has haunted me now for almost 4 years. The situation handicapped me. I became one of those individuals that I always talked about: a person who stays in the same element because they are scared of change.

If I'm honest, even now there are so many things that I've been "planning" to do that leave me feeling vulnerable to rejection. And it seems like the higher the stakes, the greater the feeling of vulnerability. But I know that it's necessary. Know that staying in the safe place can stifle growth. If you ever want to increase your faith, step out on nothing, meaning expect nothing to come from it. Move when God tells you to; even when you're uncertain of the outcome. Push past the fear. So I when I came to this milestone in my life: my 25th birthday, I am learning what is important in my life. One way is by eliminating the negativity and individuals who brings these negative forces in my life. I had to shed the "To do list for life" binder (yes it was worth needing a binder for-LOL), and just made a list of things that I wanted to work towards and accomplished. I know you are saying, "Isn't this the same thing?" HOWEVER this list does not have a time frame on it, and it does not run my life like the binder did. If it happens it happens and if it does not, it does not. There will not be any break downs if something does not happen according to my plan. Truthfully it is suppose to happen according to God's plan. I have truly learned this matter and my life is finally starting to come in place because of it.

The very rejection I feared dealing with flunking out of law school manifested in me for years. And guess what, I lived! Not only did I live, but God closed that door, and I truly feel because He is going to open up a greater one. Hallelujah. As crazy as it sounds to me, I thank God that He allowed me to experience rejection and failure. I hope you get rejected and/or fail too (smile). I'm serious, I hope hearing someone say 'No' motivates you to soar, and reach for better. Why settle for ground level, when God is calling you higher? Turn that rejection into fuel. If you are anything like me, it will only stir your persistence.

I am currently studying for the LSAT and will apply to law school for Fall 2009. I know that I flunking out was not because I could not do it, but it was because I was scare of what the future would bring. I kept wondering was I good or smart enough to be here with the rest of the individuals. I did not have enough confidence in me nor God for that matter, and that is just a recipe for disaster.

P.S. The "Ulimate Goal' will eventually go to the accomplished list....IF it is according to God's plan.

Thanks everyone for reading this and I hope it helps you in some way.

Book of the Month

Girl, get your MONEY Straight!!!

During my last year of college when I realize I ruin my credit, I started searching for material to help me become financially savvy. The first book I found was called “Girl, get your money straight” by Glinda Bridgforth. Glinda wrote in plain English and made it easy for me (a beginner at the time) to comprehend. Once I decided that it was time to change my financial life, I found that this book was necessary in helping me along in my journey. While reading the book (I have had the book since late 2003 – so I have read it several times), I realized that it is not about having money, but not allowing myself to be responsible for what I could do to solve my money problems. The steps Glinda suggest are very clear and can be easily applied for anyone who truly is tired of living in debt. Through the years, I have applied (successfully and unsuccessfully) the steps and even though I have yet to truly see the benefits (because of my own neglect), I know at the end of the day, following her advice in the book will lead me to financial independence.

The book outlines seven financial prescriptions that will guide you step by step to financial security.
1. Setting goals that speak to your heart.
2. Learning to balance a checkbook and knowing your net worth.
3. Developing a spending plan.
4. Track and Analyze your spending.
5. Pay off debt with discipline – deprivation.
6. Save consistently without being a Miser.
7. Get the support and expert advice you need.

I am not going to go through the book in detail for the reason that I really recommend that you purchase it because it is a great book to have for your library. Also she incorporates spiritual guidance to help you through fixing your finances. We all know that even after learning that we need to change fix our financial status; it is really a mental thing. She suggests that we not only set financial goals, but also emotional, spiritual, intellectual, and physical. We have to have a balance in order for us to truly be financially debt free.

100 views!!

I have had 100 views on my blog!!!! Now 30-50 of the views my have came from me viewing it, but it also means that 30-50 people (or maybe some of you have view it a couple of times!! LOL) have came and visited my blog! Thank you!!!

I started almost 2 months ago and have yet to regret it. I know my blog is different and does not have the following that some of my favorite blogs have, but I hope that the ones who do come across it, enjoy it and get something out of it. Again......

THANKS!!!!!!!