I don’t know if I ever shared this story with you guys but this happened in the Spring of 2003. I was living in my hometown then and my kids were toddlers. I was at the West Side Market in Cleveland, Ohio which I loved going to with my kids because I enjoyed cooking back then and stopped there to pick up some fresh produce.
Once I got there I realized that I didn’t have enough cash, so I decided to cross the street and head towards the ATM machine. With my kids in hand we crossed the street and waited in line to get money out of the ATM. Thats when a homeless man came from nowhere and started talking to me. He said, “excuse me mam” something just came over me and I was moved to come over and tell you something”. I said, “oh really, what might that be?”. He said, “I think you need to go back and finish school”. While standing there with a puzzled look on my face and trying to figure out where I knew him from or better yet, how did he know that I didn’t finish college, I replied, “but sir I dropped out of college 9 years ago, Now I’m married with kids, I really don’t have the time or money right now”. He looked at me and said, “don’t worry about all of that, just got back and finish, it will change your life!”
I was next in line and I stepped up to the ATM machine.When I looked back to thank the homeless man for those encouraging words, he had vanished into thin air! I couldn’t believe it and it happened so fast! I don’t know if it was an angel that God sent to talk to me or what but I was very moved. My kids asked me if I knew him but I replied, “no mama don’t know him”.
Backstory…
I had attended Kent State University(Kent,Ohio) from 1986-1991. It was not an easy road though. Noone in my family had ever attended college, let alone graduate from high school. I was the first to break that cycle and got really good grades. I attended a mediocre high school though that really didn’t focus on higher education, teachers mainly taught us a trade and highly “encouraged” us on how to fill out job applications to later work for a company.
I often went to see my guidance counselor and talked about going to college. She seemed unbothered and never had any pamphlets or college materials readily available but would suggest I go to the library or look for jobs in my area. I had always dreamed of going to college but didn’t know how. With limited resources in my area, I felt lost and bewildered but I kept on pushing forward because I was a very inquisitive teenager back then. I think I heard my boyfriend at the time talk about colleges and Kent State University came up. It was far away from my city but not really a bad commute. About a 45 minute drive, away from Cleveand, shoot I wanted to learn more! That’s when I found out how to apply for that school and I did!
The application arrived at my house and I was so happy to fill it out! Then it came time for my mother(who was a single parent) to sign her name. She was extremely apprehensive and was not excited about me going to college.Her first words were, “why don’t you just have kids and work a job like everybody else!” In my mom’s mind, she thought she was going to be left with a huge debt and owe the government all sorts of money for me attending school and she kept stressing that she couldn’t afford for me to go.
I begged and pleaded with her and explained to her that she was considered “low income” and she was a single parent! I said that I could take advantage of that situation because they had lots of programs and grants. They even offered a college-work study program. She still was not convinced and told me no and that she was not filling out anything. I was very distraught and later decided to forge her name on it anyway. Weeks laters, I found out I was accepted to Kent State University! I do not want to sit here and say that this was the right thing to do, but I wanted to do better, I did what I had to do, I wanted a different life and I do not regret doing it all lol.(my mother was NOT left with any college debt of mine, it was all in my name. The paperwork was just saying that she was allowing me to go to school.)
College days…
I really had fun during my college years but boy did I struggle! It was extremely hard for me my freshman year and I had to take a lot of remedial courses because I was not properly prepped in high school for college. At first, I majored in nursing because in high school, they put me in Diversified Health Occupations, so that’s what I knew. I couldn’t decide what I wanted to be when I was young, but I kept saying I wanted to help people. So they stuck me in that course. After my first year, I did pretty good in college with my courses but once I started doing internships at hospitals(for extra credit) I hated it! I didn’t like to see people die. I was always depressed and I just didn’t have the passion for it anymore. My senior year in college, I switched my major to Business Management. That extra year I had to do was when I started noticing things getting very expensive. With hardly any help or support from my family back home, I was forced to drop out.
So life went on, I came home from college feeling discouraged and worked dead-end jobs. I later signed up for nail school where I got my certification in Managing Manicuring and eventually opened up my own nail salon, Nails By Tammie. For ten years I did nails and had a fun time doing that before I grew tired plus I had got married and had kids. That’s when I decided to sell my nail salon and focus on my family. I became a stay-at-home mom for years before meeting the homeless man that changed my life.
After the encounter with the homeless man, the very next day I was getting my hair done and next to me under the dryer was a friend named Alicia who was a college professor. She was telling me how she loved the school she taught at. Was this fate? Later on, I did some research, liked the school, enrolled that next week and finished up my degree in 10 months! If I would have waited another year, I would have lost all my college credits. I was very focused in school this time around and attended full time. It was extremely hard having two kids and a husband at home too! When I graduated in June 2005, the very next week my family relocated to Atlanta, Ga and my LIFE FOREVER CHANGED! Here I am today where you guys come to read my blog and see my amazing adventures! God is good isn’t he? LIFE is AMAZING isn’t it? Till next time and I want to thank that man that gave me those encouraging words wherever you are! I will never forget you! I hope I’ve inspired you guys today! Peace & Blessings and Happy Sunday! xoxo
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