Thank you God! Forever first and forever my all. No one knows me like you do, not even me. Thank you!
Thanks to my parents. It wasn’t perfect but it was worth it. I love you both endlessly. Thanks for my siblings. Thanks for the sacrifices. Thanks for everything.
To MJM- Morgan, Jayce, Maliah. There are no words that are deep enough. I have the best kids in the world. Keep shining and being the great crew that you are. I got us. I love yall before and beyond this lifetime.
To my sisters- I am proud of us! A bond that will never be broken. Built in best friends. I love yall. We SLZ4L!
To Rhonda, I love you! It was just me and you for a long time. Our bond and our love is forever! Love you lil girl! (Love you too, old lady) LOL!
To my brother KC, I love you. You are one of the smartest people I know. Only up from here! Love you!!!
To my grannies- Allie and Mildred (RIP) I am me because of yall. Thanks for every single life lesson. I am a strong woman because of you ladies. Thanks!!!!
To my girl cousins on my mama side- lol. It’s entirely too many of yall to name but I love yall ALL. So much beauty. Omg. I don’t mean to be cocky but sheesh. I love our closeness and I love our bond. We can go anywhere on this planet and have a nice time. I enjoy being around yall. Some families wish they had what we have. I love yall!
To Tray, my first brother, my Virgo, my cousin and friend. I love you. Thanks for always showing me love and holding me down.
I have too many aunts and uncles to name but I love you all. I am so blessed to have the family that I do. Thanks for everything!
To my favorite- THANK YOU for always being there! I’m glad to be your favorite too. LOL.
To Uncle Darryl- Thank you! You’ve been there forever and you have a way of making every single one of us feel special and loved. Thank you endlessly. You call us crazy every chance you get but we know you love it.
To my family from Miami and ATL , I Love yall! I have truly been blessed with the best.
A very special acknowledgement to Nicole, Christie, and Tonya. I love yall!
To my friends- Thank you for all of the years. I love you all! A very special shout to Tamika, Tip, Schmaal.
I wouldn’t be where I am today if not for the wonderful educators that I have encountered. I cannot say thanks enough to you all but I would like to give a special acknowledgement to a few of the educators that made a positive impact on me.
Valdosta City Schools- Mr. Hudson, Mr. Holliman, Mr. Adams, Mrs. Haugabrook, Ms. Hagler, Mrs. Lucas.
THE Fort Valley State University- Dr. Pitts and Dr. Murphy. You both shaped me into the woman that I am. Thank you! Two classic examples of being kind. Being young in college and away from home and family is not easy. You two remained professional, competent, willing to teach the whole student, patient and KIND. People aren’t very kind in this life and maybe that’s why you both are unforgettable to me. Dr. Pitts, even today, you are still a bright light that never dulls. Thank you forever. Dr. Murphy, you raised hell about me taking a teaching job instead of going to grad school right away. I should have listened, but I get it now. I am just thankful that I wasn’t stuck. Thanks to you both!
To all of my educator partners- Thank you! Shana Burton, you saved my career. I was ready to go. In a world of chaos, madness, and scandal, you and I managed to talk about the most scandalous things that were unrelated to school stuff. I needed that and I needed your friendship. Thank you! When you became a director for a new college, you called me and hired me immediately. Thank you. You have put me on so many times and I will never, ever forget. You have definitely been the big sis I never knew I needed. Love you chick! To Erma Steven, thank you for keeping it realer than real. Thank you for teaching the kids. You were a master teacher before it was even a phrase. Our English department rocked because of you. I will never forget my first year. Thank you! To my Lola George, I could write a book and they still would not understand. You are my educator partner forever. The two of us could start a school and run it with no help. It is so rare to find anyone who just gets it. God makes no mistake and we both ended up at the right place at the right time (LOL). We have shared adventures in teaching the so called “worst of the worst”. I am so glad I found an educator soldier cause we ain’t never scared! To Trelaine, we have witnessed some of the craziest things together lol. I love your dedication to middle school and English/Language Arts. You are my fellow Virgo so you already know what’s up. To Mr. Lucas, although you quit, we got our start in the classroom. You are my friend forever. I love you and I am so proud of you for walking unapologetically in your truth. You are a rude , arrogant, BAN but I love you anyway. Get yo one (LOL). To Mrs. Serls, you rock! To Heckwolf, you have so many haters but I love you lol. Thanks for all the great conversations. Thanks for giving me insight when I was going through a major storm. I will never forget your kindness. Shout out to my coach friends. Imma leave that right there. If you know anything about coaches, then you know lol. To my Dr. Curtis, I can never thank you enough for all of the realness and wisdom that you share. Seriously. Thank you for letting that wall down enough to let me in. You are super smart, beautiful and dedicated to what you do and it makes me go harder. Thank you! I know that I have left some people out but if we have ever worked together, I appreciate every situation and experience. Educators really rock.
To my students- I simply thank you. Thank you guys for teaching me some things. I know who I am today because of you all. There is no way that I could teach, mentor, develop you guys if I didn’t even know myself. You all taught me more about me. Through you guys, I learned patience, what upsets me, what makes me happy, how to control my emotions, how to control myself and so much more. I hope that whenever you leave my classroom and the end of a semester or year, you have more self-knowledge. I pray for you guys all the time. I have seen you fight the odds. Some people have no idea what it is like to be a young adult who is trying to do the right thing despite the circumstances. Some of you were starving, abused, neglected, raising kids and siblings, married, drug addicted, sad, homeless, and so much more but you still showed up. Some of you let me know what was happening and some of you remained quiet. Despite anything, you still showed up. I decided to make sure that I would always show up for you guys too. I love you all forever and I am so thankful to all of my students of the past, present, and future.
And last but certainly not least, thank you to all of my readers known and unknown. Thank you!
