The Change
I am a big advocate for making life happen and not just letting it happen to you. My childhood and especially my adolescence was rough. I would think about other places I wanted to be. Things I wanted my future to look like I would ponder. I also had a learning disability and school was tough. Between the drama at home and having to start working at the age of 12 my GPA was a 1.5. In my junior year of high school I came to the conclusion that if I did not get out of the area I would end up at rock bottom.
I started prioritizing school and quickly jumped to a 3.5 GPA. Sadly, I had screwed up so bad the first two years of high school that no college or university would admit me. Plus, I could not afford the application fee to apply to multiple colleges. In my senior year of high school my German teacher encouraged me to be an exchange student. She said she could work it out so I could go over on the high school program. The cost was $5K and I worked really hard to earn every dime of it! I boarded the plane barely 18 with less than $200 to my name and 1 suitcase to live in a foreign country for a year.
Reflections
I have been asked over the years if I was scared. Not really. I had no where else to go. Anything was better than where I was and if I did happen to get worse off, it was just on me and would affect no one else. I knew sitting on my hands waiting for something to happen was just a pipe dream. I had to work my dream!
The Present
It took me a little longer to get through college, but I did get through it. First I went to a university and earned my BS and later pursued my M Ed. Though my background was tough I used it to make a better life. I worked my dream to make it a reality.
You can too! No matter where you are or what you are doing YOU have the power to change your life. Now, I can’t take all the credit. The one thing my parents did do right is made sure I was in church every week and though the church slapped a scarlet letter on me because of where I came from God did use it to draw me to Him. He protected and helped me in this time. He gave me opportunities to pursue, but I had to do some work too!
The Reminder
I created this piece as a reminder to always pursue the life I want. Here is a video of how I created the background with the new Mod Podge Ultra as a pouring medium:
I used the new Art Foamie Stamp by Rita Barakat to create the large fairy and pop dotted the fairy die to the other side. Th embellishments I painted with the new Plaid Dragon Glaze and Colorshift!
The clouds I created in the Rise and Shine Rita Barakat group on Facebook. If you have not checked it out yet, you should!
Until next time~ Happy Crafting!
