Meghann Mincey
Hi Tyra and Staff,
I never thought I would be sitting in the Georgia Deparment of Labor waiting room writting you this letter, but it's life. My journey to success is definitly not as easy as I thought it would be. In fact easy is the last word I think of when describing the obstacles I have faced since I graduated high school. I would make this shorter but I know you like to read so I feel obligated to be as detailed as possible.
It all started my junior year of high school. I had my future planned out perfectly. I was captain of the basketball team, an active member in JROTC, and I ran cross country. I had been accepeted to Burneau University in Gainsville, Georgia with an academic scholarship that seemed impossible to turn down. I had spent almost three years in high school anticipating the day where I would graduated and finally be free to take on life by myself and experience college. I never imagined that I would have to make a complete three sixty and turn my life around in a way that would change me forever.
It seems that I had just begun my junior year in November 2004 when my life began to change. I couldn't perform physically like I used to. I was always tired and my motivation seem to dwendle away. I could'nt figure out why I felt this way until my high school sweetheart who wasn't so sweet anymore suggested that I should get a pregnancy test.
I didn't really stress this idea, the thought of being pregnant was scarry, but I already had my future in order and besides really, this could not be happening to me. At least that's what I thought. When the nurse told me I was two months pregnant my heart almost burst. As you could imagine this is the most rememberable part of my life. As if it were happening now I can feel my body shaking as I told my mother that I was pregnant.
My mother being the loving person that she is had a very non caring attitude towards this situation. It was alright though I had expected her to act this way. Besides that, I did realize that at this point the decision on what I would do in this situation was soley up to me. My family suggested adoption or abortion but although I had no idea of how to even start caring for a child, I knew I wanted to keep my baby.
As time passed my family became more supportive of my decision and they even gave me a baby shower. I had to give up basketball, JROTC, crosscountry, Upward Bound, and all the activities I had been envolved in to prepare for my daughter's birth. I really did began to neglect a lot of my school work and it was not because I didn't want to finish school, it was simply because most of my time went into figuring out how I was going to care for my baby.
I learned how to bathe, clothe, feed, hold and soothe a baby from books and online. On June 21, 2005 at 8:35 am my daughter, Kiadra Desiree Williams, was delivered and it was all worth it. She was only five pounds but she was healthy and beautiful, but most importantly she was mine.
In August I continued high school and my mother and I shared her vehicle so I could go to school, work and make sure my Kiadra made it to daycare. Kia's father was very supportive when we were in high school. Initially he picked my and Kia, took her to daycare and we both went to school. He even took me to work! I was thrilled to have so much support during my time of need. As graduation approached in May of 2006 raising a child began to get more difficult as the reality of possibly being a single mother set in.
Kevin, Kia's father, and I had planned to move to Atlanta, Ga after we graduated from college. Little did I know that he was going to Atlanta with or without us. I never thought he would leave us alone, knowing that I our daughter had begun to develop bronchitis because the insulation in my mother's house was not suitable.
There I was a single mother, trying to provide the best care for my daughter. I didn't have any money saved up but I had a job and I had a car that was paid in full. As my daughter's illness began to get worst, I decided to take matters in my own hands and find the least expensive place that I could find in Statesboro, which would get me closer to Georgia Southern University, which was the closest campus to Metter, Ga, my hometown. I found a place and my daughter and I moved to Statesboro with a half tank of gas, and a prayer that I would find another job.
At this point in my life I was very neive. I was desperated for a job, money, and a promissed way that I could provide for my daughter. I began to rely on men for money to help me take care of my daughter and pay my bills. It didn't take long to discover that this road only leads to destruction.
I began finding jobs to get me by, but nothing to help me go to school and care for my daughter simutaneously. Finally I landed a job at Wal-Mart Distribution where I only worked Friday-Sunday, but I was still able to pay all my bills, care for my daughter and go to school. Recently my work schedule changed because of a lack of work they closed down the building I was working in. I had to switch to second shift which was Monday through Thursday from 3pm to 1am. It was very hectic on my class schedule. I decided to stop working In February when I realized that this job had a dramatic effect on my grades.
I know that obtaining a college degree is what's going to mold my daughter's future. Sometimes I wish I would have left my daughter with my mother and went to Burneau University, but when she calls me mommy and she tells me she loves me I know that this time I am going through is worth it.
Getting my degree is important to me because will not only benefit my financial situation and my living conditions but it will also benefit the way my daughter views life and the way she cope with difficult times when she sees the chanllenges that I have overcome for her.
I didn't put school on hold to have a good time and I don't expect anything to be handed to me, but I have realized that sometimes the pressure of life can be more for one person to bare and in those times one should reach out for help. Online education will enable me to care for my daughter and find a work schedule that will be more suitable for my way of living. Thanks for reading my story.
Love you Tyra and Staff.
P.S. People say my daughter looks like Tyra. I'll send a picture.