If you don't read ANYTHING else...READ THIS!!!

I was going to write about work today. And I probably will end up writing about my day because it was exciting. However, I was lying in bed, listening to Anita Baker and trying fall asleep when my telephone rang. Filled with excitement, I immediately rose from my bed and looked at my phone. As I glanced across the screen, I realized that it was my profyte, GREGORY (Ashley Gregory). When I was pledging Delta, Gregory and I became really good friends. Although she was my big sister, she never fell short of being a kind and giving person. She was my confidant.

I answered the telephone and I was just so excited to hear her voice. I know you are probably thinking, what does this have to do with your internship? But Gregory's call today has everything to do with my internship.

As I was talking to her, she immediately told me how proud she was of me. She told me that she loves reading my blog posts and that she can't wait until I add another one. Once we caught up with each other's lives, she began to tell me how shocked she was that I had gotten off of Facebook. As soon as she told me that she was shocked that I parted ways with my once addictive drug, I became so filled with emotion that I wanted to cry. In fact, I'm fighting back tears now as I write this post.

Leaving Facebook was symbolic to me. Six months ago I used Facebook as a way for me to stay connected to others and not have to deal with Byrhonda. Facebook was my drug. During that time, I had a lot going on in my life. My mom was going through chemotherapy; the man that I had grown to love so much didn't love me anymore; my friends had stabbed me in the back, my sorority was facing issues; and my brother was graduating for West Point. So I knew that it was only a matter of time before he would be deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan.

Inside I was hurting but I had to put a smile on my face and keep going. I just put everything off and tried to cope and face my problems head-on. But I couldn't. I used everything from music to facebook to pass time and sleep my life away. Yes, I was in a deep depression.

Ironically, I received an email about the internship with the Congressional Black Caucus and I applied. Not expecting to be selected, I just filled out the application and let it be.

Meanwhile, I was still depressed. Since I was in Bozeman, Montana working, I didn't have very many people to talk to so I just locked myself in my room and slept. I would just sleep...sleep...sleep. Then, one day during my job training, I learned that my job offered free counseling. So I went. I was so scared of what people would think of me but I still went. I cried during the entire session but I felt so much better.

The next week, I had to travel for my job. It was a 5 hour drive and I cried the entire way there. I cried about everything. Because I felt like when I needed a friend, no one was there. As I was driving, I pulled over and I prayed. I promise, I've never prayed like that in my life. But I just asked God to take everything out of my hands and have his way.

Months later, I'm in Washington, D.C. having the time of my life. I'm meeting people I thought I would only see on television. I'm doing things that I thought I wouldn't do like exercising, writing on my blog, TITHING, volunteering, and reading.

The basis of this story is to show you that I could not see the plan. I was just applying for the hell of it. I knew I wouldn't be accepted. But God knew that I needed to do something different this semester so he gave me the opportunity and I took it. Six months ago, I couldn't have told you I would be in D.C. Six months ago, I wanted to give up, but I kept going. I cried, sang, vented, and MOST important PRAYED my way into the situation that I am in now.

I hope that maybe a student reading this will get motivated to keep going, despite what's going on around them.

At the time, I thought my problems were outweighing my purpose. Now I can say that my problems are shaping my purpose. The lessons I've learned this year have been great and I wouldn't trade any of them. I learned about life. But most important, I learned about SELF.