Read Gerri's Leaf Story
ON THE PATH...
thoughts along the way
Sometime in your life you will go on a journey. It will be the longest journey you have ever taken. It is the journey to find yourself Katherine Sharp
The other afternoon I was flipping through the TV channels and ran across the pre Emmy award show with Ryan Seacrest. He was interviewing the actors and actresses before the Emmy awards. It was a hot afternoon in California and everyone was dressed very elegantly for this special Red Carpet occasion. It was fun watching all the movie stars as they were being interviewed. As they would approach, Ryan would ask, “What are you wearing?” and they would answer him with what designer label they were wearing. Then he asked what designer shoes they were wearing and what designer jewelry and the designer handbags as well. Each person or couple paraded to Ryan for his evaluation of how they looked in their designer attire. This was a social event and each person looked over at the others to see if they were dressed from head to toe in the latest designer fashion or not. They even had a camera focusing on their shoes as well. It seemed that everyone was on display. As I watched I noticed that most everyone was caught up in what others were wearing. There were a reported 16 million viewers that tuned in. I continued watching... A person’s worth is contingent upon who he is, not upon what he does, or how much he has. Alice Mary Hilton In the midst of watching this gala event I reflected on when I was younger. Let me tell you my story... I was born an identical twin. My twin’s name is Gloria. A year and a half later my brother Billy came along. And a year and a half after that my younger sister Dannie was born. We lived in an upper flat in a suburb of Detroit. The area was very clean yet we had outgrown the upper flat. I recall living there and at four-years-old we moved to Birmingham, Michigan, which is an affluent community. We moved there because my mom and dad heard that they had good schools. There was lots of room to play and grow. We had a big backyard and my mom would plant flowers and tended a garden, making it beautiful. Both mom and dad worked very hard outside the home to make ends meet, always keeping a budget. My mom always kept us kids clean and after washing clothes she would iron everything we wore. We always felt loved and cared for. We had each other, we were family. We always had new clothes for school and new outfits for Easter and Christmas etc. Growing up I had babysitting jobs to help buy some other clothes that I wanted. At the age of 13, I wanted to dress like the other girls in school. They always wore bright white gym shoes with a blue label on the back. Since my gym shoes were not as bright as theirs and cost less, I thought I would make them white, then I would be more accepted. My mom said that if I used a little bleach and some water, it would make my gym shoes white. So I went down the basement and made up my solution of bleach and water. But I used more bleach than what mom said to use. I even did the shoe laces so they would also be white. I even painted a blue label on the back of them. I was so excited to put my bright, white gym shoes on so I could be like everyone else. The next morning Gloria and I began our long walk to school. As we were walking and talking, we both heard creaky noises and we kept walking. The more we walked the more we heard it, creek, Crinch, creek. I looked down and saw that my gym shoes were literally coming apart right off my feet. I was shocked. We were almost to school. Now what? So I decided at that moment to go back home and get some other shoes on. I cried all the way home. When I got home it was quiet. Something inside spoke to me. A small voice saying it was OK, everything would be alright. I then realized that I needed to be who I was and not try to be like the other girls in school. I walked back to school that day and seemed to have held my head a little higher than before. I realized, I wasn’t liked for the label on my shoes, I was liked for me. I had learned that it was important to just be me! Whether I’m right or whether I’m wrong Whether I find a place in this world or never belong I gotta be me, I’ve gotta be me What else can I be but what I am Sammy Davis, Jr I picked up a book at the airport a couple of months ago. The title spoke to me. Don't Give it Away by Iyanla Vanzant. It is an awesome book about self awareness and self affirmations for young women. This book is for any young girl from 12 through adulthood. As I read through the book I felt love and acceptance coming through the pages. Iyanla had experienced many adversities in her life and she wrote this book for young girls to help them find their own self worth. She wrote, “No matter what the world or people tell you about yourself, always remember that you are a delicate yet hardy flower. Your true essence will grow, develop and unfold as the bright blue petals open on a sun-drenched morning glory. Always know that the best is yet to come and that your satisfaction is guaranteed. You are God’s special gift to the world. You are a bright and shining star. When you look into your eyes in the mirror each morning, tell yourself, ‘I am hope! I am joy! I am free! I am happy! I am love! More important, I am me!’ You have been loved from the very beginning of your existence. That love is within you. Allow the divine presence of the love within you to shape you, mold you and direct your life. Listen to your inner voice. Think, act and speak the truth of who you are, for that truth is always in alignment with the love that is imbedded in your soul. This is the truth that will guide you to abundant fulfillment.” When a defining moment comes along, you can do one of two things. Define the moment or let the moment define you” I had a defining moment when my gym shoes were literally falling off my feet. I went home and had time to reflect and then went back to school and knew who I really was inside, not what my clothes or shoe labels said I was. Its who I was on the inside that was of importance, not what I was wearing on the outside. Values that were instilled within me as a child, remain to this day. When we are younger we are impressionable and look to others to shape and mold us, as we try to find out who we are and where we fit in. No matter what clothes I wear, I choose them for their style, not the label. I know, that its me on the inside that has the value. I’ve heard in the news about the violence of teenagers stealing gym shoes, jackets, hats and jeans from others. All because of the labels. All because they want to be accepted by others. I found that people will like you for you, not because you are wearing the accepted labels. If they don’t, than that relationship wouldn’t have lasted anyway. When we label or categorize others we become imprisoned in our own limiting beliefs. It divides us. I’ll go it alone, that’s how it must be I can’t be right for somebody else If I’m not right for me I gotta be free, I’ve gotta be free Daring to try, to do it or die I’ve gotta be me I’m still on the path of my journey in life, learning more about me everyday.
The other afternoon I was flipping through the TV channels and ran across the pre Emmy award show with Ryan Seacrest. He was interviewing the actors and actresses before the Emmy awards. It was a hot afternoon in California and everyone was dressed very elegantly for this special Red Carpet occasion. It was fun watching all the movie stars as they were being interviewed. As they would approach, Ryan would ask, “What are you wearing?” and they would answer him with what designer label they were wearing. Then he asked what designer shoes they were wearing and what designer jewelry and the designer handbags as well. Each person or couple paraded to Ryan for his evaluation of how they looked in their designer attire. This was a social event and each person looked over at the others to see if they were dressed from head to toe in the latest designer fashion or not. They even had a camera focusing on their shoes as well. It seemed that everyone was on display.
As I watched I noticed that most everyone was caught up in what others were wearing. There were a reported 16 million viewers that tuned in. I continued watching...
A person’s worth is contingent upon who he is, not upon what he does, or how much he has. Alice Mary Hilton
In the midst of watching this gala event I reflected on when I was younger. Let me tell you my story... I was born an identical twin. My twin’s name is Gloria. A year and a half later my brother Billy came along. And a year and a half after that my younger sister Dannie was born. We lived in an upper flat in a suburb of Detroit. The area was very clean yet we had outgrown the upper flat. I recall living there and at four-years-old we moved to Birmingham, Michigan, which is an affluent community. We moved there because my mom and dad heard that they had good schools.
There was lots of room to play and grow. We had a big backyard and my mom would plant flowers and tended a garden, making it beautiful. Both mom and dad worked very hard outside the home to make ends meet, always keeping a budget. My mom always kept us kids clean and after washing clothes she would iron everything we wore. We always felt loved and cared for. We had each other, we were family. We always had new clothes for school and new outfits for Easter and Christmas etc. Growing up I had babysitting jobs to help buy some other clothes that I wanted.
At the age of 13, I wanted to dress like the other girls in school. They always wore bright white gym shoes with a blue label on the back. Since my gym shoes were not as bright as theirs and cost less, I thought I would make them white, then I would be more accepted. My mom said that if I used a little bleach and some water, it would make my gym shoes white. So I went down the basement and made up my solution of bleach and water. But I used more bleach than what mom said to use. I even did the shoe laces so they would also be white. I even painted a blue label on the back of them. I was so excited to put my bright, white gym shoes on so I could be like everyone else. The next morning Gloria and I began our long walk to school. As we were walking and talking, we both heard creaky noises and we kept walking. The more we walked the more we heard it, creek, Crinch, creek. I looked down and saw that my gym shoes were literally coming apart right off my feet. I was shocked. We were almost to school. Now what? So I decided at that moment to go back home and get some other shoes on. I cried all the way home.
When I got home it was quiet. Something inside spoke to me. A small voice saying it was OK, everything would be alright. I then realized that I needed to be who I was and not try to be like the other girls in school. I walked back to school that day and seemed to have held my head a little higher than before. I realized, I wasn’t liked for the label on my shoes, I was liked for me. I had learned that it was important to just be me!
Whether I’m right or whether I’m wrong Whether I find a place in this world or never belong I gotta be me, I’ve gotta be me What else can I be but what I am
Sammy Davis, Jr
I picked up a book at the airport a couple of months ago. The title spoke to me. Don't Give it Away by Iyanla Vanzant. It is an awesome book about self awareness and self affirmations for young women. This book is for any young girl from 12 through adulthood. As I read through the book I felt love and acceptance coming through the pages. Iyanla had experienced many adversities in her life and she wrote this book for young girls to help them find their own self worth. She wrote, “No matter what the world or people tell you about yourself, always remember that you are a delicate yet hardy flower. Your true essence will grow, develop and unfold as the bright blue petals open on a sun-drenched morning glory. Always know that the best is yet to come and that your satisfaction is guaranteed. You are God’s special gift to the world. You are a bright and shining star. When you look into your eyes in the mirror each morning, tell yourself, ‘I am hope! I am joy! I am free! I am happy! I am love! More important, I am me!’ You have been loved from the very beginning of your existence. That love is within you. Allow the divine presence of the love within you to shape you, mold you and direct your life. Listen to your inner voice. Think, act and speak the truth of who you are, for that truth is always in alignment with the love that is imbedded in your soul. This is the truth that will guide you to abundant fulfillment.”
When a defining moment comes along, you can do one of two things. Define the moment or let the moment define you”
I had a defining moment when my gym shoes were literally falling off my feet. I went home and had time to reflect and then went back to school and knew who I really was inside, not what my clothes or shoe labels said I was. Its who I was on the inside that was of importance, not what I was wearing on the outside. Values that were instilled within me as a child, remain to this day. When we are younger we are impressionable and look to others to shape and mold us, as we try to find out who we are and where we fit in.
No matter what clothes I wear, I choose them for their style, not the label. I know, that its me on the inside that has the value.
I’ve heard in the news about the violence of teenagers stealing gym shoes, jackets, hats and jeans from others. All because of the labels. All because they want to be accepted by others. I found that people will like you for you, not because you are wearing the accepted labels. If they don’t, than that relationship wouldn’t have lasted anyway. When we label or categorize others we become imprisoned in our own limiting beliefs. It divides us.
I’ll go it alone, that’s how it must be I can’t be right for somebody else If I’m not right for me I gotta be free, I’ve gotta be free Daring to try, to do it or die I’ve gotta be me
I’m still on the path of my journey in life, learning more about me everyday.
Gerri Magee is director of advertising and public relations and assistant to the editor of phenomeNEWS. She continues to share her thoughts “On The Path” in this column. She can be reached at gerri@phenomenews.com.
