She Speaks | A Let Her Speak Podcast
She Speaks | A Let Her Speak Podcast
Showing Up for Yourself with Porschia Pickett & Booth Andrews
“To take care of others, you must take care of yourself first.”
If you’ve not heard this saying before, today’s episode drop of the She Speaks Podcast is a good reminder of how important self-care truly is. Because you’re not showing up fully for yourself, how can you show up for others?
In this episode, we hear from Let Her Lead established leader graduate, Porschia Pickett, and her coach, Booth Andrews.
Throughout their conversation, they touch on subjects surrounding self-care, including the guilt that can come with taking the time to care for your own needs, juggling being a leader and a mother (and the pressure that women feel when they are sharing those roles), and breaking cycles to create a healthier environment for yourself and others.
At the end of this emotional interview, Porschia shares her legacy statement with the world - speaking to a life of service and how important it is to show up for yourself as much as you do for others.
About Season 2 of the She Speaks Podcast:
Throughout Season 2 we will be featuring the graduates and mentors/coaches in our first cohort of the Let Her Lead program. Each woman you will hear from throughout this season embarked on a 12-week journey in late 2023 to gain new skills and insights to become the leader SHE wants to be.
__________
Connect with Porschia:
Connect with Porschia on LinkedIn
Connect with Booth:
Connect with Booth on LinkedIn
Follow Booth on Instagram
Learn More About Booth
How to Connect with Let Her Speak:
Follow us on Instagram
Connect with us on LinkedIn
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel
Stay updated with our Newsletter
Thank You to:
Our sponsor partners: Schaad Companies & Knoxville Entrepreneur Center
Our producer & theme music composer: Travis Tench of Oak Hill Audio
Our brand designer: Maranda Vandergriff of Vagabondary
Our photographers: Javon Renee Portraits, Smoke Signal Photography, Ashley Gurley Photography, and Kara Hudgens Photography
Have any questions, comments, or want to connect more with the Let Her Speak community? Contact us at hello@letherspeakusa.org
You're listening to She Speaks, a Let Her Speak podcast that celebrates women's fearlessness, resiliency, and readiness to change the world. to the She Speak series is if this is your first episode of you joining us,
my name is Catherine Porth and I'm the founder of Let Her Speak. And throughout this season, we have been celebrating and diving into some really amazing conversations from women that graduated from our Let Her Lead program and their coaches and mentors that helped them in that journey of recognizing the types of leaders that they are and the types of leaders that they wanna be.
In this episode, you'll be seeing hearing a conversation between Porschia Pickett, who is a graduate of our established leader cohort of the program, and her coach, Booth Andrews.
And they really dive into some of the hard things that come with leadership, and one of those hard things being remembering to take care of yourself and what that can look like.
The guilt that sometimes can come with it, but the fact that if you are not taking care of yourself, how in the world can you take care of others, especially as a leader? They dive into breaking cycles.
So whether that cycle was established within your family or a cycle that was established within the organization or company that you're working with, what that looks like and how you as a leader can help to change your life.
that fundamentally so that you create a healthier environment and a healthier life for everyone. And then they also dive into being a leader and a mother. So this is a topic that I think needs to be talked about even as much as possible because there's so much pressure that's put on especially women to be both 100 % dedicated to being mothers and 100 % dedicated.
to being in their career and being leaders. And so there's a lot of bias and extra levels of stress that are put on us, which Booth and Porschia dive into and have a conversation about.
And Porschia talks through how her journey has been going and Booth has also been on a similar journey over the years and is now on another side of that spectrum.
of slowing down and taking things one day at a time. So let's dive into the conversation between Porschia and Booth. - So what accomplishments,
whether it's working through challenges or earning promotions, are you most proud of? - I don't think I'm proud of it. accomplishments in the traditional sense of the word,
although I think there was a time when I would have been very proud of the things that I had kind of marked off the list or ladder,
steps in the ladder I had managed to climb. At this point in my life, I am more proud of choosing to stay here.
So we haven't actually really talked about this, but there was a time that I almost chose to leave by my own hand. And at the time,
my therapist told me my children would never recover if I took my own life. And at that moment, I knew I had to stay. but I didn't know how I was going to survive.
I didn't feel like I could, and I took it one day at a time. And when I look back at that moment, that's probably my proudest accomplishment.
I chose to stay. I chose to heal. I chose to heal. break the chains of trauma in my life as well and completely as I know how and I continue to walk that path.
My goal at this point in my life is to continue to walk back to the person that I was before who I was before. splintered my soul into a million pieces.
And yeah, I think that's what I'm the most proud of. What about you? Well, I was about to say we have not had this conversation because I had a similar moment early on in my career where I was ready to leave as well and I was just it was a dark season where nothing was working out here like in this city and I was like well do I leave you know do I stay I feel called here I feel like I'm supposed to be here
but nothing is painting out and I was just in a very low place in all areas of my life and so I got to a point to to where my friends,
the friends that I had built while I was in college and the ones that had stayed had to pick me up and had to remind me of who I was and the power that was in me and what was in me.
And so I took it day by day, step by step. And so I promised myself that I would not. allow myself to get back to that place because it was it was dark,
I didn't feel like me. I think none of my family knew what was going on. I had kind of shut a lot of people out and I'm not that type of person.
I love to bring people in to you know be there for me. And so after I experienced that, things just shifted.
And I think it was a mindset thing for me too. 'Cause I think I wanted things handed to me, you know? In a sense, I think I felt like I deserved it, you know?
And I had had a very traumatic childhood. And so it was... I had a lot of trauma, a hell of a hidden trauma, a lot of trauma no one really knew about. And so I just felt like life needed to just be easy.
Like I did what I was supposed to do. I went to college, I got the degree. Where's the job? And the job didn't come for a long time after the degree. And so just challenging myself not to get back to that place.
And so now when I hear people say, you know, know how could they get so long you know why would they want to do that I'm like you never know how heavy that weight that they're you know carrying is whether it seems trivial to you it's a big deal to them and so because people like I mean you'll get a job you know you have yeah but it's not what I want it's not making ends me you know I'm struggling and so just
I'm proud of so back to the question I am proud of How far I've come from that place and my the accomplishments aren't necessarily You know the accolades the awards the degrees or anything like that.
It's just the confidence that I have in myself and owning Porsche Porschia. I'm finally in a place where I'm owning who Porschia is and I'm being proud of her and not dimming my own light,
you know? - Yeah, yeah. - So, yeah. - How do you think that experience has influenced the leader you are becoming? - You know,
I see me and a lot of people that I serve. I see that version of me. in a lot of people I serve. And I recognize that everybody doesn't have that circle that I had and that support.
And it reminds me of the quote, "To be who you needed when you were younger." And I feel like I need to be that for them. Like, be who,
if I were in that situation again, be who you need. for them. And so as a leader, I'm having to be that for a lot of people, even the little people that I serve. Yeah. So yeah.
So how have you learned to pour into your own cup so that you can be that person? Oof, chow. I pour into my own cup.
Well, I think I had to learn me. So I had to learn, you know Well, are you an introvert? Are you an extrovert, you know? And then because I'm it's like I was kind of trying to Be a little bit of everything and it's like no be you You're an introvert like your job forces you to be extroverted at times But at the core of who you are you're an introvert.
Okay, so I'm a any a gram three. What does that mean? Oh, this makes sense. I'm gonna achiever. Set a goal. We're doing it, you know? And so owning you're this,
you're this. Be that like and don't be ashamed of that. And so I started reading. I started therapy, you know,
growing up, especially in the black community. Therapy is a stigma like nobody don't touch that. You're crazy. But I have found that therapy fills me.
It just helps me see things from a different perspective of what I grew up knowing. And so reading, well, audiobooks, because I get sleepy when I read.
Well, and you have a young child. I do. And she does not let me do anything. That's right, that does not involve involve. No, it does not. It does not include her.
That's right. So if it's not Spider -Man or Toy, no, we're not doing it. So yeah, so therapy and reading have been very helpful. And these are recent things, like 2023, Porschia pouring into her.
So finding things that she enjoys. So yeah. Well, choosing the things that we do enjoy that are in alignment with who we are.
are. I mean, not only does that pour into our own cup, but it takes a lot of energy to force ourselves into a mold that doesn't fit. - Absolutely. - It takes extraordinary energy to step beyond what our natural tendencies or needs are.
So it's almost like a double win, both that you're not exhausting yourself trying to be something that you're not, and then choosing to honor who you are and what fills your cup,
no matter what other people might ask. - Yeah. - Or demand. - Demand is a big one, but I'll pass. All right.
How do you pour into yourself? - Both literally and figuratively. So I have a lot of over the last eight years I have developed a number of daily strategies or weekly strategies that I use everything from lugging around a 32 ounce water bottle to a workout work out regularly,
usually at least three days a week. I meditate pretty much every night as I lay down my head on the pillow. It doesn't, it's actually not as fancy as it sounds.
I literally lay down my head on the pillow and hit the meditation app. And sometimes I fall asleep during the meditation, but that's not really the point. The point is that I come back into meditation.
my body and I come back into my breath and I come back into my present moment. I'm constantly looking at how I'm spending my time and needing to adjust how much time I make available for other people.
So that's an ongoing work in progress. progress. What are some other things? I walk the dog almost every day, whether permitting.
So a lot of, for me, while I have a lot of capacity to get a lot of things done in a very short period of time, what I'm finding at least in this season of my life is I really need space.
I need space when I'm not tending to others. I need space to move more slowly." One of the changes I made actually in my calendar just this year was reformatting my day so that when I get up in the morning,
right, well, my youngest is now officially a teenager. And so he is finally sleeping past 7 a .m. on a regular basis. - What a blessing. - And I know,
you'll get that. it's a long road, but it does happen. And so I've been getting up in the morning and drinking coffee and doing a morning meditation and starting my day in a much gentler pace.
I'm fully capable of running out the door and doing eight meetings in a day and taking care of people at night and also that. requires extraordinary energy.
And I'm gratefully at a place where I have choices that I can make about how I structure my time. So I started this year really thinking about how can I continue to nourish myself?
What does that look like for me in this season? What are the ways I'm doing that really well when we're... are the ways that I'm not doing it as well? And then the other thing I would just say is I've spent the last eight years reestablishing a relationship to my body and trying to learn still building the muscle of listening to my body and adjusting my plans and my expectations and the demands I put on myself
based on what my body needs. needs, which is as someone who spent, you know, the first 40 some odd years of her life disassociating from her body,
that has been a really important and valuable practice. - I've just started listening to my body as well. She's been yelling at me,
so. - Well, the body does that. I have learned first it whispers. and then it starts yelling. And I think mine honestly came from tradition.
This is how I grew up. This is, you know, this is what we ate. This is what we did. This is what we didn't do. And so training myself to realize just because it's always been done that way doesn't mean it's right.
It doesn't mean it's healthy. And so And so the past maybe six or seven years, but past two for sure, I have been listening to my body.
And so just because my family eats all these things and does all these things, doesn't mean I have to. And what's interesting is I've been the butt of a few jokes.
If I decide to fast or fast, I'm going to be the butt of a few jokes, but I'm going to be the butt of a few jokes. give up meat for a while, you know, there's this, you're a vegetarian, you know, and I'm like, temporarily, but it's more so a health thing.
And so just being okay with being different, because I recognize that different is going to save my life. Different is going to allow me to have a healthier life.
Different is going to allow me to behave. able to spend more time with my daughter and to be able to get on the floor with her and run around with her and even not just her,
but the grandchildren, like, you know, just thinking forward, you know, for generations. I am, and I tell my husband this all the time, like we're not doing this for us right now or just for Carrington.
We're doing this for Carrington's grandchildren. And, you know, we're doing this for Carrington's grandchildren. the great grandchildren. You know, just changing the mindset because coming from a small town, there are just a lot of ways that people just are used to.
And then you leave and you learn, you know? So that has been my journey of listening to my body. And so I've given up a lot, but I've given up a lot,
but in return I've gained a lot. lot. - So what is your body wanna say to you now? - My body, right now, my body is telling me that I need to sleep more.
And so I'm trying to find the balance of sleeping more, like, do I go to bed early or do I wake up later, you know?
And so I think with my little, it's probably a go to bed and I'm trying to find the balance of sleeping more. you know. But then it's also teaching me, I need to maximize my time throughout the work day. So you need to be more productive so that when you're home,
you're home. You're not, you know, doing work until 11 o 'clock and then you're going to bed. Then you're trying to get up at six o 'clock in the morning. Like you're halfway there,
you know. But I think the first step for me is realizing. something's gotta change, you know? This, I mean, I did it in college, of course. I was 19,
20, I could sleep for four hours, maybe even two, and be, you know, good for the day with a mountain dew, and I'm good, but I don't drink mountain dew anymore. No, also,
I'm not as young as I used to be anymore. So when I stand up, my knees pop. So, you know, I can't do the thing. So just learning that, also, Also, my body is getting older and she just requires more attention,
different attention. Yes. And that's okay. And that's okay. Yes. What's it like to be a cycle breaker? It is hard. It is so hard.
But I think what makes it not as hard or it's hard. But I think think what helps me is knowing the people that will come after me,
they won't have to deal with a lot of the things I had to deal with and that my mother had to deal with and that my grandmother had to deal with because it ends with me, you know? It is a weight,
it is a weight to carry, but I think the blessing has been... is that God has surrounded me with other people who are also cycle breakers in their family.
And so it's like a journey we're doing together. Awesome. So I'm not walking alone, although you would think it's a lonely journey because you're breaking a cycle and most of the people are still in that.
cycle they don't want to break from it because it's all they know but I have people outside of it that that can relate to what I'm experiencing. So having that circle of support is important.
It is and my circle is it's shifting I think I think it's interesting because I think the people you know they say seasons I know you talked about me.
me and my best friend having that podcast, but I think I'm learning that everybody serves a purpose for a different season of your life.
And so I think the season that I'm in right now just requires certain people. And God is sending me those people and it's good,
it's good. It's good. it's good. So yeah, that was good, that was good. So I have a question.
So where do you find inspiration from? - I think I'm inspired by cycle breakers,
by the cycle breakers. who are idea creators, who people who are looking at the status quo and saying,
"Okay, just because we've always done it this way does not actually mean we have to continue to do it this way." And frankly, if we look at many of the things that are embedded in our cultures,
they are making us very ill physically. physically, mentally, mostly spiritually ill. And so people who are standing in whatever way that they can,
matching their outside to their inside as best as they know how, and showing up in the world and saying, "Hey, we can do it differently." You know,
there's a lot in this world that isn't... isn't working and there's a lot of pain and there's a lot of suffering and none of us can fix all of it,
but all of us can do something. And I think I'm mostly inspired by people who are trying to show up as the best version of themselves and make something a little bit better than what they experienced or the way that they find it today.
People who are looking into the future and saying, there are different ways of being, there are different ways of living, there are different ways of relating, there are different ways of supporting,
building support systems and communities and infrastructures. In all the ways those terms can be used, we don't have to keep perpetuating our conditioning and our traumas on each other.
And I, and or, you know, just the things that we've learned to do that aren't actually serving us. And I'm gonna call what I see,
and I'm gonna paint a picture for something that can be different. And I'm gonna do the things that I can in whatever way that I can. to influence a different future for all of us.
- Do you feel like you're a cycle breaker too? - Yes ma 'am. - Okay. Cycle breakers unite. - I don't feel like it, I know it. - Yes, yes.
- What inspires you? - Oh my goodness. This, um, right now I feel like I'm a cycle breaker. now, my daughter,
I think I am inspired by the person she is right now because she is me at third,
you know, she's five, but I was not her at five. She's me as an adult. And so I want to make sure I hone in on this,
that everything that she is, because I was very timid as a kid. I was very scared. I had a lot of trauma that no one knew about,
you know? And so I hid a lot, just scary, and she's fearless. - Mm -hmm. I'm inspired by that because I wish I was her at five.
And I can only imagine what she's gonna be like at 10, and 15, and 20, you know? And so I'm just inspired because it's like, although that wasn't you,
you have the opportunity to impact the life of another. My faith inspires me as well. So I am a believer. I'm strong in my faith. And so that is what sustains me throughout the days,
all the days, all the time. And I think the people that I serve, that I get the privilege to serve every day inspire me to keep going and to just do better,
to be better. because they're depending on me, you know, to show up as my best because they deserve the best version of me,
you know, no matter what their situation is. So yeah, those are the things that are inspiring me right now. I remember looking at my oldest daughter when she was a kid thinking wondering what parts of her were a reflection of who what I would have been as a child.
If the trauma had not started so young. And I was just like, wow, because she, she's a force. She used to, I would, um, everyone's watch, she would come to my office.
And at the time I was working at a very kid friendly place and I'd be, you know, facility. an all -day strategy session and the next thing I knew, she was facilitating the strategy session.
And I just kind of that fearlessness. It's beautiful to watch and support.
Yeah. Yeah, I feel that I think watching her now, 'cause my mind kind of starts... very young as well, especially around the age that she is right now.
And so just reflecting on who I was at that age and who she is, I'm like, I'm so grateful. There's no fear. She knows she's safe.
She's always safe, you know, and me making sure that I don't project my fears and what I experienced on her, because because that's not her reality.
- Yeah. - You know, so just making sure I'm not, yeah, putting that on her, but yeah, girl, we are more similar than we thought.
- You even realized. - Yeah! Yeah, maybe because we didn't dive deep, deep. We were trying to be all professional. It's okay. - Well,
I think we were taking the time. topics of the moment of the day in real time. - And those were important too. - And problem -solving around those, so. - Yes,
yes, yes. Well, this is good, yeah. - So I have a question. So what's your favorite quote? - I knew you were gonna ask me this 'cause you told me. And I don't really have one,
but the one that was the most important. up is actually like Lynn and Doyle quote, "There's no such thing as other people's children." - I need to steal that.
- And I think again, in the world that we're living in today, if we started to look at every child as our own, I would like to think we would be making different decisions.
- Yes. that was a good one. Okay, you're gonna have to send me that one. - What about you? - I have a few, you know, I am a lover of quotes and Courtney jokes.
I will not tell a joke today. But one of my favorite quotes is, when you know better, you do better. - Yeah,
that's a good one. - Mm -hmm, and it has challenged me to... once you know something, you need to do better. And I think that goes back to the, the health thing. Like I know what I'm not supposed to be eating.
Do better, Porschia. You know, granted it's generational. Of course. So it's, you know, it's harder to break because that's all you've known. But you know, you have the knowledge.
Yeah. What are you going to do with it? You're going to do better because when you do better, you are better. So yeah. Where do you see yourself in five years? Let's do the math.
Well, I wanted to retire early but I'm just playing. No, I have not thought that far in life.
I don't know. I would I want to be, I want to be happy. I want to be healthy. I want my children to be happy and healthy.
My husband to be happy and healthy. I want to be in a place where I am living and not surviving.
And so I just, I think that's great. the biggest thing. I want to, I want to live and not survive. And I want my family to be in a place where we live and we experience.
And we're not in survival mode, which means we're not in a state of trauma all the time and panic, you know? So, yeah. But I mean,
it would be nice. And honestly, the biggest, oh, I'm gonna add to that. I would love to to see myself winning the lottery in the next five years to where I could retire,
like I said, and then live. But you know. - How do you think the Let Her Lead program has influenced the leader that you are?
- Ooh. It is brought about just an awareness. It's challenged me. to pause before, one before I speak,
before I react, but think through a lot of things and process more. I tell my friends,
you're getting my raw emotions right now. And so Let Her Lead has a, challenged me as a leader to process things more so that people don't always get the raw thoughts they get the process thoughts and those process thoughts are what's best for you know everyone.
It has challenged me to because I'm very after every session I will go home and I would just kind of look at me. It did challenge me to like look at Porschia and kind of say,
oh, you need to grow there, so you need to get it together there. And so it challenged me to do a lot of self -reflection and to kind of shift, like you've been this type of leader,
but I think it's time for you to become this type of leader. So I've changed a lot of my approaches. I think it's time for you to change your approaches. I didn't realize that I kind of micromanaged people a little bit, but that came from not trusting.
And so, okay, how do I build trust? And so I've been intentional with things like that. So definitely challenged me to just look at me and kind of shift some things.
I'm okay. Like nobody ever said it. There was no, you know, push you're doing this. There's no criticism. criticism. It was just me looking at myself and say,
"Hey, if you want to grow, this is what you need to do." And how are people responding to the shifts that you've made? Things are good. Things are good. Things are really good.
And you know, sometimes people say, you know, "When things are too good, you'd be scared." And I'm not, I'm not scared because I feel like this is what we wanted. This is what we asked for. It's what we prayed for.
So. So let's continue to go forward, you know, onward and upward. What made you decide to be a Let Her Lead coach? - Because Catherine asked me.
(laughing) I've had the privilege of being part of just conversations that led up to Let Her Lead.
and I love watching people grow. That was actually my favorite thing about being an organizational leader was putting people in positions with support and guidance and trust and watching them grow.
So it was an easy yes for me. me. What made you say yes to doing it? So I randomly saw it like the week it was due and I was like,
my first thought was, I take some people, is this legit? Have you heard of this before? And they were like, oh yeah, we love Catherine. I was like, okay, I'm applying. And when I read through it,
I was like, I'm was in a space where I needed something. You know, I didn't really know what I needed, but I read through the topics and I was like,
"Okay, this is definitely an area where empathy." That was the biggest thing for me. It's like empathy. I was like, "Okay." And then it was like, "Well, I have an opportunity to just learn." 'Cause I'm a sponge.
When I get in a room with... leaders, I rarely speak. I listen because I love to absorb everything that they're saying. And so I like to listen and digest,
download all the things, and then I take it, you know, and run with it. And so I just, I needed something. And the timing was perfect for the program.
And even, you know, just learning the women in my cohort has been a very interesting process 'cause we're different, you know. But even just the relationships that I've built with women that I probably would not have ever connected with because our paths just never crossed,
never crossed. You know, they're in corporate and I'm in nonprofit and so we just would never connect it. And so just, I didn't know I needed it the way I. I did,
but definitely needed this program. So shout out to Catherine for doing your big work with this one. All right,
final thoughts. After our conversation, how do you feel? What are you leaving with? - You are beautiful. beautiful and you are a cycle breaker and you are intentional and all of the work that you're doing to go against the grain and be the person you needed both as a leader and as a mother.
mother will pay off in spades, some of which you will see in this lifetime and some of which you may not see in this lifetime.
But that doesn't mean that you're not making a profound difference. - Do you want me to cry on these people's podcasts? What? - You asked me for parting thoughts.
That's what came up. up. - Okay, are you about to ask me my final thoughts? - Yeah. - 'Cause you just threw me off. So, thank you,
I appreciate that. I think I have enjoyed this journey with you. You have been the perfect amount of calm and professionalism I need and balance,
you know? And I've heard great things about you. And it has been a blessing to just experience them, you know, one -on -one. And so I am just honored to have had Booth Andrews as a coach and mentor.
Although, you know, literally it ends, we're still gonna stay connected, but I appreciate you and I thank you so much for all that you have poured into me in our short time together.
- It's been my pleasure. - Yes. So love, peace and chicken grease. We out. (laughing) Now that you've had an opportunity to learn about Porschia's leadership journey,
let's listen in as she shares the legacy she wants to leave behind. "One of my favorite quotes that I live by and that has been the driving force behind who I am is from Gandhi and it says,
"The best way way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others." I've always considered myself to be a serpent. That is something that my grandfather taught us from a very young age.
Growing up, we spend our weekends delivering meals on wheels and visiting the local nursing home. And so service has always been a part of me. In 2008, I left my small hometown and began my college journey here at the University of Tennessee.
Tennessee where I studied anthropology. I had known since middle school that I wanted to be a forensic facial reconstructionist. You should look it up.
It's pretty cool stuff. It is when you take the skull of a missing person and reconstruct it in hopes of developing a face for identification. I loved forensic facial reconstruction because it joined my love for art,
specifically drawing faces with my love for art. for forensics and bones. Mind you, I've competed in high school on the state level in both forensic and art. I studied, I watched numerous hours of CSI,
so when I got to UT, all I needed to do was pass the coursework because the love was already there. Well throughout my college years, I found myself as a junior in college,
living off campus and needing a job because I had real bills. I know you have them too. I stumbled upon a youth serving organization and I absolutely loved it.
Work was so much fun. It was almost natural. I was serving and it was amazing. I found myself engulfed in the world of all things kids.
Teaching them new skills while also building some long -lasting relationships with someone. some amazing people as well. And we all just needed a job. I feel like I lost my life plan in a world of serving youth.
I had reached a point where I enjoyed going to work more than I enjoyed going to class. I battled with this for a while because I knew what I wanted. I planned this. I mapped out my career.
I was prepared to be one of the best forensic anthropologists to come out. out of the University of Tennessee. However the passion for youth grew and grew. Over the course of a few months I prayed and I asked God what was I supposed to do.
I had this mapped out plan for years but I had this newfound passion that kept tugging at my heart. They say if it's your calling it will keep calling. So my senior year I decided to just finish my degree and pursue a career in nonprofit.
As much as I loved all things forensics, I wouldn't change my path, not for one second. So I ask you, what do you need to lose to find yourself?
Over the past 13 years, I've found myself serving just about every type of kid you can think of. Serving in childcare programs, youth ministry, mentoring, juvenile detention centers.
youth in the custody system, youth with autism, et cetera. And throughout the years, there are three things that I take away from my journey that I'd like to share.
One, be the person you needed when you were younger. I wish I had a Miss Porschia when I was in elementary school because I knew someone was depending and who you were,
and who you were, and who you were, and who you were, and who you were, me to show up and be there and be what they needed. The second thing that I've learned is when you know better you do better. I had the privilege to serve as the Boys and Girls Club director of a site and my kids would always get in trouble and when I would ask them what the rules were they would quote them back to me and so I said well
if you you know what you're supposed to do, why don't you just do it? And so I found this Maya Angelou quote, "When you know better, you do better." And so I taught it to them. And so every day when we got to the program,
after I gave the announcements, I would say, "When you know better," and the kids would say, "Do better." And that was their charge to do better every single day. The last thing is my favorite part.
scripture and it's Nehemiah 6 and 3, and it says, "For I am doing a great work "and I cannot come down. "I challenge myself to continue to serve no matter what.
"Show up for these kids no matter what. "I was doing a great work and not to come down." So in closing, always remember, when it's your calling,
it will keep calling. When you find your calling, own it. it. When you find your calling, be true to it. When you find your calling, don't come down. I know I haven't and I won't.
(upbeat music) This episode of She Speaks is brought to you by our amazing partners at Schaad Companies.
She Speaks is produced, edited, and scored by the very talented Travis Tench at Oak Hill Audio. If you loved the episode you just heard and want to support Let Her Speak's mission of elevating real women's stories,
don't forget to follow, subscribe, and share at Let Her Speak USA. Together.
Together, we will make our voices heard.
