Tag: Opportunity

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And Now She Can Breathe Again

October 3, 2011 jcladyluv

“We’re given second chances every day of our life. We don’t usually take them, but they’re there for the taking.”

~Andrew M. Greeley

Today someone has been granted a second chance at living the life that they should’ve been living all this time. In an Italian appeal’s court, Amanda Knox was acquitted of multiple charges that two years ago got her sentenced to twenty six years in an Italian prison. She was falsely accused and then wrongly convicted and now after spending far too much time already in prison, she has a second chance at freedom. Now she can really breathe again.

What will she do from this point on? She’s had this stamp placed on her now that when people look at her they’re only going to think about the girl who went toItalyand was put on trial for murder. For those that still believe she is guilty, she will be known as the girl who got away with murder. She is the girl who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. She was thrown off the road to success that she was on and everyone has to be wondering the same thing that I am; what’s next for Amanda Knox?

Many people might say that her life may be forever derailed. I, however, think that this would be the perfect time for her to show the world just how strong she really is. There is an opportunity that can come from this tragedy. There is a story that she has to tell that can help to steer someone else that may soon be going off course. This can be a new beginning for her and a chance for her to use what she went through to enhance her greatness and propel her future.

Perhaps we all don’t share the same hardships and tragic events that Amanda Knox has had to go through but the lesson is still the same. She persevered, and she fought for her future (along with her family), and she never gave up, not for one second. When I think of the little minor things that I have gone through, at least minor in comparison to being on trial for a murder I didn’t commit, I am made to feel foolish. I don’t have the stigmas that she will now have and I don’t have the long road of adjustment ahead that she will have to make. Compared to her struggle, what do I, or any of us for that matter, really have to complain about?

Many times I have wanted to just give up and throw in the towel and I didn’t have nearly as much on my plate as she did. And she never gave up. So why should I? Why should anyone? I am thankful for Amanda Knox having this second chance at living her life and that her family will have the chance to support her in living that life. I am happy to know that there are second chances for those of us that consistently loose our way. I think I’ll take God up on the one he’s always giving me. Until next time…be thankful for all of the second chances you are given to make something right!

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

http://www.passionatewriterpublishing.com/thediary.htm

What Could Have Been

September 21, 2011 jcladyluv

“You can clutch the past so tightly to your chest that it leaves your arms too full to embrace the present.”

~Jan Glidewell

The other night I was talking to Ms. L and I was feeling a little down because I had a lot of things on my mind. I was thinking of all the curveballs that I have been thrown in life. I was doing a lot of wondering about what could have been.

What if I had done what I was supposed to do all the way through high school and had been able to get a full scholarship to the college of my choice inNew York? What if when I did go to college, not necessarily the one that I wanted to go to, and I had been better prepared for college life and had gotten the grades that I should’ve gotten or at least sought help when I was failing? What if I hadn’t gotten in a really bad relationship and gotten so steered off course from what my vision of my life was? What if I hadn’t met a man who I thought was the love of my life and had a child with him which derailed me going back to school until the late age of 27?

The truth is my life would more than likely be at a very different place, maybe even where I envisioned it being. Had I done all the things that I should’ve done in the correct time frame that it should have been done in I may very well already be into my writing career and perhaps even a lot closer to the top of that media mogul ladder that I am now struggling to climb. But in talking to Ms. L. the other night she helped me to see that everything does in fact happen for a reason and that just because the course of my journey has had to change, the vision has always remained the same and that’s what matters the most.

If I had never been directed to Morgan State University (which was not the school I had always wanted to attend) then I would’ve never met Ms. L. and I can not imagine going through this life without a friend as good as her and as supportive and motivating as her. If I hadn’t met the man who I thought was the love of my life, then I would not have my amazing daughter and I can not even begin to say how thankful I am for her and I wouldn’t trade her for all the money and success in the world.

So many of the things that I have been through are responsible for shaping the person I am today. But in all of that my vision of what I wanted in terms of my career goals and what I feel God put me on this earth to do have never changed. I have never questioned what I am meant to do. Now I may not have answered all of the previous doors that opportunity was knocking at, and looking back perhaps those doors were not meant for me to answer, but I certainly believe that there are still more opportunities out there that I may just have to build my own door to.

What could have been in anyone’s life is not always how things should’ve been and I firmly believe that God knows your path before you even develop a path in your own mind. So who am I to question what could have been when God already has a plan for what will be and the least that I can do, after all he has seen me through and all the talents and abilities that he has blessed me with, is follow the path that he has mapped out for me, not the one that I had mapped out for myself. Until next time…Don’t get sidetracked by the curveballs, just change your plan of how to attack them the next time you’re up to bat!

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

http://www.passionatewriterpublishing.com/thediary.htm

I Regret Not Being Fearless

September 14, 2011 jcladyluv

“Being fearless isn’t being 100% unafraid; it’s being terrified, but you jump in anyway!”

~Taylor Swift

I was watching an interview the other night on Lady GaGa and her rise to fame and her upbringing. I was excited to watch this interview because while I am a fan of her music, I am an even greater fan of her business savvy and her work ethic. She has certainly made a name for herself and her story didn’t start off that much different from other people that have a particular dream growing up. Of course her upbringing was different in terms of the fact that she probably had a lot more things in the pros column than the cons but the struggle to achieve her dream was still there.

What I love and can appreciate most about her is her bravery and her fearlessness. She has never been and still isn’t afraid to do anything when it comes to accomplishing her dreams and she seems to jump head first into everything without ever really looking back. Watching the interview I found myself wishing that I had that same fearlessness and bravery, both as a child growing up and especially now.

So many times I had opportunities when I was younger to maybe go to some poetry event or open mic night and read some of my poetry or even sing (because I could actually sing a lot better when I was younger) but I was too afraid. Afraid to be on stage in front a crowd full of people, afraid that they wouldn’t like my poetry or like my voice, afraid that I somehow would not be good enough and that maybe the talent that I thought I had was all made up in my head and that no one else would share the same thought. I wasted so much time on all of the cons and I missed out on all of the pros, all because I wasn’t fearless enough.

I guess it’s too late to wonder what could’ve and might’ve been if I had just been brave enough to jump head first into any number of the things that I wanted to do. The only thing left to do now is strive to be brave and fearless from this point on. After watching the interview I was wondering aloud to my best friend, was it just simply too late for me to do the things that I really wanted. I mean I’m 31 now and I’m not getting any younger and my dreams aren’t becoming any more attainable as time goes by. She told me (being the voice of reason that she always seems to be) that it’s never too late as long as I still have the ability and the passion to do those things that I want to do.

That voice of fear was in my ear yet again but this time I don’t plan on feeding into it. I’ve wasted too much time already and now it’s time for me to be brave, and yes even fearless. So how brave and fearless are you willing to be for your dreams? Until next time…Be brave, don’t give yourself anything else to regret!

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

http://www.passionatewriterpublishing.com/thediary.htm

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http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

Are You Just Another Busy Body?

March 5, 2011 jcladyluv

Procrastination is opportunity’s assassin.

~Victor Kiam

How serious are you about your art and exactly how much are you willing to sacrifice to invest something in it?

More and more everyday I am reminded of just how short life really is and as a writer I get to thinking about how much time I waste on a daily basis doing things that are not going to help me get to where I need to be in life. With the hours that I have spent watching television that was not necessary to watch I could’ve literally written quite a few novels by now. The same goes for the hours that I have spent on the telephone with non-productive idle chit chat.

It seems as though I am always busy yet somehow I still feel like I don’t get anything done, or at least not as much as I should. While I am productive to an extent I certainly have begun to realize that my output could be so much more then what it is. But I have come to a reality that just because someone is busy being busy doesn’t mean that they are being productive.

One of the two key elements in trying to remain productive is time management and using the time that you have available in the most efficient way is a crucial component and affects just how productive you are or can be. It’s really easy to let life’s little distractions turn into excuses as to why you’re not actually working towards what you want but those excuses don’t get you any closer to what it is that you are trying to accomplish. You have to know your limits and be more realistic about your time. While you do need to establish a routine to effectively balance the workload that you have you can not create a schedule that works if you don’t manage your time well thus knowing how much time to designate to any given task.

You also have to know your distractions and how to avoid them. For example my distraction is television. I have come to understand that for me to produce the amount of work I feel I should be putting out I need to go somewhere where there is not a television so I have adjusted to going to the library or a coffee shop in order to get my writing done. Everyone’s distractions are different but you need to recognize them and adjust them according to the time that you have available. Productivity begins with you having an awareness of what works and what doesn’t.

Another key element in productivity is prioritizing. You have to know what you want most in order to know what to do first. You also have to know your goals before you can productively meet them. If it takes you making a list so that you can better visualize what it is that you need to do in order to meet those goals then it’s time to pick up your pen and get writing. Most of us don’t have a problem coming up with things that we want to get done but when we try to keep everything in our head that’s when it can get overwhelming. A little organization and prioritizing of your time can go a long way. Once you have that list written out you can become more organized about how to achieve those goals and assessing their levels of priority which will make your output that much greater.

Time is very precious and valuable and if you don’t use it well and do what needs to be done in the amount of time that you have then you are wasting time that you will not get back again. Saying you are too busy is not going to get things accomplished because the truth of the matter is that if you were busy doing what needed to be done then you wouldn’t be scrounging around for the time to do it.

Look at what it is that you are so busy doing and evaluate it. What is it in your “busy” day that can be cut out? How much of what you do can be eliminated from your schedule to allow for the necessary things. Learn how to manage your time because if you don’t you’re just going to wake up one day wondering to yourself where did all the time go and how come I’m still not where I wanted to be. It’s because you can’t be productive if you’re not prioritizing your time. Time can not be re-created so I suggest that we procrastinators stop being busy just to be busy, and get busy producing greatness.

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

http://jayceedurant.wordpress.com/

http://freemynd.wordpress.com/

http://spokenlikeaqueen.blogspot.com/

www.authorsden.com/jimmettacarpenter

The Power of Influence

February 7, 2011February 8, 2011 jcladyluv

What has happened is not nearly as important as what can happen. Look to the possibilities of your future for direction, forsaking the burdensome limitations of your past.

~Keith D. Harrell

I was thinking the other day about all of the obstacles that I am going through right now and how much I seem to be struggling lately. I was replaying in my mind what influences led me to this point and why I am inadvertently stuck here. I was asking myself (okay maybe I was actually talking to God- and yes I know you are not supposed to question him) when it was going to be my turn for things to go right. When would all of the efforts that I am putting into making my dreams become a reality finally pay off? It finally dawned on me (or maybe God was answering my question), why am I just sitting here wondering when my opportunity was going to come. I realized that while I am waiting for opportunity to knock at my door, opportunity just may be walking by waiting for me to come get it. It’s not about the luck that flows into your life that you sit and wish that you had. It is about the good fortune that you go out and create for yourself.

Every aspect of your life influences you. All of your past accomplishments as well as your past disappointments have influenced how you chose to live your life. I believe that the people who are supposed to shape your lives when you are younger like your parents, siblings, good friends can only be your crutch for so long. If you had a childhood that wasn’t ideal or was just downright traumatizing, how long do you get to pull that card as your excuse as to why you aren’t where you are supposed to be today? Yes those events in your life do matter and they do share a portion of the blame. However there comes a time when those events have to become your motivation and not your destruction.

I am not saying this as someone who does not need to realize this herself. I have blamed my mother for quite some time now as to my life not turning out quite the way that I wanted it to (at least not yet anyway). I have attributed my lack of belief in myself to the fact that I didn’t have a mother who believed in me, or loved me for that matter, and I have essentially let it become my crutch. What I have not done until now is realized that if she doesn’t believe in me and doesn’t see my potential then that is her misfortune. What I should’ve done all of this time is come to grips with the fact that her lack of faith in my abilities is because of something that she lacks within herself and that it’s not something wrong with me.

So now that I have realized that, I am going to use her negativity and relentless attempts to belittle me, fuel the drive that I have to become exactly what she thinks I can’t. I am not going to let her disbelief in me continue to influence the belief that I have in myself. The power of influence is strong. It is sometimes relentless. It is determined. What you have to figure out is which influences you are going to adhere to. How are you going to let those moments in your life shape who you become? How are you going to keep your past from remaining your present, and more importantly, from becoming your future? Are you ready to cast out the negative influences in your life and reach out to hold onto the positive ones? How much power do your influences hold over you?

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

http://www.passionatewriterpublishing.com/thediary.htm
http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

http://jayceedurant.wordpress.com/