It All Started With a Sticky Note

By Breana Ross

It all started with one sticky note.  I had noticed the white wall to the right of my bed was a little bare and I wanted to fill it with something.  I came across an Instagram page called @stickynotefaith and that’s where my faith wall was born.

I had started my summer knowing that I wanted to grow in my relationship with God.  I knew I wanted to be a better Christian.  I wanted to make reading the Bible a new habit but I didn’t know where to start.  The “sticky note faith” page equipped me with everything I needed for new spiritual journey.  The page has “24-Day Challenges” that provide daily books and chapters in the bible for you to read. It also has instructions on how to build your Faith Wall.  The idea is to spend reflection time reading the Word every day and to choose a verse that sticks out to you in the reading.  Then, you write the verse on a small sticky note and stick it on your faith wall.  If this is a daily habit, before you know it, your wall will be filled with the word of God written on colorful sticky notes!

This type of guidance was exactly what I needed!  I began doing the “24-Day Challenges”, strictly sticking to the verses that were written on the calendar for that day.  Then, I began veering off and finding verses that specifically spoke to how I was feeling that day.  Sometimes, instead of just one sticky note, I would do 3 or 4 a day.

I also decided to put my own twist on the challenge.  Every day, I posted one of the verses on my faith wall on my Snapchat.  I was excited to share what I was doing with my Snapchat friends.  I often feel strange talking about my faith with my friends or peers because I never want to seem like I’m pushing my beliefs onto other people.  This was a subtle way of evangelizing using my social media, something I use every day.  The responses were overwhelming.  People were messaging me every day telling me how much they looked forward to seeing the verses on my Snapchat and how much it has helped them in their own lives.  People wanted to know more about the challenge I was doing and how they could do it too.  My friends and family began building their own faith walls.  My new dedication to reading the Word and spending time with God had now encouraged other people to do more with their faith as well.  Not only did it encourage others to do more, it pushed me to jump even deeper in my faith.  I had always been a “Sunday kind of Christian”.  I would go to church on Sunday, when I could make it, but that was the extent of my church participation.  I wasn’t involved in any ministries.  I didn’t go to bible study and to be honest, I usually didn’t even feel like I was truly mentally present at church on Sunday.  This changed all because of some colorful sticky notes on my wall.

Once I began posting my faith wall, my cousin invited me to take my faith a step further.  She invited me to Young Adult Bible Study at church.  At first I was reluctant but I decided to go with her one Thursday evening.  The rest is history.  Young Adult Bible Study became the highlight of my week, every week, and I can honestly say it has totally changed my life.  For the first time, I felt like I was getting sermons that were tailored to me and to people like me.  I felt right at home.

At the last bible study I attended, the pastor spoke to me privately.  He said, “When I see you, I get an image of a bird leaving the nest.  See, when a bird gets too big for its nest, it can be inhibiting.  You have to trust God enough to fly out of that nest, into the unknown, and receive all that He has for you.”  He was talking about my personal life, my career, the way I view myself and my abilities.  But when I thought about his message to me, I realized it also applied to my spiritual life. I had to take the first step in growing in my spirituality before I really began to see God work in my life.  I had to get out of my “nest” of only doing the bare minimum when it came to my faith.  Once I did that, I experienced a domino effect of growth.  And it all started with one sticky note.

My faith wall

What I Learned This Summer

By Breana Ross

It was late April when I realized my dream of interning in New York this summer would not become a reality.  I had gotten into the prestigious T Howard Foundation and my resume was being sent to some of the biggest names in the media industry in New York, from CBS Sports to the Bleacher Report to CNN.  I was sure I would secure something.  I had planned to stay with a friend who had secured an internship with an apartment for cheap.  Everything appeared to be lining up in my favor.  Then suddenly, my plans of spending the summer in New York crumbled.  My housing fell through and I was left to turn down some of my dream companies that had shown interest in me.  Not only would I not be in New York, I wasn’t sure that I would find an internship at all.

That is when the T Howard Foundation came to my rescue.  They did everything they could to find me an internship in D.C., near my hometown.  By the grace of God, a couple of weeks before the T Howard orientation, they found me an internship in D.C.  It was not with a company that does exactly what I want to do in the future but I was thrilled that I would get to participate in the program, meet new people, and not spend my summer internshipless.  During orientation, I was meeting so many amazing fellow interns who were going to be working with some of the companies that I had dreamed of interning with in cities I had dreamed of living in.  I felt the disappointment of not having an internship that aligned more with my intended career path sink in but I pushed it away as I remembered that I wasn’t even sure if I’d have an internship a month ago.  I was grateful for the opportunity, I really was.

During my first days at my internship, it did not take long for me to realize that it was different from what I was used to.  It wasn’t a news station.  It wasn’t a sports network.  It wasn’t where I’d pictured myself.  The work was largely administrative and as I looked at pictures of my fellow T Howard interns at their respective organizations, I began to feel discouraged.  They were at the NBA Draft, the BET Awards, the ESPYs, on the sets of shows, attending high-profile company events, and meeting stars while I was sitting at a desk sorting through spreadsheets and DVDs all day.  I began to feel like I wasn’t learning anything from my summer experience and that I wasn’t growing.  My attitude started to reflect that.  I slapped a smile on my face every time I went to work but when I came home I was asking my parents (and God) why my original plan couldn’t have worked out.  I wanted to know why I wasn’t having the same experiences as everyone else and what I had done wrong.

Then I realized something profound.  Being upset about what didn’t happen or what didn’t work out would not change my present situation.  Dwelling on what I didn’t have instead of being grateful for what I did have was causing me to be miserable and negative.  There were plenty of good things that happened as a result of this internship and staying at home in D.C. for the summer.  I was paired with a mentor who is doing EXACLTLY what I hope to be doing in a few years.  She is a reporter for ABC7 news in DC and helped me grow as a journalist just by allowing me to observe her in action.  I was also able to spend time with family and friends and focus on growing in my spirituality.  Most importantly I was able to focus on ME, something I hadn’t done in a while.  When I came back from school, I had pneumonia.  I had lost some weight (not intentionally) and I was exhausted.  My health and well-being had gotten lost in all of the chaos of school and I had forgotten to take care of myself.  If I had been away from home for the summer, my pattern of neglecting myself and my health probably would have continued.  Being home gave me a chance to rest, recharge, and regain my strength (with a little bit of help from my Mom, of course J ).  God knew that what I wanted was not what I needed, so He gave me what I needed instead.

As soon as I changed my attitude towards my situation, everything began to change.  I started opening up and being myself more at work.  I started chatting with my co-workers and I realized that some of them have the same dreams and ambitions that I do.   I even realized that some of them have experience working in my field or know people who currently do.  I began networking more, smiling more, and embracing my experience.  In doing this, I realized that my internship really was a special place.  I grew more personally than I did professionally.  I learned to speak up for myself, to maintain a positive outlook in the midst of disappointment, that I need to take more risks and jumps in life, and that a 9 to 5 office job is not for me (lol).  I never would have been able to do this if I hadn’t changed my attitude and outlook.

My point here is that every situation is what we make of it.  We can choose to be miserable and dwell on what we don’t have or what didn’t go as planned or we can choose to gain whatever we are meant to gain from where we are.  From a spiritual perspective, sometimes God puts us in places to shape us for what he has in store for us.  He puts us in smaller places so that we are able to grow into people who can withstand the bigger blessings He will bring in the future.  Don’t block learning opportunities and times of growth with a negative attitude.  Be patient.  Be open.  Trust the process.

 

Summer Reads and Reviews: “God, Do You Like My Fro?”

By: Breana Ross

This book is for all of the women out there with natural hair and a natural love for God! The author of this book, Janay Brinkley, fits into both of these categories. She wrote this book to tell the story of her natural hair journey and growing her hair out, drawing parallels with her spiritual journey towards growing her faith. This book is new to the scene but its cute cover and relatable tales are sure to draw you in. 

 

The first few chapters set the scene by explaining why the author chose to go natural with her hair. She wanted her hair to be free from chemicals that would stunt its growth. She wanted her hair to achieve its maximum potential by allowing it to return to its natural state. Likewise, she started a spiritual journey around the same time with similar goals: she wanted to rid herself of toxic people, habits, and thoughts that would stunt her growth. She wanted to rededicate herself to God by returning to her natural state of purity. 

 

The rest of the book follows much of the same format. She compares her natural hair journey with her quest towards a spiritually fulfilling life. She covers everything from hair typing to heat damage to “wash day” to loving her hair in its natural state, all in connection to her growing relationship with God. I giggled as I was reading some parts because of how relatable her natural hair struggles were (I, too, have a mass of curly, unruly hair on my head). 

 

I found the book to be empowering, both as a woman with natural hair and a woman with strong faith.  It’s a short, smooth read that is only slightly over 100 pages. She ties in several inspirational bible verses throughout the book.  I definitely recommend it!

Summer Reads and Reviews: “The Four Agreements”

By: Breana Ross

The Four Agreements is a book that I’ve heard a lot of buzz about over the last year. I saw that several people I know were reading the book. I even got stopped by people who had read the book on the metro while I was reading the book on my way to work. If you’re looking for a summer read that will channel positivity and change the way you think, this is the book for you.

The author starts by explaining that, as people, we’ve all been programmed to think or act a certain way. Whether it has been because of parents, teachers, friends, or society, we’ve all been domesticated into what we should do and how we should be. We have “agreements” instilled within us, habits and internal judges that drive a lot of our behavior, sometimes because of the fear of going against what we know, have seen, or what we have been told is correct. Many of our “agreements” bring negativity and pain into our lives. The four new agreements that Don Miguel Ruiz presents are about reversing those agreements that bring negativity. They are about creating new positive agreements that will help us live the best possible life.

The First Agreement: “Be Impeccable with Your Word”

This agreement focuses on the power of words to either spread love or to spread hate. When we gossip or use our words to hurt another person, we are spreading hate and poison, which in turn, brings negativity into our lives. Don Miguel suggests that we only use our words to spread love and positivity, which will in turn, bring love and positivity into our lives.

The Second Agreement: “Don’t take anything personally”

When I saw this agreement, I chuckled a little because I am the queen of taking things personal. I am the first to think that someone’s words or actions towards me are BECAUSE of me or something that I’ve done. Don Miguel Ruiz suggests the opposite. He suggests that what people say or do to us says more about them than it does about us. For example, if someone calls me ugly, Ruiz suggests it says more about their character than it does about my actual appearance. Even with positive comments, Ruiz suggests that we don’t take them personally. If someone tells you you did a good job, it may just mean you did something to benefit them. Don Miguel Ruiz actually suggests that it’s SELFISH to think other people’s words and actions revolve around US. They don’t. So we shouldn’t take things personally.

The Third Agreement: “Don’t Make Assumptions”

A wise teacher of mine once wrote the word “assume” on the board, broken into three parts. After she wrote it, the word read

“Ass u me”.

She said, “The reason I did this is to show you that when you assume, you make an ass out of yourself and me”. All these years later, I still remember this saying because it is true. Assumptions lead to misunderstanding. Assuming is a recipe for trouble and that’s exactly what Don Miguel Ruiz says. When we assume, we are living and acting based on what is in our own heads and not based on what is reality. We can treat people poorly based on what is not even true. Instead of assuming, if you are curious about something, ask. This creates positivity because you can begin to walk in truth and not assumption.

The Fourth Agreement: “Always Do Your Best”

This seems to be common sense. When I read this, I said, “Ok duh. Of course you’re always supposed to do your best.” But when I read on and really thought about it, I don’t always put my best foot forward. I’m sure I’m not alone on this.  Sometimes we get tired, lazy, or discouraged and begin to slack off. Or we don’t get what we want right away so we stop trying. This is not to our benefit. When we don’t do our best we can’t get the best possible results for our lives. Then comes regret, thus not doing our best brings negativity into our lives. Doing our best brings positivity. This includes doing our best to follow the other agreements despite our preconditioning to do the opposite!

Overall this book is a smooth read. It’s relatively short. Although they are not things we are accustomed to doing, the agreements make sense. I have made a conscious decision to do my best (see what I did there) to follow the agreements!