Southern Magnolia’s Bloom and City Girls Too
Growing up in the South, we would ride go-karts, bikes…and even horses to say the least. Yes, we were an African American family that grew up with horses and hay in our yard. This was the county life for me and it was all I knew. My sister, brothers and cousins would gather together and we would race each other up, down and around the yard and rural paved streets…even my dad got in there with us to prove that he was the fastest in the family lol! Our dad made us work for our win in the country roads.
“Little did I know these moments were preparing me for the big new city I would once call home.”
We had a huge magnolia tree in our front yard that bloomed every year. For some reason I did not pay attention to the beautiful white blooms until just recently after visiting my hometown. It seems as if now they are more brilliantly bold and beautiful than they were growing up. Believe me when I tell you the horses would somehow find their way out of the stalls to make tracks around the yard and this olé’ southern magnolia tree. My sister and I would hide in the house, peaking through the window pane until my dad would capture this long legged spontaneous being, putting it back into its home in the barn. Honestly, we were afraid of this humongous horse that once swung me off carelessly in the solid grassy grounds in our backyard.
What do you do when you realize it is the fear of what happened in the past paralyzing you behind the windows of closed doors from enjoying the pleasures of life?
“I was being prepared for the blossoming in the city streets.”
After graduating from college and moving to the big city my first thought from my youth was, “man this city is overly populated and people absolutely cannot drive.” Even though I was probably 90.99% correct in my mind, I knew there was something more for me to learn and why I was meant to move into an unfamiliar place of becoming a new city girl. A place where I received the greatest levels of back-to-back promotions, all colliding with purpose within a loving community. I don’t believe I would have received and experienced the greatest levels of growth, promotion and upgrades in my life if I didn’t take the chance to overcome the fear of moving into a new world when the doors of opportunity came knocking.
Southern Magnolia Blooms
“For me the promotion was in my move.”
I found my tribe here in this new community that I could explore life with and just have a good time. You can literally go to a new restaurant everyday if you wanted. I remember going to an Ethiopian restaurant for the first time, experiencing and embracing a new culture. The ambiance was so warm and the people I met made it even more inviting. Not to mention, the best tasting food I had tried in a long time with a little southern spice kick and flavor. This place made a really big city feel more like home for me.
Everything in the city was so fast paced, and yet people were consistently making major moves in life, family and business. This move was by far one of the riskiest, yet best decisions I could have made in my entire life. I couldn’t always say this, but to be a city girl is kinda cool now that I think about it! The moment I saw a guy riding his horse alongside a busy street in the big city, I knew I was home again and that there was something truly special about this place, lol! The most amusing thing I had ever seen that surprisingly took me back to the heart of home. And for the record, I will always be a country girl at heart, living the city life and embracing the lessons learned along the journey. I will always and forever be a southern magnolia blossom and a city girl too!
What will your response be the next time an opportunity arises for you to make a new move in a different place? The door will open for you, will you be ready to blossom beautifully?
