The Journey
Becoming a life coach was never truly a part of the plan.
I’d like to share with you all one of my personal statements used to for one of my law school applications. Not only is it my truth, but I think many people can relate to the drastic changes and constant transition over these past few years of our lives.
I have known I would attend law school since the age of seven. Where I would attend, and when, were the two things that have only recently became clearer. I thought I had it all figured out. I was going to apply to all these different schools during my senior year of undergrad and immediately begin law school upon graduation. Luckily, I believe God had other plans for me. I had spent my entire junior year of undergraduate school away from my home campus while participating in the Washington Semester Program at American University’s School of Professional and Extended Studies and then studied abroad throughout the African continent. Those two experiences changed my life tremendously, forever. But gaining those experiences also meant that it left little time to identify the law school for me and build the applications that concisely tell my story.
December 2019: Stressed would have been an understatement. For the first time in my life, I was completely overwhelmed, which led to me deciding that if I submitted any law school applications it would be forced and a mistake. I was not ready.
January 2020: While I knew that law school would still be in my near future, I had to deal with the fact that law school was my Plan A, B and C. I had no idea what I would do until it was time to resume my higher education journey, but I also felt relieved that I was no longer going against God’s will.
February 2020: Meet your newest Prevention Case Planner at St. Catherine’s Center for Children. I had landed a full-time position before even obtaining my degree. I figured I could work full time until applying to law school and simply remain in the area after graduation. During this time, I worked with families that had their children in foster care and/or an open case with Child Protective Services. I had the opportunity to see firsthand exactly why I needed to enter this field. The guardian ad litem and other attorneys would know extraordinarily little about the children or have actual updates on the families before appearing in court. I would spend weeks and months trying to get in contact with the public defenders speaking on behalf of my clients but would not hear from them until just minutes before walking into court. It was wrong, unfair, and it only fueled my desire to practice family law.
March 2020: My grandfather died February 29th, 2020, and now, I was sitting in grief for the first time in my life. I kept asking myself, “Why would God take away my grandfather before allowing him to see me walk across the stage?”
April 2020: It was confirmed that the remainder of my senior year would not be taking place on campus due to the Coronavirus pandemic. I felt like something else had just died and it was being added to list of things I had lost.
May 2020: By now, we were almost halfway through the year and it seemed as if nothing but chaos and increasing levels of uncertainty had occurred. At this point, I was working remotely, but decided that staying in Albany, NY was no longer an option. The one thing I did know for certain was that I needed to be around my family and that I felt a peace about permanently living in North Carolina.
June 2020: Despite everything being in limbo and not knowing exactly how I would provide for myself; I took the risk of moving into my very own first apartment and giving myself the space and peace of mind I knew I would need.
July 2020: It was time to take a breather. After sixteen years of being a student and eight years of working a multitude of jobs, it was okay for me to give myself a break. July was my month of nothing. But what I expected to be a relaxing and restful month of rejuvenating was extremely uncomfortable. I had been so used to working from sunup to sundown and fulfilling the notion that one should always be busy, that I did not truly know how to rest. I spent every day thinking about what I could be doing with that time and what the next phase of my journey would look like.
August 2020: By this time, I knew I had to get down to business and get my life in order, after all, August is really like January in a student’s world.
September 2020: As of September 7th, I had narrowed down the list of law schools that I would be applying to. In addition, a friend of mine had shared the idea of becoming a life coach. By the end of that day, I was in my car crying because I had never felt God give me such clear instructions. I didn’t know all it would take to become a life coach, but I knew that it was exactly what I needed to do.
November 2020: Diamond’s Life Coaching officially launched November 15th, 2020. The overwhelming support, encouragement and love that I received was amazing. There was no going back. I was now the life coach, mentor and friend that I’ve promised to be.
December 2020: I like to say, “When you know, you know.”, and in regards to becoming a life coach, I just knew. I thank God for a listening ear and patience. Without it, I may have made several wrong decisions and missed out on all that this journey has to offer.
I’m glad you came. I appreciate you being here. Welcome to my world.