Won’t You Join Me?

Now that the dust has settled a bit, I’ve had a minute or two to reflect and process the events of this past weekend and I’m still blown away – and for so many different reasons.  First off…I’ve PUBLISHED MY FIRST BOOK.  What?!?  Who in the world do I think I am??  What in the world do I think I’m doing??  My goodness.  I think perhaps I’ve surprised myself with this one.  This was not in the plans.  It was never a goal of mine.  Even still, a manuscript was written and Still Standing is the result.  Wow.  Note to all reading this post:  believe you me…ANYTHING is possible.  Even those things that you haven’t completely thought out yet – even those things are possible.  Even the things that you keep getting ready to get ready to do.  Yep.  Even those things are possible – if you’re willing to work.  Make no mistake about it, none of it comes easily and every bit of it is the result of focus, determination, dedication, and boatloads of drive.  But that’s not what I wanted to write about today so let’s just stick a pin in that for the moment.

Not only have I published my first book, I had my official book release in a Manhattan bookstore and the house was packed.  Ok, those are all good things, but what I’m most excited about is the reception.  Still Standing was received with open arms, hearts, and minds.  After the show I was greeted with far more warmth, kindness, and adoration that I ever expected.  An extremely humbling experience, indeed.  It really was.  And to take it a step further than that…I had family drive up from North Carolina to attend the event.  I had a cousin drive in from DC to attend the event.  And I had a North Carolina Facebook friend attend so that we could finally put faces to names.  It was super incredible and a totally jaw-dropping experience for me.  I had supporters come that I’d only met and seen one time before, and then there were many dear friends who wouldn’t miss it for the world.  For sure it’s one of those things that I will never forget.  That – I’m certain of.

I’ll close with this:  that will not be my last book reading/signing event and Still Standing will not be my last book.  This is just the beginning.  I have no idea where this ride will take me, but I am strapped in and ready to go, because I’ve got a feeling that this one is gonna’ be good.  I hope you come with me.

My name is Jasmynne Shaye, and this is me STEPPING ON A FEW TOES. 

NO FEAR

There are a hundred other things I should probably be doing right now to get ready for tonight’s performance, but at this very moment, I’m feeling the need to write – so here I am.  And I’m gonna try to make it quick.

To anyone who may be reading this, and to the people that you verbally share it with:  don’t be afraid to dream and don’t be afraid to be different.  Don’t be afraid to take chances and don’t be afraid of making mistakes.

I sit before you right now as a girl whose family hails from the rural township of Leland, NC.  It’s so small and unknown that it’s so much easier to tell people that your family is from Wilmington.  As if Wilmington is a metropolis, right?  But thanks to Michael Jordan, most people have at least heard of it. 

I digress…

My family is filled with hardworking people that followed societal norms by either going to college and then work, or getting jobs straight out of high school.  But at a very young age I knew I didn’t want to do that but I was embarrassed and ashamed to speak of my dreams to my family for fear of ridicule.  I even remember a conversation with my father when he said, “You want to major in something that will allow you to get a real job.”  Ouch.  Yep.  That stung a little. 

But when I made the decision to leave North Carolina for Los Angeles, I was an adult (so to speak) and no one could stop me – and it was by far one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.  I won’t take the time right now to catalog my entire LA experience, but if not for Los Angeles, there would be no STEPPING ON A FEW TOES. 

LA isn’t even a theatre town and I managed to mount my show eight times over the course of four years.  A one-woman show…in Los Angeles…a town where everyone and everything is fake, here I was sharing a slice of reality and they were listening.  I was blown away.

Fast forward and I have the wacky idea of heading back to my east coast roots, but this time the plane would take me to New York.  A one-way ticket.  Because I believe this is where my show is supposed to be.  And tonight…this evening of March 6^th, STEPPING ON A FEW TOES will be making its east coast premiere right here in New York City.  Please understand that I’m nowhere near finished, and I have in no way “arrived” but a dream of mine is being realized tonight, and I need you to believe that the same is very possible for you.

I love you guys for reading and supporting. 

Don’t be afraid to dream. 

Don’t be afraid to be different. 

Don’t be afraid to take chances. 

Don’t be afraid of making mistakes.

My name is Jasmynne Shaye, and this is me STEPPING ON A FEW TOES. 

From Homeless to Harvard

Today’s posting isn’t my own, it’s written by a Yahoo blogger by the name of Sarah B. Weir.  This will be the first time I’m featuring a story by someone else, but this is one that I couldn’t go without sharing.  It’s a little lengthier than my average posts, but well worth the read.  Let me summarize it for you…

Dawn Loggins.  High school student.  Both parents on drugs.  Parents left her.  Homeless.  She takes a janitor job at HER HIGH SCHOOL for extra money. She scores a 2110 on her SAT.  She’s on her way to Harvard. 

If that’s not motivating I don’t know what is.  Click here to see Sarah’s original article with a video of Dawn or read below.

LINK:  http://shine.yahoo.com/work-money/dawn-loggins-homeless-abandoned-teen-heads-harvard-174300575.html

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While other kids were hitting their snooze buttons and pulling the covers over their heads, 18-year-old Dawn Loggins was mopping the halls and emptying the trash at Burns High School in Lawndale, North Carolina. At the end of last summer, while she was attending a prestigious summer program on scholarship, Loggins called home to discover her phone had been disconnected. According to the Shelby Star, her mother and stepfather had left the state and dropped her grandmother off at a local homeless shelter. Her older brother, Shane, was couch surfing with friends. "I realized I was getting nowhere calling my parents," she told the Star. "What was I going to do? Cry about it?"

The teen persevered. "I just made a decision that I was not going to end up like my parents," she told WBTV.  And her determination paid off. Tonight is Loggins's high school graduation, and the next stop, Harvard University.

When she was growing up, Loggins's parents were drug abusers who lived "paycheck to paycheck." Sometimes there was no power and she had to do her homework by candlelight. There were also days without food. She had been abandoned by them for periods of time before and stayed with her grandmother. "When I lived with my grandma," she says, "there was trash all over the house. She never really explained to me that it was important to shower--it was important to take care of your self, so I would go months at a time without showering. I would wear the same dress to school for months at a time." In middle school, some classmates teased her that she was ugly and others called her stupid.

Although Loggins attended three different middle schools and four high schools, she made an impression at Burns. Guidance counselor Robyn Putnam helped her catch up with online courses. She became a straight "A" student, joined the National Honors Society, and scored 2110 on her SATs. The community rallied around her and she moved into the home of a friend's mother, Sheryl Kolton, who works as custodian and bus driver at the school. Faculty and staff gave what money they could, and Loggins got a job doing janitorial work before class.

Loggins applied to four colleges in North Carolina as well as her reach school, Harvard. When a thin envelope arrived postmarked Cambridge, Massachusetts, she assumed it was a rejection. "Dear Ms. Loggins," the read the letter. "I am delighted to report that the Admissions Committee has asked me to inform you that you will be admitted to the Harvard College class of 2016….We send such an early positive indication only to outstanding applicants."

Loggins will be headed to Harvard this fall. "If there is anybody at all who has a dream, then they can definitely make it happen," she told WBTV. "There are no excuses. It depends on you and no one else."

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Dawn’s story is a true testament of what a human being can do when pushed against the wall.  I honestly don’t know if I would have been able to accomplish what she has, but I’m certainly glad that she’s doing it.  She gives me hope and encouragement that even the toughest situations have no power over you.  Oh!  And did you see??  She’s from North Carolina.  Puttin’ NC on the map (positively).

My name is Jasmynne Shaye, and this is me STEPPING ON A FEW TOES.