If at first you don't succeed ...

" Sound of Music" is absolutely one of my favorite musicals. In this song she sings about climbing every mountain and swimming every stream until you find your dream It reminds me of a time in my life when I had to adhere to this advice. In the spring of 2008, I signed with my first talent agency, and I also graduated from high school. I was accepted into the HBCU, Hampton University, for Journalism, but I told my mom that I wanted to pursue my artistic career instead. This decision greatly upset and disturbed my mother, but we were able to come to an agreement. The agreement was I could stay in Atlanta. I could pursue my artistic career, but I HAD to go to school. I set off on a journey to apply to some GA schools. I applied to Spelman College, Georgia State University, The University of Georgia, and Oglethorpe University. I was rejected from ALL of them! This was devastating, sobering, and disheartening to me because there are some things you have to understand. I graduated from my high school with a 3.5 or 3.6 and in the top 25 percent of my class. My extracurricular activities and essays were all the pick of the liter. I was wondering what i was going to do at this point because although I was signed to an agency, I had yet to receive the benefits and blessings of booking jobs. It was a very disheveling and discouraging time for me. I was just about to apply to Georgia Perimeter College when I received a phone call from my dance teacher and Debbie Allen's Dance Academy that I received a partial scholarship to the Debbie Allen Dance Academy Summer Intensive. To make a long story short, I attended the summer intensive and went back later that year to perform in Debbie Allen's musical " Brothers of the Knight". I was auditioning while performing in the musical and booked a job dancing in a musical at Disneyland Resort Paris in 2009. It was the biggest redirection of my life. I wasnt supposed to be in college. I was supposed to be traveling the world and making art. Sometimes we have a certain vision in mind for ourselves, and the ancestors don't necessarily disagree with the destination. They disagree with the journey. Trust the Universe. Trust God and believe in your dreams even in moments where things don't make sense. I now have an Associate of Arts degree in Journalism from Georgia State University Perimeter College as well as a kick ass, artistic resume that grows stronger every year. We are always being guided to exactly where we need to be. Do as this song says and climb every mountain, swim every stream until you find your dream! Ase O ! xoxo