Make It Happen!
I grew up in a household of five, in which my mother was an Educator, and my father was a Human Resource professional and minister. In our household, the expectations concerning educational attainment and pretty much any other facet in life was underlined by one simple motto: Make It Happen! Have book report due, but you procrastinated on getting it done and now it's due tomorrow? Make It happen! Know that the only way you will be able to earn your allowance is by completing your chores for the week? Make It happen! Stayed up late with your cousins on a Saturday night, knowing that you all have to be up early (and on time!) for church the next morning? Make It happen! My parents did not accept failure as an option, and failure was not a hard line, but based on a measure of personal capacity.
As I progressed through my formative and adolescent years, I continued to apply our family’s philosophy to my life, yet that is not to say that I didn’t encounter adversity. Can I share a secret with you? I hate math. I run to qualitative inquiry with open arms. While math and I have not gotten along since the 4th grade, we had been able to coexist for the greater good. That all changed during the first semester of my freshmen year of high school when Geometry reared its ugly head and I earned my first “F”. Yes, you read that right, a large and seemingly in charge “F”. By definition I had literally failed. Me, the kid who had been in the Gifted and Talented program her whole life, the #BlackGirlNerd, the student who had exceptional grades and standardized test scores to gain entrance into the prestigious magnet high school, but then bombed in Geometry upon arrival. Devastated and terrified of what my parents would say were understatements. They were disappointed as to be expected, but understanding because they knew that I had put forth much effort on my own. Together we attacked the problem from a different angle (no pun intended) and Made It Happen. I ended up earning much better grades during the second semester of Geometry and subsequently the first semester that I needed to repeat That ordeal set precedent for how I would continue to approach life’s obstacles on both a small and large scale. This is also not to say that I have not done my fair share of procrastinating or even kicking and screaming (i.e. the dissertation process) while on the journey toward what I envision personal success to look like. I can say honestly say however, that every goal that I have set for myself has been achieved or is in progress (according to my personal timeline and no one else’s) because I have allowed the Make It Happen philosophy to take root and permeate, and have understood that delay does not equate to denial.
I believe this same philosophy drove LaKeitha and I to birth Ebonies in the Ivory. As we endured and completed the doctoral process and compared proverbial notes with other women of color who had achieved doctoral success, we realized that there were similar underlying themes in our experiences, which were scarcely, if at all mentioned in scholarly literature. After much discourse, we came to a crossroads: Either we could continue to remain silently discontented by what we perceived as a gross oversight in academia, or we could choose to address the issue head on, “write wrongs”, and do our part to bridge the gap. Your occupancy in this space is a testament to our decision to commence the journey toward fulfilling the mission of EITI and to ultimately Make It Happen as it relates to representation of women of color in academia. We sincerely hope that you will take this journey with us.
As you do some introspection, what is your “It” that needs to be addressed? What are some dreams or goals that have been long impressed upon your heart that need to be moved from the Precontemplation/Contemplation bin to the Preparation/Action bin? Is there a piece of literature you need to finish reading, or writing? An application you need to complete and submit? A bucket list vacation that has been planned but never executed? A business plan that needs to be launched? A health goal that needs to be achieved? Even a mentoring opportunity that you need to seek out? Whatever the matter, join us as we endeavor to create the future and leave your comments below on your “It” and how you plan to bring it to fruition!
