When I was 18 years old, I got kicked out of my parents’ home because I flunked my first semester of college. I truly never wanted to go to college in the first place because I never imagined working for anyone. I felt like people who went to college graduated school only to still go clock in at a job, be in debt, not have true work life balance and did not have the luxury of doing what they wanted to do on their own time. However, I can vividly remember sitting in my parents’ two story home in the suburbs on a beautiful sunny day day out. My grandparents, parents and I were all downstairs. I can remember them asking me what my plans were after I graduated high school. Mind you, I was weeks away from graduating school. I told them that my plans were to go to cosmetology school. My mother replied, “You don’t want to do that. I went that route and now I have arthritis in my hands.” However, the ultimate plan was never to remain a hairstylist but to own a salon one day and have people working for me. My dad then replied, “How about nursing?” I sighed and timidly responded, “What about I go to CNA school instead?” I never wanted to become a doctor, nurse or anything in the medical field. I hated blood and I knew this the minute I started my cycle and gagged at the first sight of it. My granddad said, “Hell nah! You not gonna wanna do that - wiping butts all day.” I thought about it and was like he is most definitely right, but I did not want to waste my time or nobody else’s time going to nursing school for 4+ years just to end up hating it. That wasn’t where my true passion was even though I knew my dad always wanted to set me up for success.

Fast forward, I was given three options on what I would do after high school. Option number one: go to college. Option number two: go to the military. Option number three: take a year to figure out what I wanted to do while I stayed at home, worked a job and paid my bills. Of course, I wasn’t choosing to stay home and work a job. I did not want to go to the military - so I chose to go to college. Subtle foreshadowing: I ended up doing all three. 

I went to the University of West Georgia and had a BALL. So much to the point that I did everything you can think of except study and go to class. I came back home for Christmas/Winter Break and showed my parents my grades. My mom was so disappointed and told me to go show my dad. My dad was disappointed and upset to the point where he just told me to get out. I packed my bags that night and went to a friend of mine’s house in my neighborhood while I waited on my aunt to come pick me up and take me to her home on the EastSide of Atlanta. 

Once I got to her house, my favorite cousin grabbed my bags out of the car and whispered quickly to me, “everything isn’t what it seems.” As I walked into the house, I felt an energy shift even though everyone welcomed me with open arms. After my aunt and uncle allowed me to get adjusted for a few days, my aunt asked me, “So what are your plans?” You can either go back to school or to the military. I said, “mmmm”, in a very unsure tone. She said, “I’ll let you think about it, but you need to make a decision quickly.” I was so unsure at this point because I didn’t even believe in myself anymore. No one ever asked me what I wanted to do and believed in my ideas. I responded with something along the lines of, “I don’t know.” My aunt said, “It’s ok. I’ll make a decision for you. You’re going to the military.” A few days later, I can remember one of my girl cousins came over to visit our aunt and uncle’s home. We (my aunt, uncle, my girl cousin and myself) were all in the kitchen cracking jokes. I said to my aunt, “Yo daddy was a rolling stone. That’s why you have so many siblings that you don’t even know about.” My uncle’s bright self busted out laughing and said, “Aye Myia! That’s why yo daddy ain’t yo real daddy.” I looked at my aunt who was signaling for my uncle to stop. I looked at my girl cousin who had a look of uneasiness on her face. Then, I looked back at my uncle whose smile faded away because he didn’t realize that I didn’t know. So here I was - an 18 year old girl who just thought my life was a little rocky because I just got kicked out the house, but it got even rockier. I felt like my whole world shattered. I felt like someone took a hammer and shattered a mirror into a million pieces. I felt like I did not know who I was anymore. I struggled terribly with identity issues for years after that. I also struggled with anger and trust issues heavily along with even more anxiety and depression because I would constantly think about how one of my cousins from California molested me at the age of 5 even though he was a child himself. I began to become very bitter and hateful. I had so much rage inside of me. 

A few weeks passed by and I ended up going to the military. I knew I did not want to be there. However, I am so happy that God ordered my steps. I needed to get out of Georgia and away from my family for a while. I also met some of the BEST people there and laughed more than I had in my entire life at the time. Even though God ordered my steps to be there, I still prayed to God that if I wasn’t supposed to STAY in the military to help me get out. It seemed like the very next day I woke up with extreme back aches. I had scoliosis before I went into the military but not enough to prevent me from getting in so I knew this was a sign from God. I kept going to sick call complaining about my back often. The doctor on base said to me that my back was in pretty bad condition and that I had the option to get out of the army if I wanted or - or I could stay in. I immediately told him that I wanted to leave. 

Once I left, my granddad picked me up from the military bus stop after we had got back to Georgia from Fort Jackson, South Carolina. Long story short, I had to stay with my grandparents after getting kicked out the house a second time. All of this happened in less than a YEAR. You can imagine how unstable I was in my emotions, but I tried hard to keep it together. One day, my grandmother and I were sitting in the kitchen like we always did. We were having a conversation and she said to me, “You have to figure out who you are. You have to figure out, “Who is Myia?””. I wrote this question down and kept it in the front of a binder and would ponder to myself, “Who am I?” for years - almost a decade. I ended up getting pregnant 3 years after this and had my daughter that following year. I experience terrible postpartum depression aka the spirit of heaviness. It was so bad that I called on God even though I started losing faith in Him. I said, “God, if You are real, give me faith the size of a mustard seed.” This was the beginning of how I not only got saved but how I learned who I was because of my faith in God.

So who is Myia? Myia is a woman of God and a woman of integrity. Myia is God-fearing because being a Christian nowadays is different from being God-fearing. Myia is a mother of 2 beautiful children. Myia is a seer and also has the gift of knowledge and wisdom. Myia is a big business stander. Myia speaks up for herself and others around her and doesn't care who has something to say about it. Myia is bold in her speech. Myia is a speaker and author. Myia is that young lady who you go to when you need a shoulder to cry on. Myia is an intercessor. Who is Myia? Myia is beautifully and wonderfully made in the image of God.