LIFE AFTER FAMU (WHY I CHOSE A HBCU)

As a recent graduate of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, I can honestly say the journey thus far has been a memorable one. It's only been four months since graduating, and although between those four months, not everything has necessarily went my way, it definitely has taught me a lot and I am only looking forward of whats to come.

On May 5th 2018, I graduated from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University with my Bachelor's degree in Social Work. Here I am, a few months later with a full-time job in my career in a brand new city. I never seen myself being worthy of such a huge blessing so early on, but I decided to take it head on and not put a question mark where G O D put a period. Here's my story...

What Made Me Decide To Go To A HBCU

“Attending a HBCU is like going to a four-year family reunion, block party, kick back, and cookout.”

All throughout high school I knew once it was time to graduate that I wanted to attend a HBCU. Why? Wellll.....because I absolutely LOVE black people. Its funny because I probably went to one of the most ghetto high schools in South Florida. You would think I would have got tired of being around that kind of environment but the truth is black people are, and always have been, the most unique set of people to me no matter how bad the world may try to make us seem. I always fit in with MY people despite my "white girl" demeanor. I love the variation of fashion that we display, the distinctive hairstyles we create, and most importantly the traditional culture that only we as black people can understand. (No offense if any taken lol)

What was interesting to me was the amount of people who actually had no idea what a HBCU was. I would frequently tell people I plan on attending a HBCU and I used to get responses like "What's a HBCU"? (Bishhhh whaaaattt lol). HBCU stands for Historically black college and/or university. Believe it or not, I had no family who attended FAMU. I'm originally from up North so it was cool to know that I potentially may have started the FAMU legacy within my family. I decided to choose FAMU because it was the furthest I can get away from my mom without having to pay out of state fees (LOL). No but seriously, I decided to go after attending a spring preview they had on campus. I drove up to Tallahassee in March of 2014 with my mom and my brother to tour the campus and absolutely fell in love. The culture, vibe, and FAMUly feeling made me feel like this was going to be the place for me.

Fast forward 4 years later and here I am a complete different woman than I was when I first stepped foot on campus. FAMU taught me everything there is to know and love about being a black woman. I'm going to have to always work harder, be smarter, and want it 10x more than the next person because of my skin color. FAMU taught me that I have to work for what I want because handouts will never be given to me. When you apply yourself, you actually see results. There's this stigma that people go to HBCU's because the work isn't as hard making it easier to graduate. The thing is, that really isn't true. The dedication, admiration, and consistency of a professor at a HBCU cannot compare to those at a PWI (predominantly white institution). We have professors who actually care to work with us, inspire us, and lift us up because they believe in us. They believe we are capable of more than what people thought we WOULDN'T be. FAMU gave people hope to be able to go back to their community and show them that black people CAN and WILL make it out. I couldn't have been more grateful for the experience that I was given. FAMU forever!

Life After Graduation

After graduating, I started to apply for jobs in hopes of finding something and then potentially attempting to live out my "best life". This was the time where I can say God humbled me. He needed me to learn what rejection was in order to grow. I couldn't tell you the amount of positions I applied for and was hearing back from practically nobody. When I would hear back, it would be an email with the headline "We regret to inform you....." I immediately started to get discouraged. I almost lost faith. I started to question was my degree even worth anything. Was a HBCU a good decision? I decided to get down on my knees one morning and I prayed. I prayed the hardest I ever prayed because I was not going to give up. I had plans for myself and those plans were going to be executed as long as I stayed the path.

The plan I had for myself was to move to Tampa, get a job, make friends, venture out, and start grad school in the midst of everything. I didn't want to go back home because I needed to see what else was out there. I was on my own for all four years throughout college. I couldn't see myself going back home living with my mom because I felt like this was the perfect time for me to grow, achieve, manifest, and prosper. The thing was, outside of my graduation money, I barely had enough to move but I wasn't going to let that stop me. I told myself, if you can do this, you can do anything! Once my mind is made up about something, there's typically no changing it. So I couldn't allow myself to back out of this.

I guess you can say my prayer worked because a few days later I got a call on a Friday night to schedule an interview for Monday morning. By Monday I was in Tampa in an interview room by 9am. I felt pretty confident about the interview but long behold they offered me the position on the SPOT! I wasn't sure how to react. (Now this is a prime example of be careful what you ask for.) At the time I'm a 21 year old who just graduated, decided to move to Tampa, barely had any money to move, had no friends or family in Tampa, but here I was trying to convince myself that this was going to be a great decision. I decided to say "fuck it" and just went for it. I accepted the job and the same day filled out paperwork to turn into H.R. I couldn't even tell you the emotions that were running through my body. I was extremely happy but at the same time I was soooooo scared. I kept contemplating am I doing this right? Is this something I was sure I wanted to do? What if I fail? The thing that kept me together was the family support I had from those around me, as well as knowing that whatever I did, and wherever I went, God was always in my corner.

I am now a Child Safety Case Manager for Hillsborough County and I absolutely love what I do. The joy that I currently feel about my job, I could never allow anyone to take away from me. I was blessed and grateful for the support that I had all around me for this HUGE transition. My boyfriend at the time played a huge role in a lot of it. Unfortunately things between us did come to an end making the transition harder emotionally and mentally. Here I am still standing and still making it everyday being the best person I can possibly be. I wrote this post to say do the things that scare you because they teach you the best lessons. Move to that city, take that job, date that person, and let the rest follow! Take the risks because they're worth it. Things are bound to fall into place later. How do I know? Well simple.....tough times NEVER last.

Niyah ♡