You May Not Control All The Events That Happen To You, But You Can Decide Not To Be Reduced By Them ~ Maya Angelou ~

I have come to the conclusion that I do not read no where near as much books as I should be, and that’s ok for we all start somewhere. Currently engrossed with a book my boyfriend gave me to read last week entitled 50th Law by Robert Green and 50 cent, it sparked within me a new found love and appreciation for reading and a thirst for knowledge for we can never ever know enough.

Now I would be the first to openly admit that being the educated and worldly type did not come naturally to me at all. Coming from a home where education was not the sole focus unfortunately, and being noticeably behind than most of my peers throughout the duration of my school life meant that I ultimately left school with no G.C.S.E’s.

Fast forward six years, whilst working for Westfield London during it’s construction days, I managed to get an unconditional offer from Kingston University as a mature student based on my work experience to enrol on their five year BSc Hons Quantity Surveying Consultancy Degree course, much to the surprise and sheer delight of my boyfriend and I.

Without waffling on, the first three years of that degree was frustrating to say the least. whilst I was no model student, and can recall the endless times I left my coursework to the last minute to hand it in, I kept getting grades below C and much of the exams I took resulted in me having to retakes. On May 19th 2010, just five days before my exams, I was officially diagnosed with Dyslexia overlapped with some signs of Developmental Verbal Dyspraxia.

Suddenly it all made sense, this learning difficulty was part of the very reason why I struggled throughout my school life as it had not been detected by either my teachers or Mother at the time. Having this diagnosis meant that I was given the necessary support and extra time in my exams to be able to finally compete on the same level as my non Dyslexic peers. I am beyond proud to say that despite those setbacks, and with the ongoing help and support from my Boyfriend and his family, I went on to obtain my degree in Quantity Surveying Consultancy with a  2:2 and graduated on April 10th 2012 along with the rest of my classmates *something I honestly thought was well beyond me despite my positive mindset*

Whilst living with Dyslexia can be chaotic at the best times *if only you knew lol*, I refuse to let this difference which is a part of me stand in the way of me achieving academically, intellectually, in the workplace or otherwise.

The moral of the story here folks is if we want something bad in life it is is ours for the taking, regardless what story might have been written for us. We are the C.E.O of our lives, and I knew I have always wanted much more than what people’s perception of my ability was.

Granted, I have Dyslexia, and yes I openly admit I have purposely avoided reading books for many years due to my limited knowledge in vocabulary a but have finally taken a stand against it. I will not let it define me as a person. I will face my fears, overcome them and will work twice as hard to ensure I achieve all of my short and long-term goals I have carefully set out.

The below quote taken from Dr. Maya Angelou’s book entitled Letter to my Daugher perfectly sums up this article.

“You May Not Control All The Events That Happen To You, But You Can Decide Not To Be Reduced By Them” ~ Maya Angelou ~

This Phenomenal Woman would have been 90 years old today and even though she is no longer on this earth her words, poetry and actions as a civil rights activist continue to inspire many women around the world.

With that said, let’s continue to break those boundaries and strive to be the absolute best we all know we can be!