This topic came to me last night.  It really kills me when someone says, “Well THEY said”.  Who is “They”?  Well personally “they” make me sick!!  You know “they” are the reason for bringing you down, and lifting you up.  One thing in life we all do is make mistakes. Yes, we all make mistakes and no, you aren’t perfect.  I haven’t met a perfect person yet.  But when anyone makes a mistake, the first thing “they” say is. I knew it.. I told you.. That’s what I expected… Y’all know how they are..   The nay-sayers like to see you down and want you to stay down.  But you know how to shut them up? By taking their comments to make you better!  Instead of us lifting each other up.. we constantly put each other down.  I’m saying we, because as I said, I’m not perfect either.

When I thought about this topic, the 1^st thing came to my mind is when I was criticized by the “they’s”.  I can remember when I went to the Army, “they” said I wouldn’t make it through Basic Training.. Laugh at you “they’s!”  Then I went to Cosmetology School, and “they” said I couldn’t be the 1^st black working in an all-white salon in Eatonton GA.  Thanks to Bonita Long for giving me a job, when a lot of her white clients said, “they “wouldn’t come back because a “black girl” was working there.  And guess what? Those same “theys” ended up being MY clients!!! Laugh at you “they’s”.  I moved to Atlanta with my 3 children, and “they” said, she’ll be back!! She can’t make it in Atlanta with 3 kids on her own. Well after being in Atlanta for 20 years, AND running, yes I said “running” multi-million dollar corporations.. Laugh at you “they’s!” And a double laugh to know that not only did I live there and work there, I got a Bachelor and a Master Degree while working AND raising 3 children on my own!! Triple laugh at you “they’s!”  I could go on and on, but I’m sure you all get the point by now. “They” have really helped me, and not hurt me, because I had a point to prove to “they”!

So to the young people today, don’t let “they say” make or break you!  Yes, you made a mistake, yes you dropped out of school, yes you have a baby, yes you screwed up and had to backtrack, yes you may have been to jail, but guess what?  Those mistakes will make you do even better in life.  You had a baby? So now there’s the motivation you didn’t have to get you to the next level. You have created  life, who now depends on you, and no one can tell ME that you don’t change when you have children. All of a sudden, we have that Lioness instinct.  We have that new-found hunt and hustle that comes from within, with survival in mind.  You have a reason to be great! God didn’t put you in a position to fail!  And that’s what will make you better.  You will have setbacks and challenges, but don’t ever fret over those.  Just keep doing the best that you can!

People want to see you fail, and that’s what “they” will say! I’m sure so many of us, who have struggled and done pretty good in life have a lot of “they” stories.   But young people laugh at the “theys!” Every time you hear gossip about what “they” say.. you say to yourself, or out loud.. LAUGH AT THE “THEYS”.. because when you do the greatness that is within you, “they” won’t even congratulate you! Because that’s not what “they” thought you would do!

I hope someone needs this and it helps you.  I wish I had someone to tell me about the “theys” when I was younger.  But I had to learn it on my own.  I worried about what “they” said, and little did I know, that God used “they” as my weapon of Mass Destruction. Every time I got a “they said”, it was giving me more ammunition on life! After a few years, I had enough ammo to fight a war, and win! So let this be ammo to some of you all!  Store the “theys” in your mind, and wait until you have success.  Then go back and you don’t have to say a thing… just LAUGH AT THE “THEYS”! LOL, LOL, LOL..

Now have a wonderful day!!!

Love and Hugs, from the “Real” Mommie Teresa