Growing & Empowering Myself Successfully

On Saturday, March 14, 2009, I had the incredible opportunity to take my first trip to Chicago, Illinois and on Sunday, I visited with a group of teenagers who had read my debut novel, Living Consequences. I honestly don't know what I thought this assignment would be like, but everything about it exceeding far above all of my expectations.

My mother (who had been to Chi-Town once before) accompanied me on this journey, and we were given the "red" carpet treatment (pun intended) by the sisters of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. They picked us up from the airport, gave us a wonderful tour of the city (we even got the chance to see President Obama's home, although posted law enforcement that provided tight security measures wouldn't allow us to get too close or take photos), took us to an enriching local African American cultural museum, placed us in an upscale hotel, treated us to dinner upon our arrival Saturday evening, and then to brunch before we departed to return to Atlanta on Sunday afternoon... I honestly can't recall when I've eaten so much, and it was delicious! They even introduced us to authentic Chicago deep dish pizza. It was an incredible weekend in every way.

The highlight for me, though, was the interactive meeting with the wonderful teenagers known as the Delta G.E.M.S. (Growing & Empowering Myself Successfully). These young ladies joined me at the D'Estee, Inc. building, and we had a engrossing discussion of my freshman novel. I was so humbled at the testimonies these teens gave of how my book blessed them and changed the negative direction in which some of them were headed before they read it. If I didn't know that my writing was a form of ministry before this meeting, I sure did know it afterward.

I will remember this trip for a lifetime!