One of my favorite hobbies is crocheting. By creating something, whether it be clothing or dolls/animals, gives me a sense of pride in that I can accomplish something for someone else.

I practice self-care by listening to music, playing games on my computer or phone, or even spend time with my children. By these practices, I am able to keep in control of my attitude and be a better mom to my children. Sometimes, if I have the money, I will go by myself to a store for "Retail Therapy".

Friendship means to me as being a shoulder to cry on, an ear to listen and advice to give whether the person receiving it uses the advice or not. My first ever best friend was when I was in 8th grade. We were there for each other day in and day out. We first hated each other in 7th grade and by 8th grade, we were inseparable. In 2009, my best friend was diagnosed with colon cancer. Since I had a family of my own, I tried to be there for her whenever I could. I had remarried in 2010 and she was too sick to come to the event. She had passed away in June 2011. To this day, I still remember the good times and the bad times that we had (even the times that we got into trouble together).

I like to knit and crochet animals and dolls called amigurumi. What I have crocheted or knitted so far are only given to my children and husband. Sometimes, they ask for something specific, and even if I don't have the experience with that specific animal/doll, I will take the time to make it for them just because they had asked.

My family not only keeps me going, but also brings me joy. I have three beautiful children that made quite a journey to be with us today. My oldest daughter was born four weeks early and had the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck. She was deprived of oxygen for a couple of minutes. She grew up with some learning disabilities but met her milestones on time. She was also diagnosed with Marfan syndrome, which is a genetic connective tissue disorder that causes the aorta to dissect (tear open from the inside out). She is currently 19 years old. My son was born full term after a harsh labor process. He was born with both shoulders dislocated. He spent a week under blue lights because his liver was overproducing enzymes. Since his birth, he has been diagnosed with ADHD, dyslexia, and Asperger's autism. Even though he was diagnosed with autism, he has met his milestones and is 9 years old and in the third grade. My youngest daughter was born 9 weeks premature and spent three weeks in the NICU. She was born with a brain bleed and a hole between the top two chambers of her heart. She didn't start walking until she was almost 2 years old. She was diagnosed with dyspraxia and has some developmental delays. Today, she is 5 years old and in Preschool and takes dance lessons. Due to the journeys that my children have made so far, they are my inspiration to achieve what I can place my mind to do. They are my comedians and make each day worth waking up.

You ask about a time when I had to persevere through a difficult situation. Unfortunately, I have had more than one situation in my life that caused me to push through. My firstborn's father left us when she was 10 months old. I had a hard time deciding what I was going to do with my life and how to support her. I had decided to go to college and get my nursing degree. Being a single mom and going back to college was difficult in itself, and if it were not for my parents' help, I would not have been able to persevere. My two youngest children have had quite the journeys to get where they are today. My son was born with both shoulders dislocated, and my youngest daughter was born 9 weeks premature with a brain bleed and a hole between the top two chambers of her heart. My son has Asperger's autism and my daughter has dyspraxia. So with their developmental delays and learning disabilities, they are my inspiration to persevere because of the milestones they make.

Watching for detail and working with computers are my current best skills. I am attempting to improve them by finishing my Bachelor's degree in Cyber security. I would like to put it to use to help secure businesses from others trying to hack into their databases or steal their ideas.

What is my favorite way to help others? My favorite way to help others is whatever I can do to help them. I was a nurse for 8 years and helped others physically. Now that my health has deteriorated, I am not physically capable, however, I am mentally capable. I want to be able to be the source of security people can have for their computers.

What motivates me on a daily basis? My three children motivate me on a daily basis and their strength to persevere. My oldest daughter was born four weeks early and had the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck. She was deprived of oxygen for a couple of minutes. She grew up with some learning disabilities but met her milestones on time. She was also diagnosed with Marfan syndrome, which is a genetic connective tissue disorder that causes the aorta to dissect (tear open from the inside out). She is currently 19 years old. My son was born full term after a harsh labor process. He was born with both shoulders dislocated. He spent a week under blue lights because his liver was overproducing enzymes. Since his birth, he has been diagnosed with ADHD, dyslexia, and Asperger's autism. Even though he was diagnosed with autism, he has met his milestones and is 9 years old and in the third grade. My youngest daughter was born 9 weeks premature and spent three weeks in the NICU. She was born with a brain bleed and a hole between the top two chambers of her heart. She didn't start walking until she was almost 2 years old. She was diagnosed with dyspraxia and has some developmental delays. Today, she is 5 years old and in Preschool and takes dance lessons. Due to the journeys that my children have made so far, they are my inspiration to achieve what I can place my mind to do. They are my comedians and make each day worth waking up.

Something that I have learned about myself that I have found valuable is the compassion I have to help others. I have always wanted to help others since I was young. I went into the nursing field in 2004 so that I could follow through helping others. I don't like to see people sick and hurting, and if it was within my power to help, I would do what I could to help. Now that my health has deteriorated, and I am not physically capable to perform nursing duties, I would like to help others through the computer.

What makes me happy? My family not only keeps me going, but also makes me happy. I have three beautiful children that made quite a journey to be with us today. My oldest daughter was born four weeks early and had the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck. She was deprived of oxygen for a couple of minutes. She grew up with some learning disabilities but met her milestones on time. She was also diagnosed with Marfan syndrome, which is a genetic connective tissue disorder that causes the aorta to dissect (tear open from the inside out). She is currently 19 years old. My son was born full term after a harsh labor process. He was born with both shoulders dislocated. He spent a week under blue lights because his liver was overproducing enzymes. Since his birth, he has been diagnosed with ADHD, dyslexia, and Asperger's autism. Even though he was diagnosed with autism, he has met his milestones and is 9 years old and in the third grade. My youngest daughter was born 9 weeks premature and spent three weeks in the NICU. She was born with a brain bleed and a hole between the top two chambers of her heart. She didn't start walking until she was almost 2 years old. She was diagnosed with dyspraxia and has some developmental delays. Today, she is 5 years old and in Preschool and takes dance lessons. Due to the journeys that my children have made so far, they are my inspiration to achieve what I can place my mind to do. They are my comedians and make each day worth waking up.

When my mother was pregnant with me and found out she was pregnant with a girl, she was searching for a name for me. She was playing the piano for her church at the time and a song that she had to play was "He keeps me singing". The first line of the hymnal's lyrics are as follows: There's within my heart a melody. That is when she decided for my name to be Melody. Ever since, this song has been with me. As I grew up, I have learned to play the flute and piano, as well as sing. My siblings, parents and myself have sung in church. To this day, I still play my flute and sing. My mother was related to Gary McSpadden, who was a Christian musician. It is my mother's legacy to not only grow with education but also with music. She had passed away this past August 2020.

My mother was on hospice for a couple of weeks before she passed away in August 2020. Of course, I think of her every day since then. For the last year of her life, she had battled health issues and was in pain all the time. I would always think of how much she is able to relax now that her body is renewed. I painted a landscape with a lake and mountains to show a relaxing place that would remind me of where my mom could be now. I look at my painting and can visualize my mom being there and having a grand ol' time enjoying herself with other family members that have passed on before her. My mother-in-law had also passed away this past June 2020 unexpectedly. However, my mother-in-law had battled breast cancer in the past. This painting gives visualization for both my husband and myself of where our mothers could be today relaxing with their brand new bodies. When my youngest daughter cries out for her mema at night (my mother), I tell her to just think of the picture that I painted and see mema there holding out her arms waiting for the day that we can see her again.

My children inspire me to be a better person. My children came into this world through their own difficulties and still persevere to this day to make it theirs. My oldest daughter was born a month early with lack of oxygen and umbilical wrapped around her neck so she was what they considered a "blue baby". She showed them in the hospital that she was not going to stay long in the NICU. Her father left us when she was 10 months old. She was found a few years later to have a genetic connective tissue disorder called Marfan syndrome, as well as having learning disabilities. Marfan syndrome has taken quite a few lives of our family members with the aorta dissecting without notice. When my son was born, I was full term pregnant with him. My labor with his was a very difficult one. He was born with both shoulders dislocated, and his liver enzymes were so high that he had to spend a majority of time in the hospital under blue lights. A few years later through testing, my son not only has ADHD and dyslexia, but he was also tested to have Asperger's autism. He has also a speech impediment that causes him to have difficulty reading. After 8 years of being a Licensed Practical Nurse, and with my health deteriorating, I had to resign my position with Vanderbilt. I had found out later that I was 14 weeks pregnant. My youngest daughter was born 9 weeks premature. She was 3 pounds 10 ounces and was 16 inches long. She was on a feeding tube for only one day because she had pulled it out herself. She was in an incubator for two weeks before being able to regulate her body temperature. After the third week in the NICU, the doctors discharged her. I found out that she had a brain bleed as well as a hole between the top two chambers of her heart. She is our child that has had quite the journey and just celebrated her 5th birthday. She didn't start on regular foods until almost one year of age. She didn't start walking until 2 years of age. She still has to wear braces on her feet. She has been founded to also have the genetic connective tissue disorder like her older sister. She also has developmental delays that she is eventually meeting. I share this information of my children because you need to see not only their perseverance, but our journey as a family. They keep me motivated. I am not physically capable to go back to my nursing career, but since I like working with computers other than playing games, I can still help others to keep their businesses secure with what I learn through the Cyber Security program.

My mother passed away from heart failure this past August 28, 2020. She was not only my mother, she was my teacher, my adviser, my cheerleader, as well as my best friend. I could always go to her for advice whether I would use it or not (mostly I would use her advice). She was a school teacher to me when I was in second and fifth grades. My mother was a Godly, Christian woman. She raised my siblings and I to love music and to love God. Even when I strayed from my beliefs, she was welcoming with loving open arms when I came back to the fold. When I became a single mother to my first child, my mother was there to help no matter the cost. She helped to raise my 10 month old after my husband left. I was in nursing school and no matter the stress, my mother was always there to help out. When I graduated nursing school, my mother was the cheering section. When we found out that my firstborn had a genetic connective tissue disorder (Marfan syndrome), my mother went with us to doctor's appointments so that she can learn from the same disorder that afflicted her side of the family. Her and my father had packed up their home in Oklahoma and moved to Tennessee to be around their grandchildren. Because of my mother's background as a school teacher, she was able to homeschool my oldest child due to the difficulties that my child has learning at regular school. Wherever there was a need, my mother would take over. She never met a stranger and had a heart of gold. I am still finding it hard to cope with the loss of my mother. My children still cry out for her. I tell my children that if we remember the memories we have with her and keep her in our hearts, she will always be with us.

I have decided to finish my 57 credits for a Bachelor's degree in Cyber Security. It will give me a chance to work from home due to being physically disabled. I also have two special needs children still at home. I was a nurse for 8 years prior to being on disability. I love helping people where I am capable. Since I had resigned from my nursing position, my family and I have been living in low-income state housing. I am not capable physically, however, I would like to still help people through my computer making sure their small business or large business are staying secure. Also, it will give me the opportunities to being able to support my family and be able to move to a neighborhood where my children won't be afraid to play outside.