In this life, you meet people on your journey that you don’t expect and Stephanie was one of them, after spending 70 days hospitalized with sepsis even doing a stint in rehab hospital before I was cleared to come back to Texas from the Kansas City area. Not wanting to put me through another 7-hour trip to get back home they shipped me back on a southwest flight from MCO with my mom & we met Stephanie at the gate and we even shared a row on the way back on the plane. Some may call it coincidence that we met here on her way back from Kansas from being an allergist, others Deja Vu, but you never know who you’ll meet. Enjoy and thanks for your time!
What is the best advice you can give to someone starting out?
ALWAYS stay true to who you are and the motivation that got you over the starting line. Don't allow the temptations of success to overrule what you know to be right or cause you to detour from what you initially set out to accomplish.
What things inspire your process?
Helping others is my motivation. Knowing that I can make a difference in someone's life, gives me the push to keep pressing forward. Bringing joy and encouragement to others is just a bonus along the journey.
Who are three people you look up to or inspire you?
My top three influences are my great grandmother (Letha Long), Harriet Tubman and Jesus Christ. They all taught me lessons on selflessness, helping others and being true to the call that is on your life. Watching my great grandmother taught me the power prayer has, how this life is not always about getting what you want, it's more about how you can be a blessing to others. Harriet teaches us that experiencing freedom is so priceless that it is worth risking your life to share it with others. Living a life of limitations only allows you to see life from a narrow perspective, she wanted to give a better view to those who didn't know there was more to see. It shows me that every life lesson or mistake shouldn't be kept to self but shared. It can possibly help someone else avoid the potholes of life. Last but certainly not least, Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God. He teaches us that this life is temporary and how we live it determines how we will spend eternity. He came to show us how to live, love and overcome darkness, seen and unseen. My life has been shaped by growing toward living out these two instructions Love God and Love People! All three of them lived it out and they inspire me knowing the fruit that comes out of it.
