Yesterday I reached a milestone of my blogging journey and celebrated five years since I launched this site. Over the years I’ve shared many experiences and lessons I’ve learned along the way. Continuing the celebration, I’m sharing the top five posts since I launched in 2016 and my favorites in case you missed it.
Many years in the making, JASMINECTATE.COM launched at the end of my graduate school career on Real World Wednesday, April 13, 2016. As I moved toward graduation, I planned to share the transition from life as a full-time student to a full-time professional. I thought it would be an exciting journey to invite my readers on, but it didn’t go as I planned. I thought I had done everything right.
College Education (check - X2)
Experience (check - 8 internships, numerous volunteer roles)
Networking (check - several student and professional organizations and events later)
Search and Apply (check - too many rejections to count)
Even in all I had done and achieved, I still found myself in a position as an aspiring practitioner, and it was emotionally one of the most difficult periods of my life. I thought there was a secret to success that I had been missing and when I finally figured it out I had to share.
Looking back at this post on my 5th year anniversary and realizing it was the most read post since I launched reminded me that like Reshma Sujani… “I have the capacity to share a lot.” This post and the others on this Top Five list also encouraged me to continue sharing more of my journey as people connect more to transparency and vulnerability and want to hear about my personal experiences. Noted! :)
In the fourth most read post The Wait I shared how almost a week before graduation, I still had not secured a position and this blog and uncertainty were the only updates I could share about my future in “the real world.”
After I found the secret to success, I went to my maternal grandmother’s revivals. At the time I was living in Hattiesburg, MS where I attended grad school. The musical was in Hammond, LA, which meant I had to drive about two hours, and I do not like to drive. I stalled and made excuses until it was very late and still ended up going. When I entered the doors the musical was still going strong; I secured a space on a pew in the back where I stood and joined the celebration.
A few minutes into the service one of the pastors leading worship called spoke into the mic calling a woman in the red dress to the altar for a message from God. Of course I’m wearing a red dress and I look around with hopes that there was another red dress in the audience. I was nervous of being singled out, especially since I was very late. After I made my way down the aisle, he revealed that God would put me in a position on a national level. That (I thought) was confirmation for me. That night when I got home I received an invitation to interview for a position with the San Francisco 49ers. Because of the prophecy I’d received I knew it was mine. The process wasn’t short-lived, but I made it to the final two and felt the sting of rejection once again. I was devastated and literally had an anxiety attack as I read the news. Ironically I had just published a post on “Facing Rejection” the week before, not knowing I’d have to take my own advice that soon.
In that experience I realized how much my time, energy and desires were put into job searching and how much I needed to recenter my attention to Christ. SIX MONTHS and countless applications and interviews later I accepted a position and moved to Southern California. My faith has never been stronger and my career is moving forward.
After the death of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Aubery and George Floyd, and at the height of the Black Lives Matter Movement, I found myself weighted down by emotions of the complexities of what was happening and the world’s response to it. In this post I shed some of the weight and put some of my thoughts and feelings in writing to “make sense of what matters,” including personal perspective, resources, response templates and more.
In the fifth and final most read post, I chronicled a trip to the California Bay area with the National Millennial Community, an organization I cofounded with other millennials from universities across the country. We visited several well-known companies from the Golden State Warriors to Google, eBay and more. After I made it back to Mississippi, I shared the experience and some key tips and quotes from the executives and professionals we had visited.
Although the five posts above were the most read over the last five years, the five below are particularly significant to me as they allowed me to process my thoughts and feelings, express them and share tips I’ve learned along the way, which are all reasons I started the blog. :)
Personal Experiences
Jasmine's Journey: Life after loss: Mourning my mom’s death
Ten weeks to life: My Rooted Experience at Mariners Church, exploring and deepening my faith while building community.
Thank you for joining my journey and taking a trip down memory lane with me over the last five years. I’d love to hear about any posts or quotes that have been helpful or resonated with you. Please connect with me in the comments here or on social media @JASMINECTATE.
Hugs & Handshakes,
Jasmine C. Tate