My YLAI dream came true!
I have always expressed how much I have dreamed and how many of these dreams I have actually lived.
Approximately two years ago I started vision boarding. I was introduced to the concept of visualizing things I wanted to accomplish in life. That year I had two vision boards because I was living my dreams so quickly. I wondered to myself why I hadn’t learned of this concept before.
Back in 2015, when the then President of the United States, Barack Obama, visited Jamaica, I followed the activities intensely as far as I could. I remember the day he visited the University of the West Indies campus and hosted the Town Hall meeting with outstanding young leaders. They were a select group of young persons who got the opportunity to attend the event. I remember feeling a bit of disappointment at not being able to attend when quite a few of my friends were there. I even dropped off one of my friends there on the day and returned home to watch the proceedings via television. There were so many emotions wrapped up in that day for me but that’s for a whole different blog.
I watched from home as Mr. Obama greeted the crowd saying “Wah Gwaan, Jamaica”, and the loud outburst of laughter that ensued. I listened as my friend Mr. Aubrey Stewart IV introduced President Obama and the moment he called out Mr. Jerome Cowans, “Where’s where’s Jerome” he said. There was such a sense of pride I’m unable to fully explain it. When President Barack Obama announced the official launch of the Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative and outlined funding that would be used for the program which was extended across Latin America and the Caribbean, I thought, “wow! This is amazing!” For some reason I was happy and excited. That very night I signed up to become a part of the YLAI Network.
I started to receive emails and visited the website to learn about the program. I remember reading about the pilot cohort of the program and heard that Jamaican Ricardo Allen of One-On-One Educational Services was selected to be one of the 24 persons selected. Then in 2016 eight Jamaicans were selected for the inaugural cohort, my Womlerian sister Mrs. Latoya West-Blackwood was among those chosen, and I was elated. I followed the program for as much as I could via social media while they were away during their fellowship. Somewhere deep inside I felt a connection the the YLAI family. Earlier this year after hosting a Career Expo, I wrote a five year plan for my life and becoming a YLAI Fellow was on that plan.
Fast forward to 2017, a dream came true. In April I signed up to the YLAI Professional Fellows Program and was short-listed as a semi-finalist. I did an online interview and was further selected to be one of 250 Fellows from across 36 countries within Latin America and the Caribbean. Out of approximately 4,000 applicants, I was selected. The day I received the congratulations email at work, I screamed. My coworker said she thought it was a proposal, hehe.
As I prepare to leave for my fellowship, I reflect on how many times I have dreamed about the things I now have and am accomplishing and I am so grateful. I am grateful to God first of all for his blessings on me and for my support system, that picks me up when I am down,corrects me when I am wrong, and most of all, gives me that push when I feel like I can’t go on. In reflecting, I was also reminded that last year I had a number of places I wanted to visit on a “Travel Vision Board” on the wall in my room. One of the pictures was that of the City of Atlanta, which is one of the places where I will be travelling to later this year as a part of the YLAI program. It is amazing how when we visualize our dreams they become our reality. Keep dreaming those dreams, because even silly dreams come true.
I am Kiddist McCoy, I am a DREAM LIVER and I am a YLAI Fellow 2017.
