The UNDERDOG

I was super excited to get onto my laptop today and speak on my #niquenote from today because I am a true testament to being seen so often as the underdog. If I can go back in time, I can be honest and say at the forefront of my mind, I recall as a child my appearance was offsetting to most.  After constantly being told how mean I looked and how unattractive I was in comparison to my sister, I began to believe these things about myself. During that time, I had no idea that despite what those around me may have said, that God had so much more in store for me and was going to use those very words to elevate me to levels I would've never thought to imagine as a child. Indifferent from my sister, school was a challenge for me in my younger years. I would look at the words in a book and everything seemed to be a blur. I had a hard time reading and for the life of me I couldn't seem to comprehend many of mathematical concepts that were being taught to me. So as any child would do, I often acted out in school as a way to mask my shame. How many of you have had to mask things due to hurtful and damaging words? Back then, I don't believe teachers were educated on the various learning styles and it wasn't until 3rd grade that a good teacher, Mrs. Dewald,  took the time to realize that in fact my struggle was not that I could NOT learn but it was the fact of how I was being taught that did not compliment my learning style. It was in the 3rd grade I began to excel in my studies when my teacher figured out I was a kinesthetic learner. I in fact needed to utilized my hands when learning versus being expected to sit still and be talked at. Often times as the underdog, we are put in the rink without the proper tools to carryout the fight, but when we get access to the tools we need to achieve the task at hand  you better watch out!! The war of incompetent teachers, naysayers and challenging curriculum didn't stand a chance from that time on.

The underdog... you know, the one who had a baby in her teenage years, or the one that dropped out of school, the ugly girl in the neighborhood that everyone teased, you know the one on welfare robbing Peter to pay Paul, the one that sat and ate lunch alone in the staff lounge, you know who I'm talking about? Perhaps it's you, or perhaps you've been the one who has identified these individuals as the underdog. See the trouble with labeling people is that without knowing someone's story all you have to go on is what you see and we all know looks can be very deceiving. What most don't take into consideration about underdogs is that because we are presented with more hurdles than most and because the odds seem to always work against us, we have to strategize differently.  So while all you see is the fatherless child, the darker skin, the welfare check, or the GED, you don't know and you don't see the whole picture. As an underdog you get to a point in life where you realize it's pointless trying to prove yourself to people, especially people who have counted you out. I experience this most often in the church. People see your struggle based on your outer appearance or based on what they've heard about you and from that they decide your worth. Aren't you glad that peoples perception of you has no power in the determining of your destiny?? Often times, underdogs are also outcasts; there's no place for them to assimilate among  the majority, so they often find themselves alone... I often hear preachers say where 2 or 3 are gathered together... I apply this with underdogs as well because when 2 or 3 underdogs link, what everyone else said and used to count them out, they come together and those things begin to work for them instead of against them. That teenage mom finds hope within herself and begins to push herself and she finds herself not only finishing High School, but enrolls in college and then before she knows it, she has her degree. Not only that, she gets her business going  and all that which was said about her just becomes stepping stones that elevate her to levels that the naysayers said she'd never accomplish. The advantage an Underdog has is something called "resilience". When an underdog starts believing in themselves, this is when you better be careful.

In the story of David and Goliath, we all know that based on what people seen, David didn't stand a chance against Goliath, who was a giant. But what Goliath and everyone else didn't see was that David was resilient and he had a strategy! He knew he was viewed as the underdog, and contrary to what others said, David had a strategy that would crown him victor in the end. I can relate to David because once I had my strategy in the 3rd grade, I knew that every negative thing that had been said about me was going to in the end turn out to be a lie. Despite the insults, the backlash, the hurt and the pain, can I just tell you IT ALL WORKED FOR MY GOOD. 

I'll share this story and end my blog there.

In the Fall of 2014, a vacancy for the Board of Education had became available. For those of you who don't know anything about these kinds of positions, they are rare because they have advantages and people never really quit these kinds of positions. Initially, I hesitated about applying as I began to allow the naysayers to convince me I wasn't qualified for the position. Perhaps the fact I was young, black and a single mother would be reasons to work against me and so I had a moment of doubt. Even in that moment, I had no idea that God had in fact already gone ahead of me and re-positioned me for that which even I doubted I was qualified for. Like I told ya'll, underdogs always have a strategy. Instead of viewing my past in a negative light, I used my story as the ultimate tool that would provide my victory in the end so I went ahead and applied for the job. After waiting about two weeks, nearly 150 others had applied for the job as well. I remained confident in the plan and patiently waited. A week later, I received a call from Human Resources saying I was selected for an interview. Of the 150 candidates, 15 applicants were selected to interview. This meant I had a 1 in 15 chance of being selected for this position. Sometimes we get so caught up in our position in line that we lose focus. I wasn't focused on numbers 2-15 because I knew God had number 1 set aside just for me. I decided to take the time slot of the first (1) interview, which was 8am on a Wednesday morning. The morning of the interview I became extremely nervous. Before walking into the interview room, I decided to go into the bathroom and have a moment of self encouragement, as I'd done so many times before as an underdog. I walked into the interview room and sat at the head of the table with 12 older individuals looking directly at me. It was time to execute the plan. I decided not to pretend or impress but to be transparent, genuine and true to who I knew I was. It's so funny now looking back because all the interview questions, which I had no per-knowledge of, fell directly in alignment with my story. I had prepared a portfolio, that I ended up not even speaking about because who I was and presented in that interview was enough. After the interview, I was escorted out and told that they would be in touch in about a week. I left the interview and sat in my car and cried. I thanked God for the opportunity and told him that if it was his will then I'd be satisfied. I decided to take the day off and wash clothes to clear my mind. Around 3pm the same day, I received a call from a number that I didn't recognize. I quickly answered the phone and was greeted by the Director of the Division I had just interviewed with. She said to me " Ms. Moore, I know we said it would be about a week, but we were so blown away by your interview that we couldn't wait and want to offer you the job"!! DIDN'T I TELL YOU THAT YOU HAVE TO BE CAREFUL ABOUT WHO YOU LABEL AS THE UNDERDOG!!

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE BEEN SEEN AS THE UNDERDOG, I WANT TO LET YOU KNOW THAT YOU AREN'T COUNTED OUT!! GOD SEES AND HEARS YOU!! KEEP PUSHING AND TRUSTING IN THE PLAN AND PROCESS THAT GOD HAS FOR YOUR LIFE. 

-Nique