By Joy Lynn Clark December 29, 2021 I graduated from middle school feeling like a rockstar. Dad and my stepmom sat us down and said, “dad’s getting a promotion. We will be in the next tax bracket so we will have to build a new house.” I was like wow, “dad is chief”. Our home was sold quickly and we had to move to a rental. The builder told us that it should only take a couple of months. We looked at several places including a hotel which is what I wanted. They had an indoor pool and I can totally eat sandwiches and drink sodas all day. My stepmother…

December 28, 2021 By Joy Lynn Clark After my job with the phone company I went through several positions quickly. Next was the Furrier that was cool but I just wasn’t that interested in fighting with these old ladies to make commissions. Some Nice business women were willing to allow me to sell them suits. On the other hand, all hell broke loose if I even attempted to sell a fur. So seriously on the, “fur floor” I could assist and tidy things up but I never got the commission. Since this job is mostly made of commission, I just didn’t make enough. Next, I did office work for a…

By Joy Lynn Clark December 27, 2021 I moved out of my parents house at 18. On that very day. I was still in high school but I was 18 years old and a senior. My Besties’s mom let me move in. It was pretty cool there. By the end of the school year my friend and I cooked up a plan to move to Indianapolis. We took the four hour trip there a few times and looked at apartments. We eventually found a nice apartment community and took a look at the model. We liked it. We also looked in the Indianapolis papers for work. I figured that they…

By Joy Lynn Clark December 27, 2021 Today I would like to acknowledge the speakers. Throughout my life I have attended social programs, discussions, workshops, rallies and speaking engagements. I’ve had the privilege to hear some of the best speakers in the world. I’ve had the pleasure of hearing authors, poets, motivational speakers and, politicians. Some of the speakers I’ve had had the most wonderful stories. Nearly all of them had sermons, Excerpts from books, written speeches, poetry, and informational accounts. I have been both uplifted and motivated to take action.

By Joy Lynn Clark December 24, 2021 My dad worked for the news most of my life. During the week I didn’t see him much because he always worked late. So much so, that my stepmom always picked me up from mom’s house for my weekend visits. At the start of middle school my mom announced that she wanted to remarry and that her and her new husband are going to move from Illinois to Indiana. I did not want to go to Indiana so I decided to move in with my dad, stepmother, and stepbrother. Dad worked late as usual and I had a bunch of issues adjusting to…