I Showed up ready this time because I have shown up and failed so many other times. I showed up ready because I am tired of only meeting the criteria, saying that I am going for more and settling every time. Oh, but I said I would never settle but isn’t that what you do when you’re okay with the bare minimum? I am a woman who is not afraid to do it alone. I am not afraid to step on your toes, I am not afraid to take what’s offered, on my own. If you don’t want it, I do. I have been taken for granted, I have been left to fail but didn’t. I have been searching long enough to know that there’s a place for anybody, anywhere. Good or bad. I am both street and book smart. I stand up for myself, I stand behind and beside myself. I would love your assistance, but not when I am busy. When I say I am alone; God is never far from me. I do not need your sympathy. I do not need your company … I chose to come, alone.