Self-Discovery: My Newest Adventure

Whenever people ask me if I drink coffee, I always tell them that I stopped drinking coffee when I was in elementary school. They are always taken back but it is true. Growing up where I did, it was not uncommon for elders to give children coffee. I recall many mornings with coffee as the staple along with either toast, biscuits, or fry bread. Strangely, sometimes the food was used to dip into the drink. I did not know if this was preference or culture, but it was the way we did things.

As I started school, caffeinated mornings became a thing of the past and my focus quickly turned to problem-solving, deductive reasoning, and coding. Acquiring knowledge piqued my interests. I played with word puzzles and poems and searched for healing in creative writing. I dove into another world learning French with Monsieur Henri and practicing with my father. I soared winning spelling bees and achieving honor roll. Watching my dad build houses was my favorite extracurricular activity. With a hammer, saw, and number two pencil, he could bring anything to life. It taught me that I could do anything with an idea and dedication.

Upon High school graduation, my ambition was enormous. I graduated in the top ten of my class. I enrolled in college and double majored in law and psychology. I failed…miserably. There are so many lessons to be learned and shared from that very humbling experience. With everything broken inside of me, I dropped out of school, and I worked and adulted and sacrificed. I later went back to school and earned an associates, bachelors, and masters degree. Each step was part of my incremental and iterative development.

Those formative years were not all blue skies and cotton candy. I faced a lot of adversity. Especially as it related to my ancestry. Focusing on my goals kept me sane.

Diving into the world of work, I found myself in a maledominated and high-reliability industry. Despite the barriers to opportunities, I managed to excel through continuous improvement/personal and professional development, exercising emotional intelligence, being agile, showing loyalty, cultivating relationships, staying encouraged, and not defining or confining myself based on opinions. I found these behaviors to be critical to my success and the life-saving work that I do both personally through my support of non-profits and professionally through the human and organizational performance tools, techniques, and concepts that I share to help mitigate risk in high-hazard environments.

General Colin Powell is quoted as saying,

"Perpetual Optimism is a force multiplier."

The same could be said for gratitude. I have adopted an attitude of perpetual gratitude with visual cues to remind me to be grateful in everything I do. I am grateful for my challenges. They were and are fuel for my future.

Between each life milestone, I pursued ways to continue elevating my understanding of culture, communication, and collaboration by educating myself and others. Acknowledging, embracing, and celebrating my origins has been a source of joy. I invite you on my journey to self-discovery. I will arrive in south Louisiana with phone in hand to document how my native land molded me. Travel with me as I explore the language, music, food, and culture which have fed and inspired me over the years.

LaRhonda Julien

Instagram: @awaken.1

LaRhonda is an industrial organizational psychologist who uses her work in human and organizational performance and non-profit service to change and save lives.