Nazarene Church and Education
Walking into the Nazarene Church in Concord, CA…
Now y’all, the problem is there was an earlier version of me in Concord that many people don’t know about.
I walked into that church and saw so much confusion. Like, “Lord, are we worshiping or workshopping?”
And I’ll never forget — the pastor’s daughter called me delusional. Baby, she always used big words. I mean BIG words. I see why she graduated from UC Berkeley.
Now I’ve got history with UC Berkeley. After high school, my mother took me there. They had programs for minority students to get them in. But then there was Veronica Jeffries, a teacher at Solano Community College who also worked at UC Berkeley. She told me she liked the community college level better — because UC Berkeley caters to a different class. Whew. She wasn’t lying.
The counselor at UC Berkeley? He was a TRIP. I never liked him. So I chose Diablo Valley College in the 90s instead. Went straight to the Disability Department, signed up for classes, and my mother was right there with me.
I took almost all the courses. Struggled with science and math — my transcripts show that. I was an average student, but I finished most things. I call myself a “simply transfer student” because I kept transferring enough to get through my undergraduate education.
I am a lifetime college student and I LOVE that. I’m still in school.
So when the pastor’s daughter called me delusional with her Berkeley vocabulary? I just smiled. Because she didn’t know my whole story.
She didn’t know about DVC. She didn’t know about Solano. She didn’t know about the cocoon stages, the Imakos, the lace fronts, the ashes.
Delusional? No, baby. Determined.
God doesn’t call the qualified — He qualifies the called. Even if you transfer 7 times, use Polident on stairs, and still don’t like the UC Berkeley counselor.
I walked into that Nazarene church with confusion around me, but clarity in me. Because education isn’t just degrees. It’s survival. It’s faith. It’s knowing who you are when people try to define you with big words.
And today? I’m still learning. Still rising. Still standing.
From Concord to the cocoon to the classroom — I’m God’s student for life.
Phd Student
