Good Afternoon readers my name is Davidia Boykins I am a former blogger for Obscura. My previous blog was Medical and Health Saturdays but I’m back again to speak about something else weighing heavy on my heart. My three F’s: Faith, Family, and Friendship. These three “F” words mean so much to me especially being that they build upon and relate to each other. I want to dive right in with a verse from the bible Proverbs 27:17 “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another”. This verse is speaking on the power of friendship and not only are they important but they help build on/reignite faith. Friendship is also a key ingredient when it comes to life and for me friends are like family. Friends will encourage, provide advice, shoulders to cry on, ears to listen, and the truth. Now if you haven’t seen the connection yet that’s okay because I have more to say on this topic. My friendships have sharpened me in many ways prior to and during this pandemic. For example I became Vice President I was originally secretary but my President had faith in me from my passion, work ethic, and the way I get things done with a hectic schedule. I’m super grateful and excited to continue being Vice President and helping my Obscura fam deliver greatness to all students.

Honestly I see faith in everything and this reminded of words spoken onto me from one of the prayer warriors in my church she told me “God is going to be opening a lot of doors for you” “we have see one thing for ourselves but God always sees another “. I took this as God saying to me it’s time for an upgrade. I hope you guys are seeing the connection because these three “F” words relate to each other whole heartedly. When I began to see the connection I was in a place where I would main see the negative connotations of “F” words. Some moments I almost backslid to saying F*** my life, Failure, or focusing on the letter grade F especially since I did receive two Fs this semester. However I’m still standing by the grace of God (faith), my friends, and family. I can’t tell you how grateful I am for the support I have around me whether I see it or not at times.

Anyways I cried many tears, had anxiety attacks, and breakdowns, during this Spring 2020 semester. But I can tell you if I hadn’t been reminded of the positives in “F” words then I wouldn’t be who I am today. Sometimes I would feel like I needed to hear someone say to m “GET up and do your homework or Turn on your computer for class” and I wasn’t the only one me and a good friend tried holding each other accountable for assignments, reading daily bible devotionals, and whatnot that didn’t work out. However, we both made it and she reminded me that even though we get Fs that’s a second chance and we can always comeback like fire in the next semester. Also prayer is always comforting and the power of prayer is where the anxiety decrease and I also stopped worrying when my mom would have dizzy spells or feel too nauseous to finish her food. Oh sorry I didn’t mention I’m my mother’s home health aid and I’m an essential worker in CVS Pharmacy soon to be moving into the pharmaceutical department. Anyway my point in mentioning that is I have to prioritize my school work and other stuff getting done by doing things for my mom, around the house, and essential food shopping. I got my mom out the house twice since the pandemic hit which is great because we still need fresh air and we can’t live in fear and that was the issue for me fear of how to finish this semester was paralyzing but through Faith, Family, and Friendship brought me through.

I am a strong and great writer even though, I don’t like writing papers I writer great ones but needless to say I was struggling on how to write my term paper for bio. Another good friend told me not to focus on the intro start with the body and things will flow together (yes this is a class I failed). She was right I wrote six great pages of what was supposed to be a 15 or more page paper with only the sources provided from my professor mind you we were supposed to have outside sources too. The paper was a day late and I didn’t know what else to write but I didn’t want a zero so I turned in what I had which is better than a zero honestly. My parents knew I was struggling in my classes and even though they couldn’t help me much I know good and well they were praying like crazy for me. Ironically my mom did help me with my English homework when I had a second story for my fiction writing class. When my computer would act up my dad would come rushing from one job to help me get my computer to charge then go to his second job once we got it to charge.

This pandemic was a blessing and a smack in the face lol. I say this because I have more time for myself, family time, and even though I don’t speak to friends every day we’ll video chat, pray together virtually, and the English I thought I might actually fail I slayed. Needless to say although I failed two classes, and didn’t graduate, I have more greatness to come and I’m sure my friends and family do too. Guys if there’s one thing you take from post please know that Endurance and Resilience are possibly especially when you stay connected. This blog post wouldn’t even be possible if not for my team having faith in me to be a great asset to our summer blogging team. So until next time guys and please reach out to friends/family and know that you’r e not alone. We have a lot of time on our hands now so be intentional with it journal, read, take up a new hobby, or build on some skills. Bye guys hope you enjoy this post and feel encouraged by this post.