My Life Story
I barely sleep. Why? Reality is starting to shape up to be BETTER than my dreams!”- LadySonya
Hi, I’m Sonya.
No wait, I’m LadySonya. Okay, let me explain. I’m Sonya who has evolved into the alter ego – LadySonya.
My story is very clear.
Throughout the years since age 9 I’ve dreamt of schoolteacher, psychologist, mentor, leader, and now not some, but EVERYTHING is a reality in my life. Let me say this, I’m very spiritual. God has shown me my purpose through my passion, which is music. It definitely wasn’t and still isn’t easy. I will be the first to say it… I’m not perfect, but I THANK GOD he’s a God who forgives and listens. As you read my story please note that I’m just using my gift to inspire someone.
The Journey BEFORE my Life Changed…
In the year of 2007, my life changed from being an angry, bitter, workaholic young lady to finding my true purpose in life. God has blessed me in so many ways it would take days to explain. But what is LadySonya’s story? How did I begin to walk into my purpose? What led me to believe this is what God has for me? How did I start as a college student struggling to make it in a “big city known as Atlanta” from a smaller city like Columbus to now having my own business, a college degree, and the ambition to have the presence of Oprah? Where did I gain insight to become a SERIAL-ENTREPRENEUR and begin living out my dreams I once spoke about with small doubt?
It all started the summer of 2007… but to be exact, the thought process transitioned October 2006, my sophomore year in College. That month I made a strong decision to change my life and MOVE from Troy University (Troy, Alabama) to Atlanta, Georgia.
I was born and raised in Columbus, Georgia. My goal in life like any other young teen was to move to Atlanta and become a performing and recording artist. My high-school sweetheart and I both decided to go off to college at Troy University. To make a long story short I ended up attending Troy without him on a small Music Scholarship in Voice. I went through 1 year and decided I needed to change my life.
October 2006 after being inducted into the Alpha Lambda Delta Society (for freshmen who score 3.5 or higher their freshman year) I had an epiphany to MOVE to Atlanta and chase my dream of becoming a performing and recording artist. I registered to transfer schools and began traveling to Atlanta weekend after weekend to get adjusted to the new lifestyle for 2007. Well, by my surprise, I managed to transfer and start SPRING 2007 at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia.
The plan was to find a church to become a full-time minister of music (I had worked as a musician since the age of 13) and transfer my part-time job at Eckerd Drugs Store. My only older brother agreed to move from Columbus with me. Well, he bailed out at the last minute, leaving me no choice but to move out on my own. I moved to Atlanta with absolutely no doubts. I was excited to move to the BIG CITY and start a new life. On the other hand, my mother was extremely nervous about me managing to pay $600 dollars rent plus utilities compared to living in an apartment styled dorm in Troy and paying only $325 for rent. My father ended up letting me borrow a couple of hundred of dollars to pay all the fees to move into my FIRST private apartment at age 19.
During my journey to find a church to become a minister of music, I met a pastor on Craig-List who insisted on helping me find a church because he saw ambition and drive in me through our phone conversation. I stayed in contact with this pastor and his wife months before we met in person. I began working at Eckerd Drugs Pharmacy. I worked there for 2 months and QUIT to begin SELLING KNIVES. Yes, that’s right… who do you know has tried to make a living “SELLING KNIVES”? Well, that didn’t last long.. Approximately 1 month and I eventually quit and began working at Radio Shack. Radio Shack didn’t last long either considering I’m a GIRLY GIRL who knows NOTHING about parts for cars, electronics, etc.
I unhappily went from JOB to JOB to JOB to JOB until I FINALLY decided there has to be another way to live!
In the Summer of 2007
my thought process immediately shifted. At that time I was working 2 jobs, going to school full-time, traveling to Columbus twice a month as a musician, and still was broke and bitter about life. Every day during my breaks at work (now at CVS Pharmacy) I began jotting thoughts down in my notebook about starting my own business teaching piano lessons. Ironically No one in my family lived as an entrepreneur or worked for themselves to that capacity.
I would call my mother during my lunch breaks and repeat these words “Mom, there has to be another way; another way to live and go to school without being so broke, mad, and bitter about life and work.”
During the summer months, I spent days jotting down business plans and pricing plans. A friend mentored me when they saw how determined I was to move to Atlanta on my own at so young gave me insight from time to time about the business aspects to get my idea going. Their exact words were, “Don’t focus on the money. Focus on the plan and the money will follow.” Other than my mother, I also told my cousin (who also lived in Atlanta) my plan to start a business. My cousin lightly doubted my idea because of my intentions to teach in my home, although that is a common place of work for piano teachers. I revised my idea and began to take action.
My cousin and I made flyers to post around Guitar Center and apartment complexes. I received no response. At that time I had no furniture – just my 76-key Radio Shack keyboard to teach on and a comfortable air mattress to sleep on.
I was very sociable to the customers who came through my line at CVS Pharmacy. I would occasionally ask customers if they knew anyone who wished to take piano lessons. I eventually met this lady who said her husband was a producer and indeed needed lessons. Well that was my first practice consultation. I met with them both and gave him a PowerPoint presentation with my HP Laptop. The couple was highly impressed with my drive to start my business at a young age. He never got around to initially starting lessons but we have kept in contact till this day.
My second part-time job during that summer was a part-time position as an administrative assistant at a private business office near Greenbriar Mall (Atlanta, Georgia). It was very difficult juggling two jobs considering I lived 20+ miles away and was scheduled to be at work at 7am. I worked at CVS Pharmacy from 5pm-12 Midnight and had homework to complete along with getting rest for work and school each morning. My manager constantly fussed about my habit of being late. My job was to call people at the wee hours of the morning and set-up business meetings to fit his schedule. I would complain to my manager about how early it was to call people. The exact words were “Business people are up and alarmed at 7am. It’s not too early to make calls.” That message has stuck with me till this day. Well, I couldn’t handle the 2 jobs and school, so I eventually quit around the School Finals. I worked there from May till July 2007.
November of 2007, I quit my job at CVS to begin working at this call-center in Marietta, Georgia. I was very excited about finding a full-time position there. I gave my apartment a 60-day notice that I would not sign another lease for the next year, in hopes of moving to Marietta. Well, not quite the story. I worked at the call-center for 2 days and was fired for not making the proper sales.
My life went downhill from there.
I was without a job, money to afford moving expenses, and a home to live in (considering my apartment rented my apartment to someone else). I was devastated and depressed. I did not know what to do. I was not ready to move back to Columbus and start over again.
I remember calling my mother after days of frustration, I just BURST into tears, crying and shouting my problems. I was so depressed about money, school, and just life in general. It was the holidays and I was miserable with nothing and no plan.
Everything fell on me all at once. I didn’t know who or how to ask for help. My mother, the type of person who would give her last, gave me $1300 CASH to pay my bills and car note. She believed in me.
That December I had no choice other than to look for another job. I decided to try Bank of America. I went through a long process to get a full-time job there. To my excitement, I was selected for a group interview. I told my apartment complex I wanted to re-sign my lease, so they made adjustments to allow me to keep my apartment. I felt like my life was coming together again with hopes of working full-time at Bank of America.
Around Christmas, my mother announced to my family that I had a job, although I was not even sure if I was hired. Bank of America e-mailed me stating that after the holidays they would notify me of my employment status. I spent a couple of weeks in Columbus and headed back to Atlanta to get the news. I had forgotten all about my business plan to teach piano lessons. It was tough landing a job dealing with cash… but the recruiter finally called. I was approved; I only needed to find a branch to work at. HOORAAAAAYY!
I began looking for a branch to hire me; however, my mother was tired of paying my bills. She insisted that I find a job anywhere to make some income. After that, I applied at Ross Department Store and was hired in January 2008. I began working at Ross in the Stock Department and hated it. I was waging $6 an hour at an average of 6-12 hours a week. The manager always threatened to “write me up”. It was such a bad experience.
By February 2008, I still had not heard anything from Bank of America. I did not understand why it was so hard to find a branch when I was already approved to work there. I began to get impatient and upset. As I expressed my feelings to my mother, her exact words were, “God has something better in store for you, Sonya…that job at the bank wasn’t for you.” That was the last thing I wanted to hear. Those words sounded so redundant. I began to question God. Why was this happening to me? What do you mean a job at ‘Bank of America’ wasn’t for me, that is one of the top banks in Atlanta? On paper I was qualified, yet I never received an answer to start work.
March 2008 came around. I did research online for teaching positions and found a company in Suwanee, Georgia about 45-minutes away from my house. I taught my first piano session there. I had around 4 students. I continued to hold sessions and maintain the job at Ross.
This was the start of the process of my life transformation. When I woke up one morning to get dressed for work at Ross something hit me. I did not feel the same as I did any other morning getting ready for work. Something was strange about my thoughts that particular morning. As I finished getting dressed, I began to grab my keys to head out. Once I grabbed my keys, I walked towards the door and immediately STOPPED. Something hit me like “whoosh”. My conscience said, “NO.” Battling my actions in my mind, I thought about my financial struggles and the need to go to work. However, for some strange reason I set my keys back down, took out my business plan, and began to write.
March 2008 was my turning point.
With less than 5 consistent piano students to teach, I made a major decision to quit my job at Ross. All I had was a dream to start a business, but regardless of how far that dream was from my reach, I was not afraid to abandon my job. At that moment I realized it was all or none. There was no Plan B. I was determined. I did a no-call, no-show with nothing other than a business plan and a keyboard. On the other hand, I will confess that I did have one fear. I was too afraid to confront my mother about my decision, considering she would think I was insane for stepping out on faith. But in my heart I understood my destiny. I knew God had my back.
At this very moment in my life (March 2020) , I can proudly say LadySonya Music Studio LLC. has officially been in business for 12 years strong. LadySonya Music Studio, LLC has hosted over 20 remarkable recitals in the last 12 years…we have hired additional traveling instructors…we have consulted 1000+ piano students… and I have impacted many lives like never before.
God took me from my lowest point and performed a miracle beyond imagination.
I am truly amazed by my journey. God showed me more about Him. When I gave up on God, He did not give up on me. When I thought He left me… He was really working on my behalf.
Matthew 19:26 “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible”
I found out things may not go the way you planned but everything happens for a reason. If I had never stepped out on faith to MOVE to Atlanta… Where would I be? If my parents had not decided to place me in piano lessons…what would be my craft? If I had received the full-time job at Bank of America, in which I was so upset about not being hired at a branch… who would I be working for?
WOW! This experience has taught me patience and determination.
Yes. I went through 7 jobs in a one-year span. My friends thought I was crazy. They didn’t understand how and why I got hired each time considering I was unstable with my job history.
Each job taught me something to use in my business. God brought those jobs in my life to prepare me for what was ahead. The job “Selling Knives” taught me how to sell myself through presentations. When I worked at the business office I learned the importance of being a morning person and how to value time. Through each obstacle I created a stepping-stone that laid the path to my world of unlimited possibilities.
This is my story I am sometimes tired of telling it. But, I keep it a secret, I can’t inspire someone else.
You too have a story. just as I did.
I was once there. I had nothing. I have been that girl who had to decide if I wanted to put gas in my car or buy something to eat. I was once that girl who was lonely and sad because I did not have an ounce of happiness to surround me. My mother got on to me constantly about my bad habits of consuming energy drinks in order to stay awake during the late nights I had homework, yet still having to report to work at 7am the next morning. Yes, I have been there. I am still growing and still learning and getting wiser.
Yet through it all, I am able to continue to grow and inspire all.
Those who never give up win the race. Those who turned to God receive the gold. I believe in myself and I truly believe in you…
My word of encouragement for you is that the universe is writing your story.
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