Spinex: Continue on.
“I was in Professor Schlesinger’s class, an English course. At 8:17 am, my heart was pounding. God spoke to me and said, “They are in your room.” I tried to leave, but had already had a reputation for leaving to do interviews.
Spinex: What do you think would have happened if you had made it there?
“I might have got into an alteration and lost everything. Lost my two degrees and my career. Both were so dear to me. I was kind of in an entanglement. Lol.
Spinex: The entanglement with yourself, your career, and school?
“Yes. We all as little children dream a dream, but how many of us are willing to fight for it. Go hell and back for it. Marry it. Sacrifice nearly everything for it. I asked people this. I said are you willing to give up everything for it. Sacrifice your family connections for it? A lot of them said no. I said then you do not want it. I want it and I am going to get it. And I got it. I came from nothing. I have sat and ate at restaurants where presidents have eaten at age 22. Little Gabrielle would have never dreamed it. Never.
Little Gabrielle, would have dreamed about interviewing multi-millionaires in my early 20s. Interviewing actors and directors of billionaire companies. Contracting a secretary of a trillionaire franchise. Emailing the secretary of Bill Gates. Interviewing at least one person in every state and continent by at 21.
Spinex: What have you learned?
“Resilence. Resilence. Resilence. I remember the junior year, I had gained a lot of weight. One of my roommates called me fat ***. I did not get offended. I was severely bullied on my forehead. Again, I did not care.
I learned to love myself as a woman regardless of what others say. Dr. Shabazz taught me this senior year. She looked at a picture that showed my forehead and said “Gorgeous,” whereas most would have made fun of the picture.
Spinex: Why journalism? And have you ever taken a journalism course?
“No. And It’s a world where I get to ask any amount of questions without being judged. I have been also severely bullied for asking questions. And this is the thing that made me get here today. Lord! I came to the conclusion that the one thing people are bullied for is their passion and might be the one thing that makes them.
This world is not for the weak. I am surely not a weak person. If I were, then I would have dropped out of college or never pursued high education Little Gabrielle would have never dreamed of graduating with two degrees!
People ask me, “how I did it?”
I never gave up, no matter how hard it got. I am very persistent to the point it will really annoy a person. I am very inquisitive and curious so I ask questions. I never understood what the big deal was with asking a lot of questions. How are we supposed to learn?
This curious side irritated my roommate. I will not disclose her name. I do not want to add any attention to her. Junior year in college was hell for me.
Spinex: Explain how.
“I remember she yelled at me like a parent. She said clean your room. Then when you are done clean the bathroom. It was her tone. She screamed all of these sentences and words.
I had a tea maker and I would pour the tea leaves in the bathroom toilet and flush it. We did not have a sink for it. She lied and said it made her stomach hurt. I was banned from doing it. I had to walk all the way down in the basement, where my prayer room was to pour it. I lived on the fourth floor. She made my life hell because she was jealous of me and my career. We are in the hallway yelling at the top of . . .
