I Am My Favorite Salt!

I used to love any sort of Lays potato chips. The plain lightly salted ones were always my favorite. But since I recently started watching what I eat, I only eat chips in moderation. Because of my limited access to chips, I have begun to take a likeking to the Salt and Vinegar ones. They go great with a tall glass of apple juice. Must be the sweet and salty combo! I used to think that they were my favorite salt. I have never been a fan of salt. Salt is absolutely never added to my food. I actually hate the way it makes my food taste. I can stomach it on a bag of chips though. It is the strangest thing. Even though I prefer salt and vinegar chips, there is a salt that I love even more!

Matthew 5:13 says, ‘You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt looses its saltiness, how can it be salty again. It’s no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled over!’ God has called his children to be the salt of the earth. Broken down even further, he’s called his children to be truthful and sincere about sharing the gospel and our faith journey. ‘We are the way, the truth and the life,’ John 14:6.

So, every time I go to pick up a bag of salt and vinegar chips, I think of my Heavenly Father and what he has called me to do for him here on earth. I have been called and chosen to worship in spirit and in truth. It is my duty to share the good news. By doing so, my salty chips taste so much sweeter!

How Teaching Prepared Me For Success! Three Part Series! Part One.

For as long as I can remember, I have had the deep desire to be an educator. I vividly remember my first job babysitting my neighbors kids. When my siblings and I were kids, we would pretend to play 'school.' I was always the teacher. As I got older, the beginning of each school year was a favorite of mine. My parents took me to get school supplies and I quickly found out that it was the most fun. I loved getting prepared for school each year. I have been blessed to know that I wanted to be a teacher since declaring my major in college. My first teaching experience was abroad in Mexico City, MX. In this blog post, we are discussing how my teaching experience prepared me for success!

In 2003, I flew to Mexico City from Los Angeles, CA. After a 4 hour flight, I went through customs and began exploring my new home for the next 6 months. I landed a position as a teacher at The Wall Street Institute. I would be working 5 days a week. My hostel (hotel) was about 15 minutes from work. I travelled to and from work by foot everyday. Although my commute was short, I was very nervous about walking to work. I was one of the only African American people that I saw on a daily basis. Right off the bat, my commute taught me independence and responsibility. I had to be very vigilant everyday that I travelled to work. That is not something I was used to in my previous living situations. I was living and working in a third world country so everything about being there was out of my comfort zone. Having to adjust my daily routine to get to work safely taught me lots of discipline. I had the same weekly schedule while living abroad. Although my boss was American, my students were both Asian and Mexican. At the time, I spoke little to no Spanish. After a few months of teaching, I picked up some Spanish along the way. I learned enough to be able to communicate with my students, hail a cab and order my food from the restaurants my roommate and I went to. I learned something new everyday from my students.

Teaching allowed me to merge preparation with organization. Effective teaching doesn't happen without a combination of these two skills. I was also able to get over my fear of public speaking. I had to prepare for each lesson in order to be able to teach effectively. I had a combination of adult learners and teenagers. I had small group classes, as well as individual classes. I would constantly get feedback from my boss. When I stayed on task and hit deadlines, I was most effective with my students.

The Basics Of Bossing Up!

Bossing Up is very humbling. Humbling because we have to take full responsibility for our actions. In ‘The Basics of Bossing Up,’ I will be putting you on to some tips and tricks that I have been practicing since last year in order to take my life to the next level. That is the definition of bossing up. These habits have allowed me to see and experience a tremendous change in my life for the better. Singer and songwriter, Ciara would be proud because I have definitely leveled up a lot. Bossing Up is a mentality. It’s not something that you can study. You acquire these life skills over time and they often come as a result of lots of life experience. Sometimes painful. Bossing Up requires ACTION!

‘Remain positive throughout life’s curve balls.’ Positivity is key to experiencing any sort of elevation in life. Remaining positive allows us to act day after day, trial after trial and victory after victory. Excellence is a habit. After a period of time, if you continue putting excellence first, Bossing Up is inevitable. It will become habitual in your everyday life, walk and talk. Your journey will also start to affect other people around you for the greater good!

‘Be the change that you want to see in the world.’ Being true to yourself and your journey are vitally important to becoming a great leader. ‘The past is heavy, put it down.’ Letting go of the past is also very important. Letting go of the past is not always the easiest thing to do in life. You have to allow yourself grace and must be patient with yourself. Forgive yourself and others. When I was trying to let go of past hurts, I prayed without ceasing for God to remove the weight of grief. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 says, ‘…there is a time for everything, even grief.’ Humans are meant to evolve. We aren’t meant to stay in the same phases of life forever. We have to grow and change, through the good and the not so good!

Take care of of your body and mental health. Taking care of your body is biblical. ‘Our bodies are temples.’ 1 Corinthians 6:19. Becoming a great leader will require you to show up whether you are feeling like it or not. It’s imperative that in order to perform in any leadership role, one must be mentally available for a lot of other people. Bossing Up always requires the leader to put others first. 

I work out for my mental health first. It keeps my mind sharp, all while taking care of my physical wants, needs and goals!

Last but certainly not least in my tips on Bossing Up in life is learning how to speak up and ask for what you want. It’s important to get into the habit of being honest with yourself and it’s especially important in any leadership role. Bossing Up requires you to be bold. Speak what you want into existence. Closed mouths do not get fed!

Allow Me To Reintroduce Myself! (In my Jay Z voice)

I’ve actually never done a social media intro! I don’t know why it took so long. To my new friends..

I’m Knetris (pronounced Kuh-Née-Tris, like Tetris) My close friends call me K. and I call myself a child of God🧸 I was born in rural Virginia and was raised there too. (VA stand uuuppp) My first ever job was babysitting my neighbors kids so teaching is definetly part of my calling. I attended UVA (GO HOOS) and studied English Language and Literature. I have always been a big writer and a sports fanatic. After interviewing at ESPN a day after graduating from college and not getting the job, I began a career in education. On and off, it has lasted over 16 years!

Over the past two years, I have started investing in my overall health more. Health is Wealth is my LIFELONG mantra. It’s SO important to take care of yourself. I started running again. Instead of craving dark chocolate with almonds, I find myself reaching for a hearty bag of trail mix and guys, that is huge for me. I’ve lost about 60 pounds since 2016. There is no time limit to taking care of yourself. It is in fact a lifelong lifestyle change. I love being fit.

I just want you to know that I’m that woman, friend, sister, daughter, girlfriend who WILL check in all the time! We could’ve just spoken on the phone and I’ll call back 10 minutes later asking if you are good. It’s just how God designed me. I’m truly in love with life! In love with improving, getting better, being a good steward over all that God has blessed me with. Totally elated to have real PEACE in my life! When you visit my page, I want you to leave better, stronger, more loving. KIND! Ready for the world! It’s nice to meet you! Let’s GO!