Dear Black Girl, 

 

You have no idea what's in store for you. I remember how excited and nervous you were to go to Howard. I remember that you wanted to become a Howard Youtuber – congratulations, you became one… for about a year. 

 

Although you are filled with excitement, the feeling of nerves and the thought of moving away from home makes your skin crawl. But girl you have no idea. The sky's the limit for you.

 

“Makailah, go be great!” Those will be the last words that your mother will say to you before she leaves you in your dorm, snotty nose and teary eyed. 

 

You will come to Howard as a Nursing pre-med major and try to declare broadcast journalism as a minor. Now that I think about it, that has to be the most random thing to study because you literally don't even like science. It makes sense though. At that moment, you want to become a Doctor so that you could have a medical talk show and it just makes sense to seize the opportunity to learn as much as possible. Just so you know, after that first week of classes, you change your major to journalism. I should've known! After creating that youtube channel, you fell in love with content creation. Although your parents might have side eyed you for switching from a nursing major to a journalism major, I am glad you followed your intuition. That is one of the best decisions that you will make while in college.

 

Your college years will be filled with more tears than you might’ve cried in your whole life. You may think you know yourself, but you truly have no idea what you're doing. I want you to be patient with yourself, Makailah. The transition to college is not easy. And you have so much to learn about yourself and about humans in general. As corny as it sounds, I want you to know and understand that what's for you will be for you. Just try to go with the flow of things. As you continue to matriculate through college, you will be faced with more challenges and rejection that you think you can handle, but everything that happens for you is truly divine.

 

You thought you would spend four years away from home, living your best life in college. That quickly turns into only being in D.C. for two and a half years. Why? Because there's a deadly virus that shuts the entire world down. You will feel cheated out of your college experience and slighted because there's so much that you will aspire to do, but remember, everything that happens for you is divine. Without giving it all away, you start a non-profit organization during the pandemic. Starting a business/organization will not be easy and it will be filled with a lot of sleepless nights, but it will all be worth it. 

 

You will return back to school and nothing will be the same – I mean you leave as a freshman and come back as a junior. You will lose a lot of friends and have a lot of realizations. But in the midst of the fire, something great is brewing. Do not give up, Makailah! Be patient and continue to work hard, but take breaks and celebrate the little things. 

 

Your senior year is the year of yes! You finally got that dream internship that you applied for four times, you will get a freelance writing opportunity, you will be nominated for a hearst journalism award and you will become the news anchor for the class that you have been looking forward to taking. Upon graduation, you will be interning at Bloomberg and you will receive a full-ride to NYU in efforts to become a financial reporter/anchor! As you evolve throughout college, you will change your mind about things, you will fail and you will succeed, but looking back, I am so proud of you. I am forever rooting for you. 

 

Dear Black girl, you are on track to change the world!

 

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”  Isaiah 41:10, NIV

 

Love, 

Makailah Alexis Gause, B.A.