As her first book—Battle Cry: The Demon Slayer Knight—goes to print, Ohio University alum Marjorie McKee shares her personal story of struggle to get where she wanted to go in life.
By Marjorie McKee*
Ohio University alum
In 1986, I dropped out of high school in the 11th grade. I was a 17-year-old bride with a baby a year later. One day while standing in a food stamp line and holding my screaming daughter who had a loaded diaper, I dropped to my knees in tears. My life had to change….
Nightly, my husband took care of her while I attended GED classes and “dropped back into school.” About a year and a half later, I graduated as the valedictorian informally without a cap and gown. It took years of “scraping, clawing and fighting” to afford college. Clearly, the odds were stacked against me. When circumstances got tough, I got tougher. Taking “no” for an answer was simply not an option.
Ohio University alum Marjorie McKee
Having missed my high school graduation with my friends, I declined offers to try on their caps and gowns. All I could do was regret the end result of my choice. As I held back the tears, I wanted to earn my own so badly. With hard work and the refusal to give up, it had finally paid off. Graduation Day 1997 at Ohio University came, and I stood at the mirror with my grandmother, mother and daughter. The moment was magical. Since then, I have had two more OU graduations (an A.A. from University College in 1997 and a B.S.S. in 1998, followed by a Master of Social Sciences in 2010 from the College of Arts & Sciences).
Previously, I chose to share this with my students both high school and college, in hopes to encourage them to graduate. Being a high school drop-out, I came from a lineage of women who had done the same. Wearing her cap and gown, my baby girl received both her high school and college diplomas without quitting. This gap had finally been bridged.
Not only were these dreams accomplished, but also those to be a writer and college professor as well. My first novel in a trilogy was released nationwide on Sept. 30, 2014. Still, I can remember when all of this was just a dream for “someday.” My last major goal is to go from a high school drop-out to earning a Ph.D.
Having the power of an education fuels dreams into reality. The objective of my story is to inspire you to never give up! If you make a bad decision, do not let it define who you are! If you hit “rock bottom,” you can still look up! There is always hope! Get up! Brush off the dust and go again! Anything is possible until you take your last breath! Don’t stop believing in your possibilities! Learn and grow from your experience! Keep moving forward in life! Find your potential! Discover what you are made of! You are stronger and smarter than you think!
Dare to be different… Dream… Dare to dream… Dream it! Believe it! Achieve it! If you want something, GO GET IT! If you can dream it…you CAN have it! Find what makes you happy and GO DO IT! Follow your dreams and MAKE them happen! Believe in yourself! Refuse to settle for less than what you want! “Can’t” does absolutely nothing… “CAN” does anything! You CAN do anything you set your mind to! This is YOUR moment! Just spread YOUR wings and fly!
I wish you all of the success your dreams CAN bring…
Ohio University CAN and WILL give you the keys to unlock the door to your dreams!
Follow McKee on Twitter.
About The Demon Slayer Knight
Christian Thomas Blake, an all-American teenager, loves to play classic ’70s guitar riffs and investigate the paranormal with his forever-young father, Tom. They cross paths with the elderly Mary Daniels, who time forgot and society ignores. When she staggers into a roadside diner, nearly dead, they come to her aid. But Mary is hiding a deadly secret in her house, on her hill, and in her town.
Mary has accidentally used the Law of Invitation, giving evil permission to access what has lain dormant for over a century. The little town of Harrison, Ohio, revisits its bloody battlefield, where deadly spiritual warfare is very real. Hell moans and groans, giving them its worst while they give it their best.
Christian pieces together the 1906 mystery as only one before him dared but did not survive. Simple child-like faith shakes down the pits of hell as he discovers the true identity of the Antichrist and the devil’s maniacal plot to bring him into being!
“The Demon Slayer Knight: Battle Cry” portrays a test of endurance between body and soul, the visible and the unseen, as the ultimate battle is fought between good and evil.
*She originally posted her own story on the College of Arts & Sciences Facebook.
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