Today we’d like to introduce you to Tyisha Jenkins.
Tyisha, before we jump into specific questions about your work, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Well every day since Covid-19 has disrupted our lives, I have received a phone call, text or read a post about someone losing a loved one. My heart was aching for each person and their families as they endured these losses. It was devastating to hear about not being able to visit loved ones in the hospital or having abbreviated funeral services. I could not believe we were experiencing so much loss as a city, state, country, and world. All I could do was pray for the hearts that were mourning and remind myself that God would help them through their hurt and pain just like he did my family when we lost my mother, my brother, and my father within a ten-year span. As I reflected on my experiences, I was afforded the opportunity to write a devotional from the award-winning Sparkle Publishing Company. The gist of the devotional was to allow women from all over the world to share their stories of God’s promises in their lives. I, along with 129 other women from four countries and 17 states, chose promise verses and shared their various stories of grief, mental health, mental illness, marriage, singleness, healing, faith, business, family, and other areas. My area of focus was faith and I wrote about how holding on to my faith and God’s promise of knowing the plans He has for my life, to prosper me and not harm, to give me hope and a future after losing my loved ones. (Jeremiah 29:11).
I have always wanted to be a published author, but I never imagined that it would be in this form or writing about my experiences of losing my parents and brother. I know now that God’s plans had everything to do with me being able to honor them while also helping others heal from their pain of loss. I have been blessed to be the top-selling author for the Promise Devotional since the release date on July 31, 2020. I have gotten opportunities to speak, interview, write and share my story with others, and it has been pure joy. Many say my authenticity and transparency draws people to my story, so I have decided that I want to share more about my life and how I overcame a childhood riddled with addiction, but also rich with valuable life lessons. I have become so excited about writing that I am working on a prayer journal and want to take on more writing opportunities. I have launched a blog with my cousin on YouTube titled “Teacher Tea Time,” where we share our experiences as public school educators. I am also very excited to relaunch my t-shirt line Skool Khloz, which redefines the way students wear their confidence. All in all, this opportunity to write in this devotional has given me hope, a future, and ignited my passion for writing, inspiring, and helping people in whatever way I can. I am just ready to make the difference that I have always felt was part of my destiny.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Goodness, my life hasn’t been a smooth road at all, but it has always been about perspective for me. Growing up was never easy. I was raised by very loving and hardworking parents, but they struggled with drug and alcohol addiction before I even was born. I experienced and witnessed abuse firsthand: mental, physical, and emotional. We struggled at times as a family to make ends meet, but my dad always said, “we might be poor, but we are rich in spirit.” I hated to hear this, but he was so right. My family and I had it hard at times, but we always had each other, until we didn’t.
In 2005, my mother passed away of congestive heart failure and kidney failure. My road became rocky when I lost my mom, but I could not fathom the devastation of losing my youngest brother next. My brother died in 2006 after 16 days in critical condition from a gunshot wound to his head. The road was now rocky and the path ahead was very foggy. Life had become very unclear and unfair. Anger, depression, guilt and anxiety had become my best friends and I resented them all so much. After a few years, things seemed to get better and my heart was starting to piece itself back together. Unfortunately, it was broken again when my father was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer and passed away after three short months. Those friends returned; I became angry, depressed, and filled with anxiety again. It has been six years since I have experienced a close loss, but I have learned to process loss differently. I have learned to partner with God through prayer and allow Him to protect my heart. So with all of this, I am now able to honor my loved ones in this devotional and this has become part of my healing.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
Skool Khloz is a brand that was created and founded by myself. I love education, fashion, words, and powerful statements and decided to infuse them together to redefine the way students everywhere wear their confidence. Students from preschool to pre-med will be able to wear fresh, creative, unique designs that inspire, encourage and provoke thought. The messages will be clear: be different, be bold, be positive, be proud, be hardworking, be inspired, be motivating, and most of all, be you.
I have been an educator for 18 years and I have seen the way students see themselves as young people and learners. With this brand, I hope to redefine the way students see themselves in the education realm by adding a sense of positivity and belonging back into the school environment. Students will be and feel connected by not trying to fit in, but by standing out through embracing school and their education.
The design and logo started with the words school clothes and my passion for making a difference in this world, but I knew the words had to be different in some way. So I went to the resource where words dwell, the dictionary, and decided to spell the words “school clothes” like they are phonetically pronounced “Skool Khloz.” The spelling alone sets the stage for something different, something fresh, something redefined. My passion derived from my own personal struggles as a single mom and educator who firsthand recognized the lack of confidence that young girls and boys had when coming to school. A lot of students become lost, become followers, and just don’t know how to navigate a life of being their true, genuine self in the face of social media, societal adversities, and lack of morals and values nowadays. This saddened me daily and I often prayed that my son was confident enough to go to school each day and believe in himself no matter the adversities he faced. I believe these prayers are working for my son as he grows and matures, but I wanted to influence and impact change in other young people’s lives as well.
Although I am an educator with two college degrees, I have struggled as a single mother at times to purchase school clothes for my own child. The vision for this clothing brand means so much more than the tradition of buying new school clothes each year, but this brand symbolizes changing the face of the future for my child and his children’s children. I want my child to attend college without the burden of student loans, I want to be able to pay for my son’s education, and I want him to see that when God plants a seed, he expects us to water it, feed it, and cultivate it. I want him to see that dreams do come to fruition. I want his children’s children to be wearing Skool Khloz and their unique confidence for a very long time.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Oh, that’s a tough one… there are so many. I would have to say that every Christmas always left us with wonderful memories. One Christmas, when I was in 2nd grade (1987), I begged Santa for a Hugga Bunch doll, like this was truly the only thing I wanted. So as gifts were added to the tree, I became more and more excited by the day. There was a large box under the tree with my name on it and I just knew it was my doll. My youngest brother took the liberty of poking a hole in the box, revealing my Hugga Bunch. I was disappointed that he poked my gift, but I was also very happy and relieved that he did. I loved this doll and was so grateful that my parents were able to get it for me.
Pricing:
- Promise Devotional is $22.00 plus shipping and handling
Contact Info:
- Website: https://bit.ly/doptyishajenkins
- Email: tyishajenkins@sbcglobl.net
- Instagram: @ladytj220
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tyisha.jenkins.7
- Twitter: @LadyTJ220
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