BlessedIAm
Story by LaSheik Calhoun Book Cover by: Derek Palmer
(pictured below) it word for word. God had a purpose for BlessedIAm through her poetry. It was a passion and purpose for her to share it with others. Also in 2005, BlessedIAm received some profound words of encouragement from a woman named Mary Zabo. BlessedIAm was a caretaker for Ms. Zabo, who was 88 years old at the time. BlessedIAm shared her poem with Ms. Zabo. Ms. Zabo thought that BlessedIAm had plagerized the poem. She was blown away by the poem. BlessedIAm assured her that she had written the poem. She even offered to write a poem right there on the spot. She wrote the poem in about five minutes. The poem was comparing and contrasting herself and Ms. Zabo. BlessedIAm believed that she and Ms. Zabo were similar in strength and determination. Ms. Zabo lost one of her legs. She was told that she would never walk again. Ms. Zabo did indeed walk again. BlessedIAm and Ms. Zabo also shared the same birthday on April 1st. When BlessedIAm finished the poem and read it to Ms. Zabo, she was amazed by the gift of poetry that BlessedIAm had. BlessedIAm thought that everyone wrote poetry and that it wasn’t a special gift. Ms. Zabo assured her that everyone does not possess the gift of poetry. She told BlessedIAm that what she had was definitely a gift. Ms. Zabo bought Blessed I Am a gift. It was a book of poetry by a young twelve year old boy. The young author had passed away at that age. The poetry was written in crayon. Ms. Zabo gave Blessed I Am the gift and told her that she could do it. She could be a writer. BlessedIAm realized that she truly had a gift for poetry. BlessedIAm didn’t share her poetry with anyone after Mary Zabo until she met Jerry Holt. In 2007, BlessedIAm met Jerry Holt, who was a radio personality at the time. She
BlessedIAm had a gift for writing that was evident when she was a young child. She began by reading stories to her family. The stories were letters that were scribbled on folded paper. When she was about seven years old and able to form words and sentenc-
es, BlessedIAm began writing poetry. Poetry was a form of therapy for her. Poetry was a outlet for BlessedIAm to express herself. In 2005, BlessedIAm wrote a poem named “I’m a Soldier”. She wrote the poem in five minutes and also memorized
asked him if she could recite some poetry on his show. Jerry asked to hear some of her poetry. When BlessedIAm shared her poetry with Jerry Holt, he loved it. Jerry wanted to work with her. In 2008, BlessedIAm had her first stage performance. She performed onstage and received great feedback. BlessedIAm realized the stage wasn’t for her. BlessedIAm underwent two heart surgeries in 2009. When she recovered from the surgeries, BlessedIAm assured God that she would give him all the glory for bringing her through her surgeries. BlessedIAm began performing again in 2011. That year was also very busy and productive for her. BlessedIAm was performing every weekend at outdoor festivals, church events, open mics and coffee houses. BlessedIAm shares her testimonies during her performances. She knows that God gets all the glory by giving her strength to keep going. BlessedIAm wrote her first book in 2012. She gathered her poetry, scriptures and thoughts to create “God Calls Me Blessed”. This book is very personal and inspirational to BlessedIAm. God Calls Me Blessed is a must read. BlessedIAm ensures that the readers will understand more about her and her journey by reading the book. BlessedIA