69My name is Erica Bennett and I often use my first and middle name Erica Raquel. I am from Los Angeles, California but moved to Georgia to attend college. I spent nearly 19 years in Georgia before moving back to California due to life circumstances. I have been in the counseling profession for nearly fifteen years as a Therapist and School Counselor. I have also worked in other areas of education as a substitute teacher and in Child Welfare and Attendance. Although I really enjoy the counseling field, I have always believed that God had something else in store for my life and career. I enjoy writing and for the most part, this has been very therapeutic for me in helping me to cope with my own personal struggles. I have accomplished many achievements working with children and families and while working as a Therapist, I maintained a 100% successful case closure rate. This meant that the teens that I worked with went on to lead good lives and were no longer part of the system. I have always had the mindset that if I was able to reach even one child, this was a sure tell sign that I was doing something right. I value God and family and I also believe that you should treat others with the same level of respect that you would want someone to treat you. I am a single parent raising a son in high school and he is my heart. Being a single parent does come with many challenges, but there are also so many benefits to raising an awesome kid. My one and only true love is from the Carribean, but he grew up in the states, New York to be exact. He and I are fighting the immigration system in hopes that he can come back to the United States after deportation. We met in Georgia and when he was forced to go back to the Carribean, my heart went with him. It has been seven years that he has been away from us, we don't get to see each other often but speak on the phone daily. We are Praying that he can come home soon. There are so many levels to my personality. For one, I am very intuitive and I have a gift of being able to see things that is not known to the average human eye. I have not yet fully embraced this gift and I do believe that because of this reason, my senses are a bit limited. I am also divorced and no, I do not maintain communication with my ex-in-laws, but I occassionally talk to my son's father...We are raising a son together but living in different states. The day that I was divorced out of that family was the start of a new life for me and my son. My ex-in-laws tried to kill me, Literally. It was through God's Grace and Mercy that I am still here today. There were people and family known and unknown that were Praying for me. God has a purpose for my life and it is not just to help children and families within the constraints of a school or a counseling organization, but on a higher more deeper level. For so many years, I had not realized this and when I sat back, meditated and developed a closer more intimate relationship with God, he showed me this. God practically had to knock me over the head with a brick to get my attention though. I have been through so much in my life and it has taken me a long time to start the process of forgiving. I not only had to forgive the people in my world who have hurt me, but I also had to learn to forgive myself. My life is far from perfect and it has been laced with so much pain but at the same time, so much happiness. I am no longer just Erica the Therapist, Educator and Counselor, I am now Erica........The writer. Something good is getting ready to happen, I can feel it!
