Tauja: A Life for Granted

By Queonna White

"In this compelling memoir, Queonna takes readers on an unforgettable journey through her life as a dedicated soldier and a resilient single mother. From awe-inspiring road trips to the iconic Mount Rushmore and Yellowstone to the demanding role of a drill sergeant, she navigates the challenges of military life while raising her children.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Queonna White
• Release date: Aug 29, 2024
• ISBN: 9798330380374

Book preview

TAUJA

A Life for Granted

By Queonna White

Copyright © 2024

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published by: Book Publish Pro

Dedication

To my beloved children, for your incredible support and understanding on this journey we’ve taken together as a family of three. Your love and resilience inspire me every day. To my dad, for your endless encouragement to tell my story and for always standing by my side. To my mom for giving me life and the strength to share my truth. And to myself for embracing vulnerability and allowing my story to be known.

Contents

California

Missouri

Georgia

Korea

Utah

Germany

Colorado

Kansas

Washington

Missouri

ACKNOWLEDGEMNTS

1

California

Generational curses may try to define us, but our purpose is greater than the struggles we face.

Long before I was born, I was faced with adversity. The devil knew I was going to be someone special, so he started working on me early. My first memory is not a memory of mine but my mother’s. Fifteen and pregnant, she stood before her sisters, crying in search of a solution. Sometimes, I wonder what solution she was looking for. One looks for a solution to problems. It might be safe to say that I was a problem before I even breathed in the world.

A baby having a baby! my mother was mocked. This world that judges so much needs to be questioned for the filth it teaches humans. Mom did not come out of the womb knowing how to reproduce. A child only imitates what they see. With my grandmother having eleven children from four different fathers, my mom was exposed to grandma having sex so early on in her life; it is what she did, too. But the world never held my grandparents accountable for incompetent parenting. Of all things unfair in life, this is too.

My aunts could only suggest that an abortion would make the morning sickness and the pain go away. One of them was pregnant herself, and the other already had two kids. So, of course, I’m kind of disgusted by the suggestion, but I guess that’s the kind of suggestion that ignorant teenagers would give to one another. On days I question my existence, my mother’s decision to have me regardless of the adversities is a warm thought. But it would be a lie if I said there haven’t been times I wished it was otherwise.

Liz, my mother, fell in love with her 21-year-old bad boy, who loved her back but not enough to stay. Between being loyal to his best friend, Peanut, and the girl about to have his child, he chose the former.

Peanut was in need of money and knew my father would be down to ride. She pleaded with him not to go, but he went anyway. He claimed Grape Street Crips and went by the name Lefty. Peanut and my father were used to robbing people at gunpoint. His deviance proved to not serve him well when he was sent to prison before I was born.

Even though he carried that bad boy persona, he was a loyal man. Like all loyal men, someday, he come to face the harsh reality of not being able to be loyal to everyone. My father was a good man, and I don’t blame him for the decisions he made, but I also think a lot of hardships would have been avoided had he been loyal to my mom and not his best friend. It was he who put my father in an awkward position to test his loyalty. So, my father left with the promise to return shortly because he’s been a stick-up kid for many years. When you’re a stick-up kid, you always think you’ll be right back. My father didn’t come right back, and his promise was just as fleeting as his love for my mom. On that night, when everything went on as routine, a man lost his life, and an expecting sixteen-year-old was now alone against the world.

It wasn’t easy giving birth to such a healthy baby, especially when she had to have an emergency C-section to bring me into this world. With every 1-2-3 push, she choked me with the umbilical cord that was wrapped around my neck. This is the second memory of my mother’s that threatened my life, and I was unable to defend myself. The devil was really trying to send the message that he did not want me here, but I was someone special who was meant to be born. I dedicate my life to that courageous sixteen-year-old who had no guidance, well, no positive guidance, but withstood all to protect me inside her. I am afraid she could not do the same after she birthed me.

Four years after entering into the world, I recall hiding under the dining room table, afraid of this strange man my mom was forcing me to spend time with. He placed me like a precious porcelain doll on the back of his Harley and drove me to the other side of the projects to spend time with him, the lady with the pink rollers in her hair and the small Christmas tree that sat on top of one of those big wooden framed floor televisions. I remember it was my first time ever seeing a Christmas tree that small. I was amazed! I thought all Christmas trees were supposed to have been taller than me and able to fit gifts underneath. It was like a dream, one that brings me happiness to this day. A four-year-old could only see the mesmerizing Christmas tree and nothing beyond. Too bad because the lights on the tree and in our lives did not last very long. I watched as everything went dark.

One fine day after Christmas, my mom was lying in bed with this strange man, talking. Then, all of a sudden, she was throwing his clothes out the window while the he stood outside in the yard questioning her. I didn’t see the stranger anymore after that. I often wondered about him until he became a distant memory. However, the incident made me feel very close to my mother. She was my protector… my everything…my only thing. We had no one but ourselves to fight all the demons life was about to