Blog

"People hate and judge you without even knowing you, they have no idea who you really are, so how can they possibly say anything about you if they don’t know your story?" - Unknown Why is it so easy to judge others? Why do we find it so difficult to put aside our own...

By Michelle Cottom When I Was Younger, Peace Meant Something Different To Me Than It Does Now. When I was very young, I thought of peace as the absence of conflict, much like what comes about after a war stops. As I grew and became a young mother, peace was a quiet...

"We are all unique, and we must respect that uniqueness."— Michelle Cottom "Trusting your individual uniqueness challenges you to lay yourself open." — James Broughton Have you ever thought about how miraculous it is that we are all so unique? At the molecular level,...

By Michelle Cottom One Of My "Michelle-isms" Is "It Is What It Is." I find myself saying that a lot, because there are many things we simply cannot change. I believe we must deal with what we are given and not dwell on could have, should have or what if. Randy Pausch...

"Surround yourself with people who provide you with support and love and remember to give back as much as you can in return."  Karen Kain One of the most important things you can have when you are trying to recover from grief is the love and support of people who care...

Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. Michelle Cottom, mother of Asia Cottom, the eleven-year-old who died on the airplane that crashed into the Pentagon on 9/11, understands that tolerance is not about allowing bad...

When it comes to doing good in the world and for others, it is very important for us to be aware that this is a choice. According to Asia Cottom's parents, "Every day, we decide if we will do good unto others, practice the Golden Rule, and give of ourselves in an...

According to Pastor Herbert Jackson, "Asia was on an assignment from God to spread the message of hope.” One thing we always wonder when someone young is taken from us is "why?"  Why should a young person be given life only to have it taken away so soon?  What is the...

The Cottom Family Embodies The Idea Of Taking A Tragedy And Turning It Into Victory. It is almost impossible to imagine the pain of losing a child unless it has happened to you, and it is even more impossible to imagine losing a child in a violent national tragedy...

“A coach’s success is not in the number of wins produced, but in the number of winners produced.”- Unknown After the death of his daughter Asia, Clifton Cottom found solace in putting his energy into coaching.  According to Clifton, "In the years following Asia’s...