Let me introduce myself

For nearly twenty years, I made a career of enhancing the beauty in others; bringing my clients’ inner selves to the surface through their appearance. Being a Hair Stylist was a career that I absolutely adored and it served me well for many years. I met, and formed lasting relationships, with interesting, inspiring, and supportive people – many of whom I call friends, and some, I consider family.

In my late thirties, I decided to take a huge risk, quit my job, and pursue some of my other passions like law and politics. I am now a full-time student majoring in Political Science and plan to get a law degree. I aspire to practice in the areas of civil rights and animal law. I am also obsessed with political speeches and dream of being a speech writer as well. Partisanship aside, I love campaigning. The research, polls, and demographical data are fascinating to me. The behind-the-scenes aspects of a political campaign are like “death by chocolate” to my sweet tooth.

I am truly blessed to have the support of the love of my life and together, we have ten kids and one foster kid. Nine of our children happen to have fur and four legs and the other one has scales and no legs. I realize that some don’t consider dogs, cats, and snakes to be children, but the love and devotion we have is no different than parents of human children have for their kids.

Four of our “fur-kids” happen to be Pit Bulls or Pit Bull mixes. I was not prepared, when I adopted them, for the discrimination I would endure due to their breed. I did not know that society would force me to become an advocate for the breed. But, like everything else I have ever tackled in my life, I approach my role as advocate whole-heartedly, with as much passion as I am capable of mustering. I compare it to stories of parents who adopt a child of a different race. The dirty looks, stares, and insensitive questions from strangers that those parents are subjected to are similar to the reactions I get when I take any of my Pit Bulls out in public. I am committed to changing the negative image of this amazing breed through awareness and education.

My role as advocate extends beyond the realm of protecting my own children. It extends to others’ children as well – human ones. As a Court Appointed Special Advocate, or CASA, I have the unique privilege of representing the best interest of victims of abuse and neglect in the court system and making recommendations to the judge as to what is needed for these children. It’s an honor I take extremely seriously and probably the hardest yet most rewarding role I have played in my life thus far. I invest my very soul in my work as a CASA and, as much as I enjoy my sleep, I will happily lose hours of it in order to make a tiny difference in the lives of the children I advocate for. I often confuse my friends when I talk about my “kids”. You just never can tell if I am referring to my “CASA kids” or my “fur-kids”.

My partner and I arrange our schedules around sports. We both bleed crimson and cream and our neighbors surely tire of hearing BOOMER yelled throughout our house on Saturdays. It’s a good thing I am a spoiled Sooner fan because on Sundays, I am a hopeless Dolphins fan. Talk about devotion. I have also been a lifelong Braves fan, which makes me seem like a schizophrenic sports fan, but I’ll explain. You see, my father is from Oklahoma and he raised me right where college football is concerned. I spent a good portion of my childhood in Little Rock, Arkansas, which does not have a Major League baseball team. As a lover of the sport, I watched the only team that was on television and we happened to get the Atlanta channel. In my early teens, I moved to south Florida which also didn’t have a Major League baseball team at the time, but also got the Atlanta channel. So, the Braves were the closest thing I ever had to a “home” team. Once the Florida Marlins were founded, I didn’t miss an opening day for their first eight seasons. In season nine, I moved to Oklahoma City, OK, where I still reside. When it comes to sports, my guilty pleasure is NASCAR. I don’t have a favorite driver – I am just a true fan of the sport.

If you asked me, when I was a little kid, what I wanted to be when I grow up, I would answer, “a race car driver”. I suppose my current employment is appropriate while I’m in college since I am one of “America’s Favorite Sandwich Delivery Guys”, employed by a corporation whose slogan is “Subs So Fast You’ll Freak” and specializes in “Extremely Fast Delivery”. Not only do I love the food and get a sweet discount, but it says right on the menu “increases students’ GPA” so it’s a win-win all the way around for me! When I open my private law practice, I will definitely have to find an office within the Jimmy John’s delivery area – and I’ll tip my drivers very well!

So, who is this T.J. Ervin? She seems a little crazy. A Hair Stylist and wanna-be Lawyer who likes politics (of all things), has Pit Bulls, cats, and a snake. Sports fan extraordinaire: The Sooners, Dolphins, Braves, and NASCAR? Random. CASA volunteer and delivery driver. These things are all over the map! What do they have in common?

Service. Loyalty. Humility. Determination. Passion.

Although I claim Unitarian Universalist as my religion, my favorite quote is from the Bible and best expresses my philosophy in life. “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy” (Proverbs 30: 8-9).