I'm Backkkkk!!!!

Forgive me, I have been on a little hiatus. I'm at home, relaxing and enjoying my Christmas break. I then say to myself, UPDATE YOUR BLOG! This is just a quick, educational post. I will try to get to some juicy stuff later.

Every year, I literally re-learn the different days of Kwanzaa. Since it was created to allow African Americans to celebrate Christmas differently then mainstream society, I figure I should share. In 1966, Ron Karenga created this tradition with the hopes that Kwanzaa will be the first official African American Holiday. Besides Juneteenth, there isn't a holiday that is celebrated specifically by Blacks. It's based off of the 7 principles of "Blackness" (the best of African thought and practice in constant exchange with the world) and comprises Kawaida, a Swahili term for tradition and reason. The holiday is celebrated from Dec 26th through January 1st... So, this is turning a little to educational and boring. These are the specific days and what they represent. I'll be honest, we didn't really celebrate these growing up. Maybe we should start. Enjoy!

• Umoja (Unity): To strive for and to maintain unity in the family, community, nation, and race.
• Kujichagulia (Self-Determination): To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves, and speak for ourselves.
• Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility): To build and maintain our community together and make our brothers' and sisters' problems our problems, and to solve them together.
• Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics): To build and maintain our own stores, shops, and other businesses and to profit from them together.
• Nia (Purpose): To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.
• Kuumba (Creativity): To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.
• Imani (Faith): To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders, and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.

Life....

You know, when I started this blog, one of my sorors told me that I wouldn't keep up with it-- and obviously she was right. lol. Anyway, I'm awake and surfing the net and figured I would write a post...

There are so many transitions that have occurred in my life within the last couple of years. Believe it or not, I have battled with many things that left me emotionally depleted. One of the best things that I did was take a year off from school. I had a year to regroup. Read. Workout. Sleep. Cry. Catch up with friends. Laugh. And most importantly, improve me. I have grown so much as a person, within my faith, that I can't help but be excited about all the beautiful, new transitions I am embarking upon. Even though I'm entering a rigorous program, and it will be back to hitting the books, I absolutely cannot wait. lol. We'll let the countdown begin. 2 more weeks until I move. : )

Recently, I had the pleasure of meeting and listening to Susan Taylor, the former editor of Essence. This woman had such a beautiful spirit and had this inner peace about her. She was spiritually grounded, extremely humble, charming and yet able to keep it so real. It was something about her that caused all people to gravitate toward her. Anyway, I bought one of her books... Its titled All About Love and gives advice about relationships, faith, finding peace and social action--- topics that are important to every woman. the door opens inward......
We women love to talk about love. Many of us who are not in relationships can think of nothing we want more. And many of us who have made the connection want those bonds to be closer, deeper and more complete. Women know what makes life work-we know that love is life's fuel, that the love experience makes the life experience better. Love- it's our heart's desire. But often we look outside ourselves to fill the emptiness within.
A woman's search for love is the search for herself, for her own enchantment. But society misdirects girls early on, away from themselves and their feminine power. Over time, we absorb the media's continuous message: "You are not enough; a love relationship is our salvation. Find a man, be sexually intimate and get him to marry you." Society promises that marriage- especially to a man of means- will offer us love and sanction our worth. Believing this exacts a high price from women: It cost us our dignity and power, encouraging fear and neediness- the last thing any secure man wants.
No person on earth can give you all the love you need- through mutal caring and sharing, combined with sexual intimacy, is desired and oh, so sweet. Your deep yearning for communion originates from your soul and is a yearning for unity with God. It is a longing to expereince the greatest part of yourself, the only love you can always count on, the only love that will never leave you. When a sister is connected to her spiritual core, she has found her glory. She's openhearted, full of joy and passion. her way of living is an expression of reverence for life- for her own and all others- so she's soft and sensitive. She honors above all else her covenant with God, so she wants for nothing. men of dignity and faith show up. They can't resist her. She's the type of partner men long for but have great difficulty finding- a person with whom they can drop their masks and be themselves, a person with the spiritual maturity to be discerning but not judgemental. She knows that a man's greatest gift is not matieral or physical; they are on the inside.
If we take time every day to focus on our blessings, on what we have, not what we feel is missing in our life, a new joy will fill and satisfy our soul. For our relationships to be healthy and fulfill their diving purpose, the door to ur heart myst open inward to harmony and cooperation.

Pervert... Pedophile.... Child Molester

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RmneMDZlWQ


This video shows Rep Peter King criticizing the media for giving Michael Jackson so much media attention. He claims that their are real heroes that should be celebrated for their everyday efforts in risking their life for our country and educating youth. He struck a big nerve when he called Michael Jackson a pervert, peodophile and child molester and that our country's morals and valuess are skewed because we are celebrating the King of Pop. I will be the first to admit that Peter King does not represent my views on nearly anything, his opposition to President Obama speaking at Notre Dame, his comparision of the violence in Baghdad to Manhattan and his overall conservative views, but he did have me when he said no one would leave their children or grandchildren with Michael Jackson. We all know that MJ wasn't convicted of anything, but the charges, the million dollar settlement and questionable activity has always made us supicious, to say the least. We often act as if celebrities are infallable and that we can attest to their character personally, but quite frankly, we cannot. On the eve of Michael Jackson memorial service it is not my goal to take away from his talents or humantarian efforts, but to make us question.... what are our values as a society? Peter King down played Michael Jackson and the musical genius that he was, as well as his humantarian efforts, but he did make a valid point. What about the military men and women fighting oversees? What about our policemen, firemen and teachers? What about all the other unsong heroes that we oftentimes forget about.

imPerfection

There is something so perfect about the word imperfection. We live in a society full of hate, murderers, rapist, criminals, neglected children and many other evil things. I once read, however, that there are no mistakes, just things that we don't understand. As I travel through my journey in life, I just wish to share my hopes, dreams and passions with the world. This blog is a look into my life, my thoughts, my fears and all the things that encompass it.