The Importance of Prayer

I have had my fair share of struggles with trying to make sense of this crazy thing that we call life. We all have plans of just how we want things to go, and we do things to push us in that direction, but what do we do when life doesn't quite go the way we planned? Pray. The only thing that has kept me in spite of it all is my relationship with God. It's been one year since I lost my grandmother, and honestly I have been lost since her passing. Even though nothing else in life went the way I wanted it to go, I knew that I could go to my grandparents house, see my grandmama's face light up, and everything would be ok. Now that I don't have that, the only thing I can do is pray.........to be continued.......

Do You Know What Today Is? It's my locsiversary

Well, my locsiversary was actually yesterday 4/20. Before you ask, NO, I don't smoke weed. I've never smoked anything in my life, though people ask me all the time if I do. I don't know what that's about. Anyway exactly 3 years ago I made the decision to start my loc journey for the third time. People ask me about my locs all of the time, so here are a few facts about my locs.

• My locs were started and maintained using the interlocking method
• I only go to a professional for tightening about 3 times a year
• I don't use any products in my hair at all on a daily basis (I use a tiny bit of mouse to hold curls
• I wash using dawn liquid dish washing soap

I love my locs, but it seems like having them is becoming a trend now. Faux locs are on the rise, and more and more people are making the decision to transition to real locs. I'm not opposed to folks doing what they want, but I've never been one to be a part of a trend. Any who, let the journey continue.......

Social Justice Class

This semester is my last semester of grad school. Let's pause and take a moment to celebrate the end of this journey! I didn't know what to expect from this class, but it is actually turning out to be one of my favorite classes in the program. The class is a social justice class that is designed to get us to be aware of the social justice (or injustice) issues that our country faces. I think that every profession should have some sort of racial sensitivity training, and training for the issues various people face in general. We discuss the root of prejudice, racism, and issues that affect various groups (ethnic groups, LGBT, class, gender, age etc.) in this country and around the world. This class has challenged everything that I have ever been  taught, social norms and even some of my core beliefs. I'm starting to see some of the systems that have been put in place, and how deeply rooted some of those systems are. When I decided to become a teacher, it was because I wanted to make a difference in the educational system. I wanted to change the system for the better interest of the children. I am starting to see just how steep of a mountain that is to climb. When you join the system you are more likely to be gotten rid of before you can get to the point of changing anything. Anyone who deviates too much away from the standard poses to big of a threat to what is in place. Right now I'm just in this space of trying to figure out the next move. Until then, I will countdown the days until my graduation :-).

Welcome to my Open Diary...

 

A few weeks ago I wrote a post on Facebook expressing that though your life may not be where you want it to be, it is OK. Things don't always go as planned, but I've come to learn that the hiccups we experience in life are actually more common than we perceive them to be.  We spend our time living our real lives in secrecy and portraying an image for the general public. Social media can make everyone's lives seem so perfect, and your own life feel so empty. I was going through a tough time in life and felt like my life really wasn't worth much at all. On the surface I had a college degree, purchased a home and had a steady career. On the inside I would come home to an empty house because I'm STILL single, felt the connections with those I was once really close to was slipping away, gaining weight due to stress from one of the toughest times in my career and the list goes on. I would peruse the pages of Facebook, pictures on Instagram and videos on Snapchat and it further implanted the idea in my mind that everyone else's lives were so amazing compared to my insignificant life. Then God started to reveal some situations that "seemed" perfect on the surface, but had much deeper issues going on. At first I was confused. How could things like this be happening to people who for years have had it all together, or at least looked like they did?  I realized everyone has a story. No story is without its adversity. God has touched me in a number of ways through revealing true stories about people, messages at church and personal study in the Word. A weight has been lifted, and though my life isn't where I want it to be, I'm OK with that. In the mean time I'm going to live my life out loud and make the most of the life I've been given. I hope that you enjoy joining me on this journey.