People say time heals all wounds, but they never say how much time. Last month I learned that, for me, time meant a little over two years. It is just now that I’m finally settling into a breakup that I had experienced back in 2016.
The breakup affected my belief in God and the very foundation I set my faith on.
Read MoreI stressed myself trying to create meaningful relationships, that I ended up having to cancel more people than I could call on. People’s baggage wasn’t good for my health, and while we all come with it, it was important for me to recognize how much of it I could carry, and frankly, whose was worth carrying.
No matter how many ways I tried to force connections, none of them mattered. The women who weren’t meant for me simply weren’t meant for me. While I had never been a stranger to knowing how and when to release friendships, I recognized that I also had to learn how to nurture and protect them.
Read MoreI began my journey toward finding my peace after moving out of my parents’ house about five years ago. After living in the chaos of having college and grad school roommates, then back to a house with my parents and older brother — and having to write my name on my groceries — I was ready to venture off to a new place of solitude and quiet peace. I wanted to own and enjoy this transition.
I learned early on, that while place can affect peace, perspective is one of its largest contributors. With that revelation, I began the self-work necessary for cultivating peace.
I’ve never been a stranger to cutting people off. It was how I protected myself from the ills of this world — from people who wanted nothing but to suck me dry. I had never experienced being cut off myself, though, so you can only imagine how painful it was when my best friend decided to do some cutting.
Read MoreShe pressed send on a message to an old thang and poured a glass of Chardonnay. The day had been long enough and she needed something to take her mind off the misery.
Long hours at the job, a recent heartbreak, and the loss of her favorite aunt was making life seem pretty bleak lately. She was just going through the motions.
He pressed me to write this post. It had been sitting in my drafts for months. I knew the exact angle I was going to take, I just hadn’t started working on it yet. God was pushing me, though. He wanted me to get it done as soon as possible. I couldn’t understand what the rush was, but considering the urgency, I did what He told me to.
Read MoreI overheard a group of women in the locker room as I was getting changed for my usual lunchtime workout session. One complained after weighing herself for what she claimed was the fourth time in two weeks. “I still haven’t lost any weight,” she said. “I’m not coming back,” she continued.
From the outside looking in – me being a stranger and all – it appeared that her imperfect results had inspired her to quit the gym altogether.
Read MoreA good thing happened. After three years of blogging on my own platform, I was asked to become a contributing writer for xoNecole. I couldn’t believe that my ‘side hustle’ was finally manifesting itself into a paid gig. And the best part: I’d be impacting even more women than I was on my own side of the internet. It was a dream come true.
Read More“Becoming Mr. & Mrs. Smith” was the title of Red Table Talk’s most recent episode. I immediately pressed play on a video that I knew would lend insight that I long anticipated, from one of my favorite celebrity couples: Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith. The pair sat along side co-hosts, Adrienne Banfield-Jones and Willow Smith, to dissect how Will and Jada met, the growth of their relationship, and how they’ve successfully sustained their 20-year marriage.
Read MoreWhen I decided in December 2017 to avoid taking vacations this year, I had no idea what it would mean for my personal growth. I’d made this rash decision in an attempt to rebuild my savings account — which had drained a bit since putting money down on a new car. I was single, but something in me told me to save for my wedding. So I did.
Read More“Check on your strong friends.” That sentence sweeps social media every time a new suicide hits the news. People suddenly urging each other to go check on the “strong friend”, as if the “strong friend” shouldn’t have been checked on before. People worried that the one who displays the least vulnerability, may be on the headline of the next news article.
Read More"I don't appreciate you talking about my girlfriend," he said as he aggressively approached us about what he felt was disrespect toward his white girlfriend.
He was black.
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