Being Beyonce

As I sit here, unbraiding my hair from these cornrows, I am reflecting on how my Halloween night went…and how I was left quite unimpressed.

But more importantly, I am reflecting on the importance of envisioning a goal and then setting out all the steps to get it. Take for example my Beyonce costume. I have been (constantly) talking about being Beyonce for Halloween, about learning the Single Ladies dance, and about just going all out and looking like Beyonce. So..I set my sights on doing just that…and I made sure I ordered leotard, shoes, and tights in time for me to try them on and complete the outfit. I also was sure to get an official wig and not half-step at all on any detail for this costume. Sooo…when it came time for me to be Beyonce for Halloween, there was no room for the possibility of me not being Beyonce.

On the other hand, when it came to the aspect of the parties I would attend during Halloween, I flippantly shrugged my shoulders and assumed that there would be plenty of parties at my disposal…therefore, I did not need to worry about that part too much (which probably led to my disappointment/annoyance this evening, but I digress).

Which leads me to my actual point – at a certain point, specifically when someone asked me about the parties, I made a choice at that very moment. I made a choice that being Beyonce was much, much more important than determining which parties I would attend on Halloween night. It was so important to me, that I had even learned the dance to perform if the song ever came on while at a party, lol. Which would also explain why I really wasn’t very mad about the party being a bust tonight — it was not of high significance to me. Now, if my wig had gotten messed up and I couldn’t wear it…all hell would have broken loose.

So, I guess I walk away with two things from this recent reflection. One, we all make choices at every moment about what is important to us and what is not important to us…regardless of whether or not we consciously realize it. Second, due to the fact that we are always making choices, being conscious of the ones that are important to you is very crucial in this life. If we spend all of our time trying to put our energy into spaces/people/etc. that we have already deemed unimportant, we are taking away time and energy from the spaces/people/etc. that are truly important to us.

So…I guess I am actually not annoyed that I couldn’t party like I wanted to this Halloween evening….annoyed I stood on line for a long time in painful shoes, but all in all, I accomplished what was most important to me – being Beyonce.

Question though — what is most important to you at this moment in your life?

Mine? Getting some food to eat, lol…check in with you all later!

‘This Is It’ Opens, Fans RAVE

I was worried about watching this movie…I was worried that people were going to exploit Michael Jackson’s legacy for a quick buck. But, given so many people’s positive responses, I think I am going to go and see it — celebrating a shooting star (for music and so much more) who will live on forever in so many people’s hearts.

We love you Michael Jackson!
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Barack Obama Is Doing My Job; Why America Needs Him to Do His

“Misery that is avoidable — if only Barack Obama would stop acting like a pundit, egging on change from the sideline, and start acting like the president, dictating the game from the middle of the field.”

I have to say that I completely agree with Arianna here — our President needs to start acting like the President of the United States, the leader of the free world…instead of sitting on his hands and waiting out other people’s positions. Not only did I vote for this man but I also put my money, time and energy on the line to put him in office. And now I am having serious doubts about his capability to lead and to push this country in the direction it needs to go. I will not always agree with him but I need for him to actually take a stand — so we have something to debate. Instead, he continues to not take a stand, continues to hope for the best and completely seems to forget to plan for the worst. Frankly, I am not sure if his current behavior is a part of some larger “strategy” to deal with those who did not vote for him that none of us are privy to at the moment — but I hope by the time we hit 2010, we start to better understand this “strategy”­…otherwi­se, I’m going to have to seriously reconsider why I voted for him in the first place.

Read more at: http://bit.ly/41otkL
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

K’naan: The Problem of Charity

K’naan: The Problem of Charity

Posted using ShareThis

Why Joe Biden Should Resign

During the Bush administration, the American people were treated as children who just needed to be told what to do…and that was how that administration was run from within as well.

So please, please — do not compare the two administrations on this issue. I would rather my President decide to do something I disagree with if at the very least I know that the debate has been had within AND outside of the administration. At the very least, I know that there is some actual discussion and thought occurring versus commands just being given.

Please Arianna — your call for his resignation sounds quite noble but quite frankly, not really best for the country. That is like me telling someone to quit their job when they have not set themselves up with a future plan — it is noble, feels good at the moment (and maybe even a few weeks afterward) but then stagnation­/upheaval/­fear, etc. sets in without any plan in sight.

So if you suggest VP Biden resign, please, please have a whole list of what our next steps will be to find a worthy VP candidate, handle the fallout of his resignation and the possible blacklash he would face for “abandoning” the country during its time of need.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Why Joe Biden Should Resign

I have to wholeheartedly disagree with Arianna. I think that it is important that Vice President Biden stands behind his words…I do. I also think it is healthy and sound for VP Biden to openly disagree with President Obama — it reminds us that our current administration is not going to always agree with each other and that is a fact of life. However, for VP Biden to resign? What good would that do for the administration, our country and the troops in Afghanistan? If VP Biden resigns, than that the throws the Obama administration into a complete upheaval — more than it has been through since its inception. Right now, the American people need our administration to be as stable as it can be…the American people are going through enough already than to have to deal with more upheaval, surprises and deep issues.

In regards to comparing VP Biden to those members of the Bush administration? It is definitely a stretch simply because those who were a part of the Bush administration were individuals who did not really speak out until AFTER all was said and done, AFTER so many of our troops died in Iraq and Afghanistan, AFTER they left or were forced to leave the Bush administration. Their public silence did the American people no good whatsoever because it did not let us know whether or not we had an ally within that administration for our opposing opinions.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

What life would I lead if I knew how and when it all ended?

I have not written here in a while…hmm….it definitely has been quite a while.

I sometimes wonder if there is an expiration date on things. There must be, right? I mean, it would only make sense since my very existence has an expiration date, right? I know, I know…that sounds quite morbid….but it is honest and a bit raw.

We are all going to die some day, at some moment. We are all going to leave this Earth in the very physical forms that we carry around…all of us. Birth and death are the two constants for human beings — in fact, these lay the foundation for the framework within which we create our lives.

My birth — a birth on a Sunday evening in July. A birth, with a name given to me, filled with meaning and hope. My birth signified, for my parents, their very first child. My birth, for my parents, signified their only daughter. My birth has defined so much of who I am…or so much of who I believe I am. My zodiac sign(s), my birth chart, my highly pleasant association with the season of summer, even my love of specific numbers — they all have stemmed from my birth and the meaning(s) that I have given it.

But what if we worked backwards? What if we worked from the vantage point that someday we are al going to die? What if we focused on our death instead of our birth to define us? Would we do things differently? Would we take more leaps of faith? Would we push for love, happiness and excitement all the days of our lives, instead of just when we get older and reflect upon all that we might regret? Would we love with all of our hearts, even in the face of rejection, simply because we already knew that this would not be the moment to break us, to take our life? What would we do if we could see the end of it all?

What would I do? What life would I lead if I knew how and when it all ended?

Morbid thought? Maybe. Honest thought? Definitely.

Off to go and have some honest thoughts….until next time!

Keep on…don’t stop ’till you get enough…

Neda Agha-Soltan. Farrah Fawcett. Michael Jackson. 

These people have left this Earth within the past 5-6 days. People who died before, what many believe to be, their time. What it is really is that many of us were not ready to part with their souls, their personalities, their smiles and inspiration. And now, in my 23 years of life, I am left to ponder the mortality of life and accept its inevitability. 

When you are in school, for many of us, you feel invincible and you completely forget about the fact that one day you will die. Not you might. Not you probably will. No, you will die. You will leave this Earth in spirit, mind and living body. And sometimes, that is a ridiculously frightening thought. If nothing else, it is extremely sobering. 

Besides all of those feelings, I am left asking myself — “what do I want people to remember about me when I leave this Earth?”. I have no control whatsoever when I am going to leave but I do have control of how I live my life each and every single day. 

So I am writing this here, so it is written down someplace so that if anyone ever comes upon it, they can determine whether or not I lived my life to my standard of the fullest. I want to live my life….

With integrity — being honest even if sometimes it sucks to do so

With empathy — reaching out to people, caring, and putting myself in someone else’s shoes to understand them regardless of who they act or who they may be

With vivacity — living my days with energy and spreading that energy to others to hopefully uplift and even inspire them

I want to be remembered best as the Jack Kerouac quote listed below….I do not have any better way to put this. I want to live as Michael Jackson’s song “Don’t Stop ‘Till You Get Enough” describes…..just keep going, living, breathing and enjoying life to the fullest…regardless of what obstacles seem to stand in your way, until you get enough. And I believe that you only get enough when you feel that your whole being is bursting with energy and you are literally beaming with life and light. I pray that Neda, Farrah and Michael are fully beaming with light right now and I thank God for their existences and their deaths. Their existences touched the lives of the people that loved them and so many more and their deaths have inspired so many of us to live for the moment and fight for life and happiness. Lord knows happiness and BEING alive don’t just happen….you fight for it to hold on to it in this over-cynical world. I am humbled and simultaneously inspired by their accomplishments and how many lives they have and will continue to touch. 

“The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes “Awww!”

 

R.I.P 

Neda Agha-Soltan — 1982-2009

Farrah Fawcett  – 1947 – 2009

Michael Jackson — 1958-2009

The Visitor

I just finished watching the movie, “The Visitor”, and it really got me to thinking about the stories of immigrants and just a sense of belonging for all of us as human beings.

Isn’t a sense of belonging what we are all struggling for? A space within which we feel safe, uninhibited, and whole? And if that is what we all are searching for, why do we fault immigrants for coming to this country and trying to do so?

I have met so many individuals in the past year who are not from the United States of America — so many individuals, whether or not they are legally here, who are striving to find their space of belonging. And for so many of them, they believe they will find that space here in the United States of America. Yet, unfortunately, so many of them find out that the harsh reality is that their permanence in this country is wholly dependent upon the mood of the U.S.A. Great example: pre-911, the U.S. was fine with immigrants coming and going…post-911, everyone who is foreign becomes a terrorist.

It always strikes me as ironic how America can embrace and yet reject people who are so crucial to the existence of this country. This country was “discovered” by people who were not of this land. This country was built by people who were dragged to this land. This country has been sustained by peoples who were consistently marginalized and had to literally fight their way to even be recognized by the ‘mainstream’. And for what? To still be spit in the face by those who were born in this country and automatically have the privilege of citizenship?

My parents were immigrants and I sometimes wonder what my life would be like if I was not born an American. How would I be treated? What would my struggles feel and look like? Would I ever be able to become a citizen or would I always be on the outside looking in? These are all things I do not ever have to think about except for when I speak to one of my old roomies about her struggles to find work even with a Masters degree in this country. Or when I speak to another roomie who struggles to stay in this country and find work before her visa runs out. Or when I watch this movie and see how people’s lives are completely turned and ripped inside out just for being immigrants.

To never have to feel like a visitor is a privilege that I take for granted. To know that no one can contest my citizenship, that no one can physically remove me from my space? Quite a privilege indeed.

Creativity is the key to the future.

Sir Ken Robinson: Do schools kill creativity?

Just watch the video above. Then respond if you like, to my comments, to the video or both — whatever works for you.

While watching Sir Ken Robinson speak, I found myself agreeing with everything he was saying. So much so, that now he is a hero of mine. The man broke down exactly why things must change in our educational systems. I want to extend his argument to not just our educational systems but also in our workplaces as well. It is vital that creative expression be encouraged in our educational systems since the educational systems feed directly into the workplaces. And if children are continually taught to numb their creativity than we will continue to have working adults who have nothing fresh to offer their companies which correlates with a diminishing returns in regards to productivity for companies.

Now I am sure that some people will not agree at all with Sir Robinson nor will they see a need to change the status quo. And that is fine. But for everyone else who feels numb while they are at work, who feels completely separate from their body and mind — as if your mind is elsewhere but your body is in front of your desk, who feels completely uninspired and utterly drained by the time they leave work AND who cannot wait until Friday afternoon — that video link up above is for you.

You see, what Sir Robinson is touching upon is not just creativity in the boxed sense of music/dance/drama — no, he is speaking of creativity in its original open-ended conception of just any original thought. And we all have original thoughts..hell sometimes we even surprise ourselves. But we all have them…regardless of the last time you had one. They are there…they are just buried under all of the other junk in your life. So maybe it is time to get the other junk out of the way and just time to start looking for spaces of your own unique creative expression. Finding a space for it is just the beginning but you do have to begin somewhere, especially if you have not done it in an incredibly long time. We have to take our time in this creative expression process because we have to re-teach ourselves to embrace failing.

Basically, we as adults, have to re-teach ourselves how to enjoy failing because in that space of failure is where our original thoughts can take root and flourish. And if we don’t want our children to have to do the same, we should really take a hard look at whether we can even afford to continue to teach them out of their creativity.

Recent article from Sir Ken Robinson himself: Transform Education? Yes, We Must