Welcome to 2014!

Happy New Year Everyone!
 

The first day of the new year is here. With 2013 ending with graduating from college, I really feel that this year is the beginning of a chapter in my life. I didn't really make any resolutions but there are many things that I want to try more of this year. I'm excited for this new chapter of life and I really like that it's kind of beginning as the new year begins. I'm still on the search for what's next in my life but with determination and hope I know I'm going somewhere and it's going to be great. I am black excellence!

This year I want to read more. I say this especially because I wasn't always able to read for fun while I was in school. I read a lot of great books that were assigned to me and I'm so glad that I was able to read so many great books but I have a very long list of books that I've wanted to read for a long time so I really want to put a dent into that list. I'm also looking for more books to put on the list. I can't wait to explore the book world again and not worry about how it will interfere with my schoolwork.

I want to write more because I can and it means a lot to me.

I want to hold on to positivity and reject negativity to the best of my ability.

Most importantly, I want to dream more. I want to focus on my dreams and my visions. I'm probably going to make a vision board this year. I've always thought they were pretty cool and I think it will really help me focus on my goals this year.

I sincerely hope that 2014 is good to you. I hope you get what you want from this year. All my good thoughts and wishes go out to you for this year.

---

Here's a quote :) ♥

"The future is simply infinite possibility waiting to happen. What it waits on is human imagination to crystallize its possibility."

-Leland Kaiser

Vote No on 6!

(The Great Mia and Myself Letting Voters Know the Deal)

"Vote as if your life depends on it."

Newsflash: It does. It did and the way things are looking, it will. I had the amazing opportunity to stand up for women's health and reproductive rights. I volunteered with the Feminist Majority on the "No On 6" campaign against Amendment 6. If Amendment 6 had passed, it would place restrictions on access for women to abortion and would have deleted a right to privacy clause from the Florida constitution.  Thankfully it didn't pass. I don't believe that there should be any limitations on the decisions people make over their own bodies.

I was able to work with some amazing people during this campaign and I got to talk to a lot of people. What I've learned about volunteering with campaigns is that not every one is going to be on the same page with you and there's nothing wrong with that. You can't change everyone's mind. The goal is to let people know why this is important to you and to all of the people that are impacted by the issue and hope that they make the best decision. Not everyone will have a peaceful and calm conversation with you but I learned that you can't let those people get you down. I had to decide in those situations that I was not letting anyone keep me from standing up for what I think is right!

While volunteering I was able to talk to voters while tabling on campus and phone-banking. The above photo was taken on campus near one of the polling centers. We high-fived so many voters that day. I was only able to phone bank once for a short period of time but it was a real memorable hour of calling voters. A lot of us phone banking spoke to at least one older woman who had already seen this fight for reproductive rights and could not understand why it's something that's still being voted on. I spoke to several older women who sent me good thoughts and praises for fighting the good fight. Messages like those encouraged me to keep going and made it easier to deal with people who aren't so nice over the phone.

This was a great experience for me--one of the best from this last semester. I believed I grew as a person seeing how my small contributions can really make a difference.

Fall Semester = Over

I made it! This semester wasn't as hard on me as my spring semester but I'm glad that I made it through. The last two weeks were pretty rough but it looks like I made it! I'm actually really proud of myself for this semester. It's not like I got straight A's or anything but I really do feel like I'm growing as a person and as a student. I handled my battles this semester very well. I was able to better balance my academics and my social life while still getting the hang of taking care of myself. I got work done. I experienced new things and I put myself out there. I'm trying my best to make sure that I continue to do that.

I'm getting closer and closer to graduation so I'm finding that school demands a lot more of my attention and commitment. I'm learning to prepare myself for life in the real world. It's scary but it's also exciting and frightening.

This past semester, I tried to take advantage of every opportunity that allowed me to do what I love. I spent a lot of time standing up for what I believe in while also building my resume and gaining experiences that will help me later in life when I'm helping others. I've felt really empowered doing what I love and knowing that I'm helping people. By standing up for what I believe in and what I know is good, I've been standing up for people whose voices need to be heard. I know that I still have some more growing to do. I'm still healing and finding myself but I think I'm getting better at this whole "calm and carrying on human" thing. I see what I want to do and I'm taking steps toward that. I'm going to write about some of my experiences from this past semester individually but I wanted to quickly list the amazing things that I feel empowered me this semester.

• Coalition to End Rape Culture
• Fitsmi Internship
• No On 6 Campaign
• Volunteering for the Obama campaign
• LGBT History Month internship
• Community Service

I'm learning more and more that if  focus on what I love without losing sight of the reality of my school work and how it relates, I can keep afloat. I can make a difference. My Women's and Gender Studies major reminds me of the importance of activism and advocacy and I'm finding ways to incorporate those things into my daily life and it's keeping my heart happy. I like that.

 ♥

Stand Up

"The cruel words of one are nothing compared to the shouts of many."

♥

 I recently watched Anderson Cooper's special on bullying. Bullying has always been an social issue that I've held near my heart. I really want to see this one day become a problem that  isn't harming so many lives. I think that the solution begins with us. We need to stand up against bullying. We need to intervene when we can. We need to let people know that it's okay to tell someone that you're being bullied. We need to create more safe places. We need to stop blaming the victims. 

Let's talk about bullying. It's a real thing. The aftermath is very real. Bullying is leading to suicides, depression, self-harm, and eating disorders among many other things. The panel on Anderson Cooper's show brought up some really good points. Here are some of the points that really stuck out to me.

• Degrading people is never right.

How do people benefit from degrading people? There is no reward for making people feel bad. "The only time you should be looking down on someone is when you are helping them up."

• Bullying is 24 hours a day now.

Bullying goes beyond in-person interactions. Cyberbullying is just as real and it's effects are heard and seen all over the world. Be careful of what you say to people online. Don't let the veil of your computer screen be an excuse for you to degrade people. Just because they can't see you or hear you doesn't mean they can't be hurt by what you're saying.
If someone is bullying you online, report it. Block them. Tell someone. I know that it's harder online to report it but don't keep it to yourself. Let someone know what is going on.

• In 77% of bullying incidents, no bystanders intervene.

If you see bullying going on and you think that you can do something about it then you should stand up and do something about it. You know the saying, "If you see something, say something."

• Bullying will not help you achieve higher social status in the long run.

The reason a lot of people bully is because they think it will raise their social status. This isn't true. On Anderson Cooper's show, they did a study that reported bullying does not help people gain higher social status. There is no long term satisfaction from bullying. It won't make you feel better. Bullying someone will not improve your life.

• People care.

Don't you ever forget that there are people out there that care. There are people you can go to. While we still need to improve on our safe places as a society, there are people who care about your well being. Know that you can talk to me.

Look at this video of a news anchor publicly standing up to her bullies. Let this be a reminder that there a people willing to stand up against bullying. Let this be a reminder that bullying isn't just happening in one age group. Let this be a reminder that inspiration and hope can be found anywhere. Let this be a reminder that we all deserve to be respected and nothing should ever change that.

hmmmm....

Have you ever had those negative people in your life that you just want to tell them, "be gone. you don't get me. you make fun of everything that I do. you want me to be just like you but I'm not and since you can except that then get out of my life! I'm my own person and I like what I like and just because they aren't identical doesn't mean that I'm stupid, or weird, or anything like that. except that or let me be. stop making fun of me for being true to myself!"? It's like when I'm around those people, I become a more negative spirit myself but it's hard to stay away because sometimes you really care about these people and don't want to just give up on them.

I find it really hard since everyday I'm fighting to love myself more and to be more positive for me so I don't have to sit in the shower and cry or have all of those suicidal thoughts becasue I know that my life is beautiful and precious and I deserve to be happy. Happiness is one size fits all and I refuse to let anyone influence me against me or make me think that I can't be happy or that it's wrong being true to myself and living my life for me.

I'll just say that it's a little bump in the road for today and even though it was a pretty big bump, the smiles still outweighed the frowns and a happy heart of mine is in the winning corner. My smiles won today especially with the lovely lyrics of Beautiful Flower by India Arie stuck in my head.

There is nothing in the world that you cannot do
When you believe in you,
who are beautiful
Yeah, you, who are brilliant
Yeah, you, who are
powerful
Yeah, you, who are resilient

failed affairs and harsh actions

Domestic Violence...

• Domestic violence is the control of one partner by another in a marital, dating, or live-in relationship. It includes physical, mental, and economic abuse, threats and isolation. It is a major problem in the United States, affecting over 30 million Americans.

Domestic violence is one of my most major causes. I had to do a research paper on this topic in English a while back and through my research, I've discovered that Domestic Violence is a horrible problem that needs to be brought to attention to people everywhere. It's worse then most people realize. I think we should pay more attention to this topic, not just because it was hot in the media, but because it affects an estimated 30 million Americans and one of them could be you or someone close to you.

How can this probelm be solved?

Here are some of my thoughts on possible solutions to bring the number of domestic violence victims down to a much lower number:

I think that the problem can be solved but the solution has to begin with educators, victims, and potential victims. Domestic violence can be reduced if victims, educators and survivors taught people about the cycle of abuse and the characteristics of an abusive person or partner. It would also help if counseling and therapy was available for individuals who have been marked as potentially abusive according to the known characteristics of an abusive partner.

The cycle of abuse is like an un-merry-go-round. It starts off with an unbelievable, special romance. Then, out of nowhere, one partner, the abusive partner, begins to get moody while the other partner tries to console them. The abusive partner will then go off, harming the other verbally or physically. The abusive partner promises that it will never happen again but the cycle repeats itself. Hopefully, if more people begin relationships knowing the cycle, they will be able to identify the parts of the cycle and get out of the relationship before the cycle can reach its worst part or even repeat itself.

Aside from the cycle of abuse, people should also be very familiar with the characteristics of abusive partners so that they can identify an abusive partner before they have the chance to be abused. If abusive partners can be identified before they actually harm someone, they get therapy to prevent it from ever happening. That would decrease the number of domestic violence cases and the number of victims.

I think that for a problem, there is a solution and this problem will be solved. Together we can stomp out domestic violence by raising awareness. visit http://dosomething.org/ for more info and other ways you can help raise awareness. Awareness leads to action so anything you can do will always help! :)

Here are some views on domestic violence from some awesome people (feel free to add yours):

• C.R. female, 17: Domestic Violence is a harsh reality that is ignored. The people that have the power to change the situation often don't because of numerous, crazy reasons, like denial or "love." Domestic violence affects everyone, especially children who have to watch their parents be be abused or be involved in the abuse themselves. Those situations emotionally scar many and cause problems that may not show until later, such as attachment issues and trust issues. No matter what, if not stopped, horrible effects will be caused which will follow someone affected by the abuse for a short period of time, or worse, a lifetime.
• G.B. female, 16: My view on domestic violence is that there is absolutely no need for an individual to withstand any abuse from another individual . It should be severely punished by law and not easily pardoned. Domestic violence should be brought to awareness!
• K.A. male, 16: Well I would never hit my girl or abuse her in anyway that she's not comfortable with and I don't think that it is right for anyone to do it whether it be man or woman.

what do you think?

visit http://www.ndvh.org/ and join the million voices campaign

:)