Listen as the late Wangari Maathai tells the tale of a hummingbird who, despite its small size, tries its best to make a difference.
We may often think that we are insignificant or that we are not enough. It doesn't matter how small we may feel, we can make a difference. We still have in us the power to do the best that we can. Never stop trying to do your best.
Positive Affirmation: I will be a hummingbird. I will do the best that I can.
All days could use the beauty of poetry. Here is my selection for today by Nayyirah Waheed.
if you deserve
honey
mine will flow from my arms to yours
no effort, no asking.
but, if there is none
and
you feel wind instead.
know
that my spirit already
senses that
when you smell sweetness
you
begin harvesting blades in your hands.
-kindness is a form of intelligence
Be careful with the sweetest parts of you. Spread love and positive energy, yes, but remember that not everyone deserves your sweetness, your vulnerability, your honey. Remember that some people see you and will take advantage of your sweet and kind demeanor. You'll see that not everyone will treat you with the same kindness and you'll learn to stop showering them from the best your heart. Don't release all your positive energy into dangerous territory. It won't benefit anyone.
Summer brings a lot time for people to spend together and a few occasional lazy days when all you want to do is relax. My favorite ways to relax alone or with others is reading, binge watching tv shows, and watching my favorite movies. These are some of my favorite movies that are perfect for summer days or nights.
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Our Song
Our Song is a great coming of age film about 3 girls and their summer together. I first saw this It's actually one of my favorite movies. It's a great summer movie because it takes place during the summer. It's about young girls of color living in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. It's about friendships, relationships, growing up, living in an urban environment, and some of the issues that come with growing up with no money like healthcare issues and the struggles of the school system. The story just comes across so honest and real. It's a really good film!
One of the books I read last summer, On the Come Up, is based on the life of Anna Simpson who is one of the stars in the film. A great movie and a great book!
Real Women Have Curves
I first saw this movie back in middle school. This movie does a wonderful job at honestly portraying the relationships that women sometimes have with their bodies. It covers how our relationships with our bodies impact the relationships with the people in our lives. Also, between this movie and Gotta Kick it Up, I became a huge fan of America Ferrera.
Pitch Perfect
Pitch Perfect is such a cute and fun movie. It's a perfect summer movie, I think, because it has everything you need for one of those feel-good movies. There's a love story, friendship, competition, music, and plenty of jokes. I didn't expect to like this movie so much but it's really enjoyable and the soundtrack is incredible! This is a great movie to watch with a group of friends.
The Color Purple
This is just a movie that everyone should see. It's a classic. The book, written by Alice Walker, is also a classic that everyone should see. The Color Purple is a classic. It covers so many things! This movie brings up domestic violence, relationships, child abuse, self-esteem, racism, religion and so much more. I consider this movie to a staple of American culture. With it being such a phenomenal movie, there is an abundance of great scenes but this one below has to be my favorite.
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The following and cute movies for every age! A lot of these movies are cartoons. They're fun and they tend to bring back memories. These movies also have a lot of meaningful lessons and stories in them. Don't let the animation fool you! There are great stories about family, growth, friendships, and so much more!
Lilo and Stitch
The Lion King
(An Obvious Classic)
Despicable Me
Up
Horton Hears A Who
13 Going On 30
--- Love Stories :)
Love and Basketball
The Object of My Affection
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And this movie will just make you cry. I love movies that make me cry.
Tru Confessions
There are so many great movies that I love and would recommend but I don't want to go on forever. I hope you enjoy any movie days that you may get. Water, popcorn, and summer fruit are the perfect snacks for movie nights.
This week I had a lot of reasons to smile and be happy. This week started off with a bang. My little brother graduated from the 5th grade! It's so cool to see him grow up. It really shows you how fast life goes by. This is the little baby who bumped me up from an only child to a big sister and now he's on his way to middle school! He looked so handsome in his little suit and I just loved seeing him so excited and proud of himself. I loved that so much!! It was a very exciting day and I can't wait to share more graduation days together! I love him so much!!!
This week I also got to attend the graduation ceremony of my former students! I met the majority of these kids on February 6, 2014. So while I haven't known them their whole lives, they hold a special place in my heart. I worked with them during after school and during summer camp. I began working with them in 4th grade and I was able to move up with them which is a reason I think I was able to create such a special bond with them. It was also exciting that they were the same age as my brother so it was really cool being able to get a glimpse firsthand to what my brother may be experiencing in school because it's so different from when I was in 4th and 5th grade.
For a year and some change, I was able to see them grow. Unfortunately, I had to leave them to focus on finishing my master's degree and I missed them immensely but they are part of the reason that I am pushing myself to finish school strong. I started working there hoping to encourage and empower these beautiful students and they've taught me so much. They encourage me to be better and do better. They are reality and they are the future. I'll be honest, some days were really hard but I wouldn't trade the chaos, hours of long division, research projects, and all the noise for anything! I value the time I spent with them.
Their successes and the success of all classes of 2015 would be impossible without the incredible support systems that these students have. A special shout out to all the people who support these students especially to my former coworker, Jay, who I am so glad I got to share my time with. We really worked hard to make sure our kids felt loved and empowered. We did our best. Their support system is so vital, their teachers, their school staff, afterschool teachers, their families, and especially their parents. I got to meet so many loving and wonderful parents! So many people got these kids to where they are today and that's so special and important. A part of the reason I consider my students an inspiration for me to do so well in school is that they are proof of what a good support system can do and one day I want to be a licensed professional so I can be better equipped for larger support systems that allow people to thrive in life.
I'm just so happy that I got the chance to be a part of this milestone in their life and may their life paths be filled of so many more happy moments and accomplishments!
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Quote of the week:
"Just like moons and like suns, With the certainty of tides, Just like hopes springing high, Still I'll rise."
Things are starting to heat up which means summertime and the heat that comes along with it is here. I used to have very difficult summers. The transition from living on a the schedule that comes with school to an overwhelming amount of free time used to lead to bouts of depression sometimes because I often had a lot more time t be alone with my thoughts. Being alone with your thoughts for too long leads to over-thinking things and reliving old moments which is never really the best thing to do. Sometimes I also miss sleeping in my own room and bed so although I love vacation, I miss the comfort of the safe space that is my bed.
The last two summers have been pretty good. I stayed where the air conditioning was if there was any, I surrounded myself with good people, I kept busy, and I treated myself well. Each year I learn more about myself and how to love myself better so that I can feel better and be better. I have a lot of things to keep me busy this summer. I have class and I've been working on just generally keeping myself more organized and on task so I'm looking forward to this summer.
It's very important to stay healthy in the summer so here are some helpful summer reminders:
Drink your water! Drink lots of water. Stay hydrated please
Don't feel bad about dropping toxic people. It's too damn hot for toxic or unhealthy relationships. Why should you stay around a rain cloud when you are destined for the sun? You are destined for the sun!!
Keep busy as to not over-think but relax when need be. It's hot so need be comes often
Eat seasonal produce. Summer produce is some of the most delicious all year. Cherries, apricots, peaches, watermelon, okra, mangoes, eggplant, plums, nectarines, and so much more!!
Do the things that make you happy. Do them often, if you can.
If you have the time to do so, read! There is something really special about reading in the summer. I can say that about every season but summer reading brings me right back to my childhood summers and that's pretty cool.
Most importantly, stay cool, protect yourself from the sun, and stay hydrated.
"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do."
-Eleanor Roosevelt
"You're off to great places. Today is your day. Your mountain is waiting, so get on your way."
-Dr. Seuss
"It always seems impossible until is done."
-Nelson Mandela
"Something fabulous is out there taking shape, emerging, peeking, calling your name."
"Take a deep breath. Relax and remember how special and important you
are. Remember that when you believe in yourself, there is no way that
you can lose."
I was so excited to read Toni Morrison's new novel. It was a great read. It covers such an important topic so I found it very interesting. I think it's a must read because it portrays how childhood trauma and pain goes through you for life. I think that's something that a lot of people can relate too. A lot of people have secrets or things in their past that they're still struggling with. Unfortunately, life doesn't slow down or pause for you to cope with your past. Many people unfortunately carry this weight alone because there's this idea that things that happen in your childhood or adolescence are minimal or it's something that you should be over by the time you reach adulthood. None of that is true. Things that happen years ago are still valid experiences that can bring you pain. Experiences in your childhood have an impact on your entire life, your relationships, your outlook on life, everything. Carrying the weight of these experiences can elicit so many experiences like shame, anger, sadness, or confusion. No one should have to go through that alone. What's great about a book like this is that it can start that conversation. It reminds us that everyone is going through or has been through something. Whether or not they share their whole story, their experiences are valid. What they feel is real and they are completely deserving of your love, respect, and understanding.
(TW: Sexual Abuse) This book also talks about childhood sexual abuse. The impact that is has on victims and the people around them. This is a topic that often goes unspoken, especially in the black community. So it may be triggering for some people but it may be a reminder to others that they are not alone in what happened to them.
I also enjoyed the many different relationships in this book. The relationships and bonds between lovers, brothers, friends. There's anger, regret, remorse, love--how those emotions react with one another and so much more. It will make you think of the ways in which we crave love. We all need and want love. There's a lot of emotion and truth packed into a quite small book and I think that's very special. It's real and honest. I definitely recommend it.
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Quotes:
"Correct what you can; learn from what you can't."
"No matter how hard we try to ignore it, the mind always knows truth and wants clarity."
"my sex life became sort of like Diet Coke--deceptively sweet minus nutrition."
“A child. New life. Immune to evil or illness, protected from kidnap,
beatings, rape, racism, insult, hurt, self-loathing, abandonment.
Error-free. All goodness. Minus wrath. So they believe.”
"You don't have to love me but you damn well have to respect me."
“What you do to children matters. And they might never forget.”
“But stars can explode, disappear. Besides, what we see when we look at
them may no longer be there. Some could have died thousands of years ago
and we’re just now getting their light. Old information looking like
news.”
A few days ago I got another tattoo. It reads, "I am mine. before I am ever anyone else's." It's a poem by an artist I love named Nayyirah Waheed. I've been a big fan of her work for some time now. So much of her writing just speaks to my soul and I feel so special whenever I read her work. Look her up!
I decided to get this tattoo to remind myself that self love is important. I am deserving of my own love. I need to love and support myself in my triumphs and in my lows. I am mine. I am constantly learning about myself. Every day I continue to grow with myself. Some days I grow stronger than I was the day before. I'm on this incredible journey with myself and it's important that I love, respect, and support the one person on this journey with me---myself.
I made a vision binder to put some of my goals and inspirations in one place. My inspiration for my vision binder was a vision board. I've wanted to make a vision board for a long time but I've just never had the space or materials that I wanted for the vision board that I was envisioning. I happened to see this beautiful binder in Target and stood in front of it for a few minutes because I know I didn't need it but I wanted it so I just needed to give it a purpose before I bought it.
I wanted to make sure that my vision binder was a true reflection of me. I've been working on it for about a month and the cool thing about it is that I can keep adding as I go along. It's kind of structured. I put pages as they fit into categories I made but there isn't a table of contents or anything.
The first section is where I put inspirational quotes that I love, affirmations, pictures of people who inspire me, and general self-care reminders. This section really makes me smile. It really brightens my spirits and reminds me to protect my spirit. The next section is my travel section. In that section I have pictures of places that I WILL travel to. I also have pictures of things to do while traveling like skiing, boat rides, and what landmarks I really want to see. The section after that focuses on body health. I have a few recipes and workout routines. I also made sure to put reminders to drink water and nourish my hair as well as my body. The last section I like to call "Motivation & Me." In this section, I put my goals, I put reminders of who I am and what my life journey means to me. I made sure to include pictures of my accomplishments and some of the moments in my life that really push me forward. I have a picture of me working on a campaign and I have a picture from the day I graduated. I also have a long lists of the books I'll be reading in the future and a few magazine articles that really inspired me. This section keeps me focused on my long term life goals. This section motivates me to stick to my goals and to remain true to myself.
My goal is to have a few quiet minutes to myself every day to look through the binder as a form of daily motivation and inspiration. Unfortunately it doesn't happen every day but I do really love looking through it. It's hard work that reminds me of all the hard work and beautiful results that I've already accomplished and all the hard work and beautiful results that my future holds.
