Today on the BLACKboard are two quotes on friendship.  The first is by Anaïs Nin, eloquently capturing the essence of friendship: "Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born." C.S. Lewis offers a complementary perspective: "Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one.'" Nin suggests that friends unveil new realms within ourselves, akin to discovering a city's hidden alleys that lead to unexpected revelations. T ..read more

Early last year, I was invited to speak at a local Meet the Authors event.  I didn't receive much guidance, so I started writing what I was living. In case you missed it, read my speech below and learn how you, too, can live the S.N.O.B. Life. For the win. ----- Step out on faith. No self-comparison. Own your story. Bet on yourself. Those are the four takeaways I want you to leave with today and to keep thinking about as you continue your journey as authors, entrepreneurs, and professionals.  To help you remember, you may or may not have noticed that the first letter of each of thos ..read more

The 2020 Olympics were mired with challenges and controversy, but there were a few sweet spots. Jamaica sweeping the Women’s 100M; Team USA's Raven Saunders winning silver in women's shot put, and Sunisa Lee becoming the first Hmong American to compete and medal in the Olympics with her gymnastics individual all-around gold; and - my favorite moment - Simone Biles choosing herself. Prioritizing her mental health, physical safety, and overall wellbeing. What stood out in the backlash Simone received wasn't the ignorance of statements that she was a quitter, non-patriotic, and let ..read more

In early 2021, I was on a job application and interview spree. Anyone in my circle knows that, while I was thankful to be gainfully employed, I didn't find my work at the U.S. Department of Education satisfying. It didn't allow me to live within my passion: regularly contributing to the development of young minds and their ability to see the world and how they exist in it from multiple vantage points. Offering them the appropriate levels of challenge and support to ensure a balance of academic success, professional preparation, personal growth, and overall wellbeing.  As a stopgap ..read more

My hair story Like many Black women, my hair story began as a little girl subject to hair care and styles determined by my mother. I have memories of my hair in plaits and ponytails with noisy hair ties and barrettes and can see and smell the grease used to smooth and brush my hair into those styles. I remember my mom warming a hot comb on the kitchen stove, telling me to sit still and hold my ear, and proceeding to straighten my hair. I can hear the sizzle of heat meeting grease and feel the hot, metal comb getting just a little too close for comfort. Eventually, I progressed to a rite ..read more

"I was born with pneumonia in my left lung, they put me in a bubble, and I haven't been right since." I've told this story many times as an accompaniment to explaining my many ailments: migraines, acid reflux, fibroids, to name a few. And some I haven't usually disclosed but am now more open about to do my part in removing associated stigma and shame: an eating disorder, depression, anxiety. When I think about it, I've been living in a bubble my entire life. Being raised as a Jehovah's Witness coupled with an inherently strict mother, I was sheltered for most of my formative years. We tend to ..read more

In early 2021, I was on a job application and interview spree. Anyone in my circle knows that, while I was thankful to be gainfully employed, I didn't find my work at the U.S. Department of Education satisfying. It didn't allow me to live within my passion: regularly contributing to the development of young minds and their ability to see the world and how they exist in it from multiple vantage points. Offering them the appropriate levels of challenge and support to ensure a balance of academic success, professional preparation, personal growth, and overall wellbeing. As a stopgap, I was (and ..read more

Like many Black women, my hair story began as a little girl subject to hair care and styles determined by my mother. I have memories of my hair in plaits and ponytails with noisy hair ties and barrettes and can see and smell the grease used to smooth and brush my hair into those styles. I remember my mom warming a hot comb on the kitchen stove, telling me to sit still and hold my ear, and proceeding to straighten my hair. I can hear the sizzle of heat meeting grease and feel the hot, metal comb getting just a little too close for comfort. Eventually, I progressed to a rite of passage for man ..read more

The look on Amber’s face when I told her I decided I was “just going to do a blog” - the visible disappointment and disbelief made me cringe and laugh at the same time. Don’t get either of us wrong - there’s nothing wrong with blogging, and it’s something I've wanted to do for a while. But her reaction made perfect sense in context. Amber (seen on the right of this wedding photo, serving as my Maid of Honor) is my ride-or-die. A1 since Day 1. Months before the birthday brunch where I made the blogging revelation, I shared with her my ideas for a business that included speaking engagements, po ..read more

On the first day of 2023, ten days post-surgery, I rested and reflected on how good 2022 (and God) was to me and resisted self-sabotaging thoughts about how that means I must brace for impact, for whatever inevitable upheaval is to come. When you've lived a trauma-filled life throughout which you rarely came up for air and barely had lifelines but managed to always push through, that pattern informs your norm, narrative, and expectations. It becomes difficult to accept when good things are happening to you and aren't a fluke, and it is standard operating procedure to maintain an impending sens ..read more