The Road Not Taken |Robert Frost
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
28.08.11
Paying the TRUTH Forward
The task we must set for ourselves is not to feel secure, but to be able to tolerate insecurity. |Erich Fromm
(Source: sambudow, via traveler311-20)
16.10.11
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.” |Marianne Williamson
This is for one of my best friends…
30.10.11
Be Great, Powerful Beyond Measure
Dare to be great, dare to be powerful beyond measure…because you are… |Marianne Williamson
It’s all too easy for us to say we want something when are actions scream we don’t want that something “badly” enough. Sometimes sacrifices are necessary, losses are necessary, pain is necessary, and tears are necessary to get to where “you” want to be. Wanting alone isn’t enough. You have to give, give, give, and give, sometimes with nothing in return, all of yourself until you’ve shown everyone how GREAT you are.
It will be a tough journey, yes, but they weren’t lying when they said “pain is gain.” Because honestly, the victory is sweeter once you know how bitterly failure tastes.
Thanks to my best friend, I’m sharing this video with you.
(Source: andysacker.com)
30.10.11
That's Some White Nonsense! |The Mask
I am on the admissions committee of a competitive graduate program. I’m also the only black/biracial woman on the committee. Today, I interviewed a young woman who shares my racial background. She was bright and accomplished and we had a great interview. At the end, I asked if I could answer any questions for her, particularly as one WOC to another. Immediately, her whole body relaxed, her voice changed, and she said, “Girl! I had to wrestle my ‘fro into this bun. I’m getting Dominican straightening before my next interview!” And I laughed and said “My hair may be straight today, but we are texture twins!” and we laughed and high-fived. She was the same bright, accomplished young woman I’d met 20 minutes earlier, but she had dropped the mask she (and I) learned to adapt to make white people comfortable. She knows that to make her way into academia, she has to assimilate a white manner of speech to be taken seriously. I wish she… I wish we could do this more authentically.
I miss all the Black women I have been able to do this with. It seems like, at the moment, I am mostly surrounded by Black women who for whatever reasons would not drop their masks with me. I am happy for those who have let me in and I am trying to release all of my anger towards who wouldn’t. Regardless I have to keep on moving.
I had a Black woman tell me a month or so ago that the purpose of graduate school was to break us down and rebuild us as white men. This is true to me, at least in our behaviors, at worst in our thoughts.
(via black-culture)
30.10.11
What Friends Are For
- Brandon F.: I know your handling business and gettin things done...so if no one has told you n a while I will...IM PROUD OF YOU
- Me: Omgosh! Thank you. That just made my day :)
- Brandon F.: Youre always welcome
- Me: Awww...Thanks again! I certainly don't hear that often
- -That text so made my day yesterday (10.31.11).
- -Why, as friends, don't we text/write/email/tell each other more positive things like this on a daily basis.
- -Positive reinforcement always prevails!!
01.11.11
