Who said that your natural can't be professional?

What Teach for America sees is what Teach for America is going to get. I went to my interview for the program with an Afro and I got into the program with an Afro. I was asked to send in a photo of myself to send to schools during the hiring process and what they are going to get is a girl with a 'Fro. 

My roommate surprisingly took this quality photograph with an iPhone. Yes ladies, we can now do free semi-professional head shots with the help of an iphone a little bit of editing. 

Interviews, exams, and track meets Oh MY!

As I am sitting here preparing for an interview I have in exactly 58 minutes with the founder of a New Orleans Central City elementary school and pondering on what will become of my day, I cannot help but to crave Dunkin Donuts coffee and chocolate/glazed donut holes. No it is not the healthiest choice. But I got NO sleep tonight and I have an exam and a paper due tomorrow and another exam/paper/assignment due on Tuesday. I plan to use this gorgeous Sunday to do absolutely nothing but WORK and stress out. Maybe I will take some time out of my day for meditation but all I want right about now is DUNKIN DONUTS.

Atlanta Weather Update for Jan. 11, 2011

This is exactly how I feel right now! I love her!

Shoes for the Minimalist/Environmentalist

Cheap, Cute and comfortable. Toms is an environmentally friendly brand that provides a pair of shoes to a child with every pair you purchase. 

Check out the Website here:

http://www.toms.com/our-movement

Challenges

Today we had prelims for Big East Championships and I came nowhere near meeting my goal. I knew I had more in me and I could've put more into my race but when I was running I gave up. My spirit sunk to a low and it reflected itself in my times. It was mediocre and not even close to what I know I am capable of running and what I have done in the past. I got worked up before my race. I became nervous and I usually don't get that nervous before I run. I let the competition get to me when I should've focused on my race. I know I would've done better.

Natural Hair and Minimalism

Waiting patiently for warm weather

The other journey to becoming a total natural is coming. I’m still waiting to grow the color out of my hair. I am trying to transition to a point in which I will not need to use any heat whatsoever in my hair. I have successfully terminated the use of the flat iron but I still blow dry my roots every so often to stretch it and or sit under the dryer to dry my twists. My goal is to eventually cease the use of heat in my hair. I am confident this will happen one day. Also I have become more aware of what I put in my hair. Water  and shea butter have become my best friends and I just need to get my hands on another jar of shea butter so I can mix together a shea butter mix or something for my hair. When it comes to hair chicas, less is more. 

Challenges of Becoming a Minimalist

I realize that the two journeys I have decided to embark on are being compromised by my lifestyle. I feel like ultimately I will need to adjust the way I live my life in order to fully embrace a minimalist lifestyle naturally 9hence the name naturally minimal). I feel like I over packed for the weekend. I packed an extra pair of everything “just in case.” But I know for a fact my bag could’ve been much lighter. If I want to be a minimalist I can’t burden myself with activity. That is my first problem and this problem will technically not be solved or eliminated until I graduate. I’ve made a commitment to track and field, being the President of my Pre-Law Fraternity, and Teach for America. I can not quit now but I do know for a fact that once I graduate two things will be eliminated and I can focus on one thing and put all of my time and energy into my job. I cannot wait until that day arrives. I feel like ultimately I will be maximizing the quality of my life if I do this. I have already begun minimizing the number of people in my life. I am starting to reduce it to the people that I need to communicate with on a daily basis and those I care about and that matter most to me. The rest of the pointless banter I receive by socialization is time wasted in areas where I feel like I could be developing the other relationships in my life. I have already reduced my friend list on facebook from 600 to a 200. Eventually I want to delete my facebook altogether but I need to find a way to stay in contact with my Brazilian friends before I drop off the face of the earth. But ladies and gentlemen, it comes down to this: I need to simplify not only my lifestyle but also the people in my life. 

Peace on a Crowded Bus

At this very moment I am currently on a bus full of restless girls in the middle of Nowheresville Pennsylvania en route to Akron Ohio for Big East Championships. We left at 11am this morning but I don’t run until Saturday around 2pm. I am trying to find a center on this noisy bus. I am trying to find a center of peace and solitude but I realized that I am far from it. How does one find peace in these types of environments? How does one even begin to meditate while a gigantic charter bus jerks you in and out of your seat and makes in a necessary point to hit every speed bump and attack every curve. How? Well I will attempt to try. Maybe I’ll come up with something soon.

Time and management

What I should've done but have not yet done today:

• Study for Portuguese Lit Exam 
• Laundry 
• Grocery shopping 
• Read for Women and Law class 
• Workout (cardio and weight lift)
• Dinner with the family
• Wash hair, condition, detangle twist
• sleep 

I was up all night talking to my friend until five in the morning only to wake up again at 9 to go to an appointment with my mom. It's 4:38PM and I hope to be in bed by 11:20 or 12 should I get started? 

Just because Bibi McGill is awesome!

Morning Heart Expanding Practice ~ Intermediate Yoga Class ~ Full Lenght...

Life is Real

"I live my life
The way I want
I got nothing to hide
Nothing at all
Life is not
A fairy tale
Life is about more
'Cause life is real"

-Ayo

Living in the Spotlight

I could never be a celebrity. I'm not a big fan of the spotlight. In fact, I'm realizing that too many people know me around campus from track and this organization and that organization. It's getting annoying because everything you do and every change you make in your no longer becomes a personal and private thing to cherish but a public spectacle for all to watch and judge. I'm so tired of people worrying about the changes and decisions that I make in my life in regards to my hair, my spirituality and my post graduation plans. I am becoming more and more aware of the tendency of some people I know to place others in the spotlight in order to serve as a distraction for their own circumstances. I want to just ignore it but it keeps clawing away at my spirit.

Wanderings...

Wanderings of a Lonely Spirit

When my mind wanders 

Peacefully I come to this place

Even as the snow falls 

from the midnight sky  

I feel warm inside

Just dreaming and longing for 

Pure simplicity and love

seeping through each grain of sand

e nas linhas do mar aqui no Brasil.

Clutter

It's easy to throw trash away. I wish I could do the same with my thoughts. i wish I could just de-clutter my mind of all the negativity, worry and sorrow. I use meditation as a way to escape and search for peace of mind but even during meditation my thoughts are constantly yelling at me and reminding me of everything that I am and everything that I am not. I walk around campus like I have everything together and work overtime to make it look like I do but inside I'm falling apart. I can feel my insides literal ripping apart and for reasons unknown to me. I've let sadness build up inside of me for too long I don't even know what it is that makes me upset anymore. Lately I find myself crying inappropriately over the most peculiar things. I wish I could de-clutter my mind and find that solitude.

Haiku

I am mistaken.
Everything I say twisted
and misunderstood

-Alexis C.

Athletes and Natural Hair

m starting to see more and more naturals at track meets. I love it. Last year the track was the one place where I felt alone after I did my BC because most people had relaxers or weave. 

So many people tell me they don’t want to go natural because track makes their hair sweat out and if they straighten it then it will sweat out faster. I rock my afro every single day at practice. In fact, my hair is one less thing to worry about and I can do my workouts and sweat out as hard as I can without having to worry about my hair looking a hot mess when I’m done. 

Here is a list of reasons why athletes especially should embrace natural hair: 

• You’re always on the go and it take time to have to go to the salon every week to get a touch up, roller set or blow out
• You can always braid natural hair as a protective style 
• You can wash it whenever you want (especially after nasty workouts)
• Do you do an outdoor sport/activity? Then you don’t have to worry about rain!
• If you do it right, being natural is cheaper and you save a ton of money
• You can put more time and energy at practices into your workout and less time worrying about your hair sweating out 
• Even after workouts your hair still looks cute 
• Exercise promotes hair growth

There is so much more but those are among my favorite reasons

My First Period - Spoken Word of Staceyann Chin

Home for the first time and it feels great. I de-cluttered my room a bit more by throwing away some old papers and junk under my bed. I replaced the TV on my dresser with a vase of flowers and candles and have noticed a complete difference. My room is peaceful and I am actually starting to feel like a minimalist. I did some yoga and meditation for a few hours earlier and it was so relaxing I think I'll do it again after dinner. I'll head to the gym in the morning to get my workout done and then use the day to study for these exams I have next week.

Stayceyann Chin "Feminist or a Womanist"

Winter hair frustrations

Had a very good hair day today. My hair has been surprisingly pleasant during the past couple of frigid months. It has grown a lot and has been retaining moisture (thanks to shea butter).  Detangling every other day is still annoying. Some girls say they only detangle with a wide tooth comb once a week some even say once every two weeks. I find this to be a hassle waiting this long because I tend to lose more hair and experience more breakage when I detangle once a week. I should start experimenting with more protective styles since it is cold outside but I'm tired and busy to sit around playing with my hair and twisting it all the time. Even the nightly twist routine I have now gets annoying when I'm exhausted from practice and school.

How to start the day off right

The best way to start the day is to wake up grab a hearty breakfast. For me that was one egg (boiled or scrambled) toast with a Nutella spread a yogurt and orange juice. Don't forget to take some vitamins. I have so much energy and I'm full on this alone. Take 15 minutes to clear your head and meditate. I did this for thirty minutes this morning. Then I was suddenly inspired to blog. Write down everything you need to do on paper and check it off when it gets done. We have 24 hours in one day so it's time to start using it wisely. Here's what I need to do

1. Book rooms for Phi Alpha Delta Pre-Law Rush Week
2. Weightlift and bike work out for track at 3:00PM
3. Analyze poem for Portuguese class
4. Read for Afro Diaspora class
5. Read for the Black Woman
6. E-mail professor about special permission number and syllabus
7. Sign up for Praxis II exam for TFA
8. Pick up books from Douglass library
9. Plan and outline Phi Alpha Delta General body meeting for tomorrow night

Some where in between I will find the time to grab a quick lunch and meditate.

Meditation

It has been a while. Blogging feels strange. I'm not much of an internet user. I prefer to write in my journal, which is what I have been doing. Unfortunately I left my journal at home during the holiday break so I have not had the opportunity to gather my thoughts and express myself fully.  So many of my emotions have just been kept inside me. It is becoming overwhelming. I feel like I am carrying a heavy box of unopened letters around with me everywhere I go. Occasionally a letter may drop unintentionally and someone might read it. They become curious and they want more. I'm a quiet spirit though. I don't say much. I have no reason to do so. I do what I need to do and try to avoid unnecessary conflict. Things have been alright and I am just taking it as it comes.

Track is wonderful. I am doing well and I actually enjoying coming to practice for a change. 

All of my previous concerns about post graduation plans have been erased. I found out last week that I was accepted into the Teach for America program and I am ecstatic. I was selected to teach in the Greater New Orleans region for two years and I have already accepted the offer. It's a complete change for me and I can't wait to be back down south. I'm tired of New Jersey. Change is good. 

My hair is growing. It's hair. That is what it's supposed to do. I'm just going to let is grow. I can't wait until the summer. I'm too pale right now. My skin looks sickly and lifeless. I need sun. 

I spend thirty minutes meditating today, It was peaceful and I found myself in a peaceful place. I tried to find a happy place but that failed so I searched for a peaceful one. One surrounded by sadness and pain yet peaceful nonetheless. I was sitting on a dock by a river or a stream in a marshland surrounded by trees. It was hot and musty but not without the occasional cool sweet summer breeze. I had to have been in the south but I felt out of place. It was almost as though I found myself looking in on another era and another time and place that once existed. The scene was melancholic and somber. Black people surrounded me. My people. They were sweaty and their clothing reduced to rags. I found myself on a dock stepping onto a small boat that would slowly drift me away from the sadness on land. The people on the land worked tirelessly. Carrying a load or a burden of some sort. Working constantly. They were sweaty and would stare out in to the water at me with tired and sad eyes. I found peace though. I looked up into the sky and found peace. It is so strange to me that this was the only place I could find in my mind that was peaceful. I tried many different places. My mind took me to the beach in the tropics but I felt like a tourist as if I did not belong. My mind took me into a secret world deep inside a forest where I came across a stunning waterfall. I also found myself at the tip of a mountain maybe with hopes of trying to be close to God. I don't know why but I found myself at that dock and I stayed there for a very long time. I didn't want to leave. 

I will attempt to meditate every day at least twice a day.