-
New Year, New Me but Same Ol’ Place
I can’t believe that it has been two years since I last posted a blog. The good thing about a new year is the symbolism of starting fresh, so here’s to 2024. Here is to my triumphant return to my blog, my reflections, my keyboard, and my words. I read my last post before beginning again. I was going on and on about moving and new opportunities and all my plans. Well, as the saying goes… if you want to make God laugh, tell him/her about your plans. I have not moved but I did start a new job over a year ago and have had two promotions since. I…
-
Auld Lang Syne (New Year Song)
Happy New Year! I am extremely excited for the start of 2022. While 2021 was not a terrible year for me, it also was not the best. I did not feel motivated to do much. If being in a rut was a person you would have seen me. This New Year, like many others, is a new start. For me, it is particularly exciting/terrifying. I am finally able to look for jobs outside of Oregon. This is something I have been wanting to do for a while, and now, here it is… my opportunity to truly embody new year new me. While I am excited about starting new – new…
-
Phenomenal Friendships
I am lucky to have phenomenal women in my life. I recognize that not everyone has friendships and sisterhood where people love and care for you but who will also tell you the truth. I have women in my life who will listen to me, let me vent, let me cry, and let me have a moment. I am doubly blessed sorority sisters and friends who support me. A while back I read a post about finding your tribe. I have not only found mine, but best of all, it is the most phenomenal tribe of all. I was brought up not to be in competition with anyone,…
-
Beautiful Community
Sometimes you do not know how much you need your soul to be filled until it is. This week I have been participating in the NCORE conference. This afternoon I attended the “I Believe I’ll Run On To See What The End’s Gonna Be: Women of Color Reclaiming Our Rage, Our Hope, Our Joy, and Our Interior Lives” session. Dr. Marquita Chamblee, Pamela Chao, Dr. Karen Dace, and Kristi Ryujin made a 3-hour session feel like 30 minutes. The session descriptions shared, in part… “Women of Color do the “heavy lifting” on campuses all over the nation. We are counselors, advocates, supporters, mediators, mentors, speakers of truth to…
-
Nature Therapy Pt. 2
As I addressed in Nature Therapy Pt. 1, I went on a hike Sunday morning where I was reflecting on where I am at in my life. I could hear water rushing from the falls, birds singing, other hikers as my thoughts turned from my past anger and disappointment to my current fear. I have been single for several years now. I have not been in a hurry to seriously date anyone. I was focused on my daughter and healing at first, then my daughter and my career next, and now that my daughter is older I have started to seriously contemplate what being in a relationship could…
-
Nature Therapy Pt. 1
I started my week hiking at Silver Falls State Park. The sun was out and the weather was perfect and I was excited to be there since it had been a while since my last visit. I forgot to download my playlist and there was no service so it was me, nature, and my thoughts. I was reflecting on where I have been and how I have been feeling lately, specifically about dating and opening myself to someone. It reminded me of something I wrote a couple of years back on October 4, 2018. I journaled the following: I never thought that I would say this but,…
-
Phenomenal by Nature
Twenty-seven years ago I made one of the best decisions of my life, I founded Delta Tau Lambda Sorority, Inc. alongside my phenomenal co-founder, Maria “Vicky” Ramos at the University of Michigan. We had talked about it the year prior but it was on April 2, 1994, that we forged full-steam ahead into our brown and gold future. We had picked a few different names for our sorority but Delta Tau Lambda was our first choice. The internet was not what it is today back in 1994 so I called our Office of Greek Life and did my best to ensure there weren’t other organizations with that name.…
-
Little Things Mean A Lot
I found this leaf so beautiful. It fell in such a way that it was lodged between two floorboards on my balcony. We had some beautiful, sun shining days in Oregon, for a change, and there she was every morning. When the wind blew, she would move slightly but she hung in there. I would open my curtains every morning hoping to see my beautiful leaf and when I saw her I would smile. This week, however, it has been very windy and rainy, which has been pushing down my leaf. It is almost all the way through the floorboards. I know that she will fall through soon.…
-
Letting Myself Be Excited
I applied for a job I am excited about. I have been thinking about my career and my next step for a while. As I often do when things come up in my life, I told my parents. My dad, who is a practical man, told me to get excited but not “too excited.” My mom said to put it in Jesus’ hands. While I appreciated where their hearts were sharing advice to protect myself, it just not in my nature to be partially excited. It is ok to be all the way excited about something. It made me think of something Dr. Brené Brown said in one…
-
Honesty as an Excuse
I am in a group of singles with terminal degrees or currently pursuing doctorates. It is nice to be in a group of single people who have had similar educational experiences as me. I completed my PhD in Educational Management in Higher Education at Hampton University in 2014. Most people in the group seem cool and some of the conversations have been entertaining. However, like any group, there are a variety of opinions, which means there have been some clashes. Last week, one of the guys in the group made a post. He wanted to start a dialogue around the reasons why were are currently single.…