September is Ovarian Cancer Month Awareness

September is Ovarian Cancer Month Awareness

Empower & Inspire
September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. In September of 2000 my beautiful mother, known affectionately as Boo, was diagnosed with it. Looking back, Mommy had many of the classic symptoms, but didn’t know it. She was extremely bloated, tired, and would get full really quickly. I mean so full she would be in a lot of pain after eating small amounts of food. She originally talked to her doctor and he told her it was because she was now forty and there was nothing to worry about. When I found out what was causing the symptoms I hated that man. Ironically he died of cancer a couple years later. Anyway, Mommy knew something was wrong and went to another doctor. I don’t know who this doctor was, but they told…
Read More
September: Self-Care Awareness Month

September: Self-Care Awareness Month

Empower & Inspire
Happy September 1! As a writer I look for inspiration everywhere. Searching the web for different things is one way I find things to write or research about. So in my latest search I discovered that September is Self-Care Awareness Month. From National Calendar Day: “Evolve to Live founded Self-Care Awareness Month to raise awareness of the incredible benefits of individual self-care. When practiced regularly, self-care creates significant personal, social and economic benefits.” (https://nationaldaycalendar.com/self-care-awareness-month-september/) September being the month we celebrate self-care resonates so much with me because I’m in the field of education. This month starts a new year for many of us. Families get back into a routine because summer is coming to an end. Seems like the perfect month to renew your self-care regimen. Self care is one…
Read More
Focus On Who Supports You

Focus On Who Supports You

Empower & Inspire
I had to learn and realize that everybody you thought would support you won't, and that's okay!  I know it hurts. I know it's disappointing. I know this. I get this. I've lived this. And I've come to a point where I'm okay with it.  There could be many reasons your family and friends aren't supporting you. Some reasons are legit, some not so legit. If it matters to you and you're close, ask them!  For example, I have friends who will repost everything I write or sell, no matter the topic or product-they support anything concerning ME. There are some people I have to ask to share things, and they will. Some people won't share and claim to support. I don't ask why. I continue to develop ME.  Whatever the…
Read More
I Knew I Was A Writer When…

I Knew I Was A Writer When…

Empower & Inspire, Writing Tips & Info
I knew by age eight that I wanted to be a writer. It was around that time I discovered my love for reading mysteries and creative writing. For as long as I could remember, we had library class every week, which was the most boring thing ever. I would pick a book out of obligation and never read it. I went through this week after week. Until I found a mystery and fell in love, I can’t remember the book, but I remember finishing it and vowing to visit that section the following week for a new book. Enjoying mysteries shouldn’t have come as a surprise considering all the time I spent watching Matlock and Perry Mason with my grandmother.  I would get a new book, sit in my room,…
Read More
International Women’s Day: Meet The Diamond Writers

International Women’s Day: Meet The Diamond Writers

Black Excellence, Book Lovers, Empower & Inspire
Happy International Women's Day! On this women's day, I want to tell you about a group I joined at the start of the pandemic that has grown tremendously since our initial Zoom call. Meet the Diamond Writers We were founded by Queen Pen herself, Natima Sheree. From the site:"The Diamond Writers (A Transparent Gem Inc. company) is a women-only space dedicated to promoting and supporting women writers, literary influencers, bloggers, and content creators. We are a sisterhood, a non-competitive safe place, and a repository for the creative works of female storytellers, authors, and literary influencers." Last March, we released our first anthology, Pretty Broken, where ten of us bore our soul and told stories of trauma and healing. In April 2022, the group has expanded and is set to release…
Read More
What I Loved About The 2020-2021 School Year

What I Loved About The 2020-2021 School Year

Empower & Inspire
Today, Tuesday, June 15, 2021, is finally here!  It's the last day of the longest school year since I began teaching in 2008.  There were times this school year I didn't know if this day would ever come. So many things changed, so many different times, and last minute. There were new programs to learn, another way to implement curriculum, and the demands and expectations remained in place even though we were online 75% of the school year. (more…)
Read More