Odd numbered years are always my favorite and 2017 is no different. I really felt like this year, I grew. I entered my junior year of college, turned 20, spent my first summer away from home, got my first car and of course I extended my resume (it's popping. I'll give y'all some tips if you want). Aside from all the highlights, I learned so much about myself as a woman. There are 6 lessons that I felt I needed to highlight in particular because these were personally the most important

Being selfish was the biggest lesson for me. People who personally know me know that I am a giving person and I give people chance after chance to fix what they’ve done to me. Being selfish was hard to me because I felt like what if that one time I choose me, they change? If you’ve had the same dilemma, don’t think too much about it because you’ll just talk yourself out of the right thing to do. People will come around if they genuinely want to. Because I care so much about everyone who I consider a friend, went people betray me I tend to act off of emotion. I’m going to be real with y’all, I would really fight people over stuff like that because I don’t like when people cross me. But because of the person I am and who I want to be, I have to learn when to walk away

This might’ve been the hardest thing for me as someone who “wears their heart on their sleeve”. Although I’ve had an all around great year, I’ve went through some of the most trying times of my life as a woman and I had to deal with it by myself. Handling things with grace and not emotion was the lesson that I needed in the worst way.

Some arguments I've gotten into with people is because I took the word of someone I trusted before looking at things from my own eyes. Because of that, I may have burned bridges with people who really meant well. But everything that's done in the dark will come to the light. I've learned to develop my own understanding before reacting. 

You can't avoid the truth forever. You're going to have to face it one day or another. Being brutally honest with yourself is never easy.

I hope this didn't give you "New Year, New Me" because it's not. I'm not new, I'm improved and always improving. 24/7, 365. 

As some of you may know, I am the Assistant Director for the non-profit organization, HBCU SpotlightTV. Our founder, Ventress Johnson, is from one of the areas affected by Hurricane Harvey. Ventress, myself and the HBCU SpotlightTV family, wanted to come together to create a relief fund for Harvey victims. Please donate visit our website hbcuspotlighttv.com/prayforhouston and donate to our Go Fund Me. Proceeds will be going DIRECTLY to the people.

My organization at school, Women of Distinction (located on the campus of The University of Maryland Eastern Shore), will be setting up a drive for clothing and toiletries to donate to Harvey victims as well. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me (via Instagram, email, or the contact section of my website)

It has finally launched! I'm so proud to introduce my baby Black Blogger Chick. Basically, I'm not trying to be like everyone else. I'm redefining a "blogger". When you read this blog, don't look for what you see from everyone else. I want for my readers to read every post in my voice like I'm really talking to you. It has taken me awhile to grow into my style of writing and in general just want I really want to do with my website and Black Blogger Chick was the product of those thoughts.

I can't even begin to describe everything that I want to do with this site because we'll be here all day but I just want to say THANK YOU for supporting, reading, visiting. It's all love on this side.