A Single Year

A lot can happen in a single year. Last summer, I attended the Legacy Conference for the first time. It changed my life in more ways than one. I stepped outside my comfort zone and traveled to the conference alone, praying and believing I would make new friends. I did! I met some incredible people from across the country that I now call family.

It was at the end of Legacy that I felt called to a year of singleness. I kissed dating goodbye. (I actually read that book--it's pretty good and brings a lot into perspective.) Today marks a year since I made that decision. I'm still on a spiritual high from my second Legacy Conference and can’t help but reflect on my growth this past year.

Fast Five

Photo via blackgirlhealth.com

I bet the woman described in Proverbs 31 was a neat freak. She likely coined the phrase "a place for everything and everything in its place." She's the type of woman that you could stop by unannounced and the smell of ocean breeze consumes you as she opens the front door. She greets you with a smile and welcomes you to join her in the kitchen where she's preparing the most delicious meal ever as light music plays. At the sight of fresh lemonade on the counter, your mouth waters. You figure There's no way she can be this perfect, so you ask to use the restroom and secretly snoop--only to find that to your horror, there isn't a speck of dust on even the tallest shelf.

The Devil is in the Waiting

Waiting is hard. Whether it's for a ride at the amusement park, your next paycheck or a friend running late for dinner, waiting requires a certain level of patience. I always thought I had it. Apparently, I don't.

What I Want My Daughters to Know

Photo by Kesha Lambert Photography via @triciasmithbrown

All this talk about Beyoncé and empowering women has got me thinking about future generations. If you didn't know, I'm crazy about kids. For as long as I can remember, I've wanted seven--it's my favorite number, after all. I'm much older and wiser than I was when I first decided that, but somehow that number hasn't changed through the years. I think of my children often: how I want to raise them, what I want to teach them, what instruments they'll take up, sports they'll play...essentially who I want them to become. So I made this list to remind me of all the things I want them to know when they're no longer figments of my imagination but actual humans walking the earth.

Travel Don'ts

One of my lovely roommates turned 25 earlier this month. To celebrate, she invited nine of her closest girlfriends to join her for a vacation in Puerto Rico. Talk about ambitious! 

10 young women + 5 nights + 4 bedrooms + 2 futons = 1 trip of a lifetime! 

Nubian Skin Matters

(Photo courtesy of Nubian Skin)

As a pageant contestant for more than ten years, I am no stranger to the term "nude." The only issue is: nude has never really known my name. From underwear to shoes to mesh on a gown, there has never really been a nude that appeared nude on me. All I can come up with is designers often create the color with a much more fair skin tone in mind than mine, perhaps because of their largest demographic is white women. That I am not, so when I heard of brand that had designed nude underwear specifically for women of color, I was over the moon.

Girl Talk: Big Red

NO BOYS ALLOWED. It's time for girl talk. No, seriously, you boys and men wouldn't even understand. But if you want to stick around, by all means, suit yourself.

I'll start by saying this: women's health is important. And I care about all things concerning women. I love women. So when my post advocating for women getting their annual checkups at the gynecologist was met with mixed reviews, it became more evident than ever that we women are fearful of talking openly about what's affecting our bodies.