Crystal Clear Observations

No, you're not crazy. Or weak. Or incompetent. Your job or managers just try to make you feel that way from time to time. What you are is tired, worn out or simply stressed. Work related stress can take a toll on your well being and wellness and can impact the important relationships in your life. Take the initiative and escape for a day. I recently took a Wednesday off to regroup. Having suffered from migraines two days in a row, I owed it to myself to unplug and unwind and guess what? No Wednesday migraine! I was happy and healthy all day. I encourage everyone to take a personal day from work and truly make it personal. Do something that you enjoy and UNPLUG from work. Day in and day out job stress is not healthy and has to be consciously managed. You aren't doing yourself any favors staying late and putting in overtime if your work isn't going to be applauded anyway. There is not a price tag on your overall well-being. You owe it to yourself to take...

It's not easy for me to admit this but sometimes I get way too comfortable. I let my guard down and settle for things because they feel comfortable......or I don't want to put in extra effort despite knowing I am worth and entitled to so much more. Going back to work after being self employed for ten years was not an easy transition. Having experienced career highs and several prestigious accolades, breast cancer reared its ugly head and forced me to make a life change. Entering the workforce seemed like a good idea....you know that is what responsible adults with college degrees do, right? Here is the Catch 22.....you can secure a role in an organization, earn a decent paycheck and have stability but then you will hit a brick wall or a glass ceiling. If you are a woman, particularly a woman of color, you will speed up in hitting those objects. Corporate women of color will be disrespected, undermined and subjected to conversations and behavior that have no place in ...

I recently reached my ten year milestone as a stage 3A triple-negative breast cancer survivor. When I think back to how the oncologist gave me "three years at best WITH treatment", I am beyond grateful to experience this moment. Battling cancer has changed my outlook on life forever. While overall I know it made me a better person,it also revealed some painful truths about cancer and life in general. Everyone who battles cancer wants to win but sadly many will not. Survivor guilt is very real and is a heavy burden to bear. Attending a funeral of a fallen sister is one of the darkest moments in my life. I've attended far too many of them. I'd like to think that all the suffering and sadness has not been in vain. I've reflected long and hard on what I have learned since 2007 and came up with a list of ten things breast cancer taught me in ten years. I hope it is useful to anyone battling the disease or finding themselves in a dark place. 1) You will and can...

  I visited one of my favorite neighborhood parks one morning this week to take my dogs for a little walk. I also needed the fresh air and exercise as well. One of the perks of being a dog owner is that you tend to attract other dog owners or people who also love pets. I was feeling a little down initially when we began our walk until a group of 4 small children ran over to us and after asking if they could pet my dogs began laughing and petting the dogs. The children's smiles and giggles immediately lifted my mood and I made eye contact with their mothers to let them know it was okay and in control. It was amazing how this brief interaction with my dogs brought these children so much joy. We walked on about a quarter of a mile and stopped to rest on a bench. A woman walking by stopped to comment on how beautiful CJ and Annaka were and we began swapping dog stories. I learned that she is a widow and that her dogs provide her great comfort in her life. Quite simply as she ...

I recently checked something off my bucket list. After battling aggressive breast cancer, I decided to list some things that I have always wanted to do or dreamed of and began the check off process. My list isn't that grand or expensive but rather a compilation of things that once paralyzed me with fear. I've dabbled with yoga off and on for years. Many of the poses help my asthma by forcing me to focus on breathing and calming techniques. During radiation, yoga was helpful in managing the side effects of skin discomfort and scar tissue build up as well as regaining the limited mobility of my right arm. Television and movies always made public yoga look so interesting but the thought of taking a class in public was intimidating to me. What if I fell over or couldn't do the poses as well as the person next to me? What if everyone else was limber and I was barely touching my ankles? This past week, I was casually slipping through the Weekend Guide as I normally do an...

I can't imagine how it feels to want to champion for the people and also be enemy #1 for those same people. I can't imagine what it must be like to be under constant scrutiny for every move you make, subjected to daily criticism, be labeled with racial slurs and likened to animals, have your wife and children degraded all while running a country and never lashing out or completely losing your cool. But that is exactly what you have managed to eloquently endure for the past 8 years. Before you even had an opportunity to make a mistake or a misstep, people were against you from election night. "But I'm not racist", they said. Then they could offer no logic or policy or fundamental belief why they weren't willing to give you a chance. Now their "give him a chance" pleas fall on my deaf ears. I've watched you deliver a Presidential address only to be met with disrespectful remarks and applause at inappropriate times. I've seen your very na...

I'm sitting here in a very somber mood. While many will celebrate the death sentence of Dylann Roof, I find myself mournful remembering the 9 church parishioners who were murdered in what should have been the safest place to be. People worshiping in a religious building should not pose a threat to someone that warrants intruding into their space and coldly executing them. Their crime: being born Black. I want the world to know that I didn't see the outrage and outcry for these 9 victims like I do for one or even 3 victims in senseless killings. In fact, the murder of one police officer will flood my timeline with cries of swift justice but when these 9 were murdered, the outcries were in Black and White-literally. I can't smile and pretend not to notice when black lives don't matter to my friends.  Susie, Clementa, Sharonda, Cynthia, Depayne, Daniel, Ethel , Myra and Tywanza. You have never been forgotten. I choose to speak YOUR names and breathe  life into...