I Am Woman

I have been thinking about my daughter's lately and the woman's role in our society. My 13 year old is in love with music, this new generation music. What scares me is how now, more than ever, women are portrayed as sex objects. No new revelation to the world, it's been this way for some time now. But now, there is such a lack of respect for women, especially the lack of men respecting women. I look at the clothes the young girls wear, I listen to the rap lyrics, I watch the videos, and I see little respect for our women and children. Hell, I even sing along to a lot of the lyrics, but I'm grown. I know who I am, what I use to be, I know how I deserve to be treated and I am the example for my daughter's. But, I am not Nicki Manage, Lil Wayne, Drake, Rick Ross or Chris Brown and it is an every day struggle between me and the media, to portray what the norms are in our society to my daughter's.

What's even more alarming is that these young girls grow-up to be young women. Confused, manipulated, taken advantage of, and in many ways abused. Abused because they have adapted to the norms of what society portrays as norms. That young girls are fresh, flirty, bi-sexual, sex crazed animals. Not daughter's, sister's, mother's, educated loved filled individuals.

Now, don't get me wrong, I am a woman, I am a sexual being and I have been accused of being a flirt at some point or another. In my days of adolescence, even young adult hood, I have probably been many different things to different people, but my family raised me with certain morals, standards, and taught me to have self respect. It was the streets that taught me otherwise, so called friends that taught me what no respect looked like. I've said it plenty times before, I am not perfect, no angel by far, but I am not the young girl I use to be, but I am a full grown loving woman, here and transparent, trying to be the best mother I can be for my girls.

I urge you to talk to your daughter's, son's, mentee's about what respect looks like, and what reality is versus what the media portrays as reality. Don't give up or in to what you see, continue to change the world. Do not allow the media to continue to dictate what our youth and young adults look like, especiall our young women.

Peace and blessings,

Shamina

I am not a girl!!

I am not your fuck toy.

I am not your mistress.

I am not your phat thighs, long legged booby.

I am not the love of your life; I am not your WIFE!

I am not your beck and call girl; I am not your high heels with a thong girl.

I am not your wettest pussy girl,

Deepest pussy girl,

Pretty smelling pussy girl,

Your pussy taste good girl.

I am not the; What you need girl?

Take this one thousand dollars and pay some of your bills girl.

I am not your living secrets keep this quiet girl.

I am not your wait on me girl.

Your take out of town trick girl.

I am not the: I love how you smell, suck, and fuck girl, but you can’t be my girl girl, but my girl on the side girl.

I am not the girl that becomes complacent or comfortable.

I am not the girl with no desire.

I am not the girl who depends on another.

I am not the girl who enjoys living in secret.

I am not the girl who will act as if some of this shit don’t exist.

I am not the girl you will manipulate.

I am not the girl you will take advantage of, the girl you think you can change my views and opinions to fit your own girl.

I am not the girl who will get high all her life and let life and time pass her by.

I am not the girl who thinks wealth and riches is what life is all about.

I am definitely not a girl.

Eliminating Confusion

Well, we are well into the new year, and I am behind in my posts. My life has been experiencing a lot of change since the beginning of the new year, and the changes are all great and very rewarding. I found myself dealing with tons of confusion. Confusion from many different sources, even me as the source as some of it. I quickly recognized it and begin to get rid of it.

You know, all too often we accept anything from people we allow in our lives, people we allow to be apart of our energies, and we have to know when situations become unhealthy for us. That's not always easy, but I think we are built and wired with a certain intuition that provides us with warning signs.

I believe that confusion leads to stress, second guessing ourselves, fear, doubt and many other symptoms that become unhealthy. We have to know when to throw in the towel, when a situation drains and pulls your energy to depletion, when individuals become selfish, uncompromising, controlling, or simply down right disrespectful. I have recently experienced all of those things until I woke up and said, I deserve more than this.

What was weird though, is that I actually began to function and operate within the confusion as if it was normal. As if there was something I had done to attract it and foster it, but it was the total opposite. Things, people, environments, the stress levels of others' change often and change quickly at times, and sometimes, if your not careful, you can allow it to affect you and become apart of who you are, and not for the betterment of yourself, nor those around you.

I have two little girls at home, one 13 and one 19 month old, and I don't want to raise them around confusion, chaos, disrespect, nor situations that lack love, compromise and understanding.

I never want to wake up again, shutting myself off from the world, concentrating on all the confusing thoughts in my head, when all I had to do was eliminate that which was causing me confusion, stress and unhappiness. You have to live in order to be considered living and there is no living if your living in a state of confusion. Wake up happy and thankful, and give to someone daily. You never know what a smile, a nod hello, or a kind word can do for a person, and being focused totally on you and yours and some of the situations you got going on, you never think twice about someone else. You never stop to look up at the sky and marvel at the peace and serenity that rests above which also resides within your being.

So today, I ask you to look at your life and look at the areas that cause you stress and strife, and those that are out of you control, don't focus on them, and those that are within your control, eradicate them and be empowered that you are taking back control of your life, situations, and removing those individuals that give you negative energy while depleting you of your good energy.

Peace and blessings,
Shamina

I Wanna Be Free

I wanna be free
Free to dwell in the midst of me
Free to love in such a harsh society
Free to be in the presence of the bitter sweet

I wanna be free
Free to love in the midst of me
Free to be in a place and space where He resides
Free to allow my pain to subside

I wanna be free
Free to experience an oneness and peace with my soul
Free to be bold, courageous and solid gold
Free to allow my emotions to unfold

I wanna be free
Free to experience a first with another
Free to behold and uphold a certain quality and standard
Free to be unselfish and uncompromising

I wanna be free
I simply wanna be free to experience me

Creating The New

Happy New Year All! This post is long overdue, so I apologize if you were expecting an entry in December as you should have been (smiles). The year 2010, for me, proved to be challenging in many areas, especially the area of faith. There were situations that almost shook me to my core, had me doubting myself, doubting the power of God inside me. With this being said, I started running out of fuel during the fall months, allowing many of the situations I faced to become a burden on my life, soul and spirit, physically and mentally.


During the holidays I was reminded that life is definitely short. We all use this phrase, but do we really understand the impact of this phrase? The year 2010 was the first year of my life without my grandmother, reminding me of what I have, breath and life, and no matter the situation, let nothing burden you when you know God has given you perfect peace.


I found myself asking God for clarity and direction often in 2010, more often than I have ever before. But I soon realized with the closing of the year that I was asking for guidance and direction, but I didn't have a clear, visible vision nor plan of what I needed guidance and direction for. I found myself aimlessly going through my days, always tired, no refreshment anywhere. However, before the close of 2010, I found it...in Him, a perfect peace and a new outlook, perspective if you will, one that included a plan for the year and small goals to achieve with each approaching month.


This month, in this New Year of 2011, I am embarking on many new experiences, one involving volunteering, a new position with my current employer and a new set of standards that include me writing down the things that I am GOING to do, not will do, must do or have to do, but going to do, with follow-up and follow through in this new year.


Often times, we are our biggest critics, and all too often we murmur and complain, even when we don't admit it, but we rarely create a plan to do things differently so that the outcome will quickly change and not remain the same. During the end of 2010, I was truly reminded of God's grace and mercy on my life, the lives of loved ones, especially my biological children who are both healthy, smart and beautiful. I had been all talk and no action during most of 2010, but that has changed. To see my vision plain as day, to see it when I rise and before I lay brings a newness, an expectancy into my dreams at night that allows me to start each day empowered, stronger, giving more, loving harder, not succumbing to my trials.


I challenge you in the new, to create a new thing within your world, your self, your mind and start to live out the unimaginable. I have said it before, and I will say it again and again, but now with more power and authority, THE BEST IS YET TO COME!!! Especially when you have a plan.


Peace and Blessings,
Shamina

The New

Well, here we are, a toast for creating new beginnings!

Like the kiss that new love has planted softly on your cheek after the first date.

The frost upon the grass when you awake, fresh linens on your bed.

The breath a newborn takes fresh out the womb, your child attempting to ride a bike for the first time, the first time they reach for you, their first utterance of your name.

The new pair of knee boots you rocked on New Year's Eve.

The new awaits you, me, it awaits us all, waiting for us to discover the very thing that makes us who we are.

For me, I am creating the new, the new pep in my step, the new pride in my stride, a new hello along with new goodbyes, a new frame of mind, new people to surprise and entertain, awaiting strangers that know my name, creating a new way to do some things.

The new I am doing this year Boo!!!