My Mentor

Legendary Author Maya Angelou Passes Away

I feel like a member of my family has died. Poet, author, dancer, actor, director. She was mentor and she did not know it. Her life experiences mirrored my own. Growing up in the rural South, molested as a child, refusing to speak for over a year because she felt responsible for the death of her abuser. One of the leading voices of the Harlem Renaissance and the Civil Rights Movement, Maya Angelou influenced and impacted the lives of African Americans to rise and become consciously aware of their worth as human beings.

Some of my favorite poems:

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may tread me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own back yard.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise. 

 Phenomenal Woman

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I'm telling lies.
I say,
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It's the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can't see.
I say,
It's in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman

Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed.
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It's in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need of my care,
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me. 

Passing Time
Your skin like dawn
Mine like musk

One paints the beginning
of a certain end.

The other, the end of a
sure beginning.  

On the Pulse of the Morning

A Rock, A River, A Tree
Hosts to species long since departed,
Marked the mastodon.

The dinosaur, who left dry tokens
Of their sojourn here
On our planet floor,
Any broad alarm of their hastening doom
Is lost in the gloom of dust and ages.

But today, the Rock cries out to us, clearly, forcefully,
Come, you may stand upon my
Back and face your distant destiny,
But seek no haven in my shadow.

I will give you no more hiding place down here.

You, created only a little lower than
The angels, have crouched too long in
The bruising darkness,
Have lain too long
Face down in ignorance.

Your mouths spilling words
Armed for slaughter.

The Rock cries out today, you may stand on me,
But do not hide your face.

Across the wall of the world,
A River sings a beautiful song,
Come rest here by my side.

Each of you a bordered country,
Delicate and strangely made proud,
Yet thrusting perpetually under siege.

Your armed struggles for profit
Have left collars of waste upon
My shore, currents of debris upon my breast.

Yet, today I call you to my riverside,
If you will study war no more. Come,

Clad in peace and I will sing the songs
The Creator gave to me when I and the
Tree and the stone were one.

Before cynicism was a bloody sear across your
Brow and when you yet knew you still
Knew nothing.

The River sings and sings on.

There is a true yearning to respond to
The singing River and the wise Rock.

So say the Asian, the Hispanic, the Jew
The African and Native American, the Sioux,
The Catholic, the Muslim, the French, the Greek
The Irish, the Rabbi, the Priest, the Sheikh,
The Gay, the Straight, the Preacher,
The privileged, the homeless, the Teacher.
They hear. They all hear
The speaking of the Tree.

Today, the first and last of every Tree
Speaks to humankind. Come to me, here beside the River.

Plant yourself beside me, here beside the River.

Each of you, descendant of some passed
On traveller, has been paid for.

You, who gave me my first name, you
Pawnee, Apache and Seneca, you
Cherokee Nation, who rested with me, then
Forced on bloody feet, left me to the employment of
Other seekers--desperate for gain,
Starving for gold.

You, the Turk, the Swede, the German, the Scot ...
You the Ashanti, the Yoruba, the Kru, bought
Sold, stolen, arriving on a nightmare
Praying for a dream.

Here, root yourselves beside me.

I am the Tree planted by the River,
Which will not be moved.

I, the Rock, I the River, I the Tree
I am yours--your Passages have been paid.

Lift up your faces, you have a piercing need
For this bright morning dawning for you.

History, despite its wrenching pain,
Cannot be unlived, and if faced
With courage, need not be lived again.

Lift up your eyes upon
The day breaking for you.

Give birth again
To the dream.

Women, children, men,
Take it into the palms of your hands.

Mold it into the shape of your most
Private need. Sculpt it into
The image of your most public self.
Lift up your hearts
Each new hour holds new chances
For new beginnings.

Do not be wedded forever
To fear, yoked eternally
To brutishness.

The horizon leans forward,
Offering you space to place new steps of change.
Here, on the pulse of this fine day
You may have the courage
To look up and out upon me, the
Rock, the River, the Tree, your country.

No less to Midas than the mendicant.

No less to you now than the mastodon then.

Here on the pulse of this new day
You may have the grace to look up and out
And into your sister's eyes, into
Your brother's face, your country
And say simply
Very simply
With hope
Good morning.

The Selfie Evolution

I never knew that all these beautiful pictures I would randomly take of myself were part of a new fad. According to the Oxford Dictionary, a selfie is "a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website." There are even classes on hot to take the perfect selfie.

My daughter has to be the perfect person when it comes to taking a selfie. She has this way of catching the light at the right angle and making her body twist and turn to look like a super model. I, on the other hand, look all swollen and bloated and have to have someone else take the picture (does that count???)

Sometimes a selfie is absolutely necessary. My hair might look GORGEOUS that day or an outfit just PERFECT!!! Or the event so AMAZING!!!!

Experts say if you want a great selfie, you should make sure your hair is fabulous (more volume). Download apps like iPhoto and Camera Plus. Use a filter and take off your phone cover for clarity. Watch your lighting. The angels have to be perfect. Do not rush the picture. Most importantly, HAVE FUN!!!!

Class of 1994--The Best of the Class

Hard to believe 20 years ago I graduated from high school. In two months, I will join my former classmates and reminisce about all events and experiences class of 1994 shared over the years. I grew up in Chicago; however, in the middle of my 9th grade year, my mom relocated us to good ole Yazoo City, Mississippi so that she could be closer to her mother.

Culture shock was the least of my troubles. You try fitting in with people who have no idea what living “up North” is like. However, over time, I built friendships that have only gotten stronger over the years.

One telling moment would be in 2010 when my dad passed away. I had never experienced the pain of losing a parent or even a best friend before. I buried him back in Yazoo City. The night before the funeral, classmates from all over showed up at my uncle’s house to just hang and comfort me. The next day at the church, imagine my surprise to see one side of the church full of classmates.

I am looking forward to July when we are all together, looking over old yearbooks, making fun of who is bigger and has more gray hair, congratulating each other for all of our accomplishments, shedding tears for classmates who are no longer with us. Class of 1994… still the best class to ever cross the stage.

Did You Know???

The animal kingdom is awesome! Did you know that the male seahorse carries the fertilized eggs and then delivers up to 1800 baby seahorses?

How about gorillas? They can catch colds just like a human?

Ostriches can run faster than horses.

If not for a lioness, a lion would starve.

The only dog that doesn’t have a pink tongue is a chow.

Turtles, water snakes, crocodiles, alligators, dolphins, whales, and other water going creatures will drown if they remain under water too long.

Almost half the pigs in the world live in China.

Dogs have better eyesight than humans.

There is an average 50,000 spiders per acre in grassy places.

 In Alaska it is illegal to whisper in someone’s ear while they’re moose hunting.

The bat is the only mammal that can fly

Some male songbirds sing more than 2000 times each day

The chicken and fish are the only animals that are eaten before they are born and after they die.

A tarantula spider can survive for more than two years without food.

For every human in the world there are one million ants.

If you keep a goldfish, in a dark room, it will become pale!

Cows can sleep standing up, but they can only dream lying down

A housefly hums in the key of F.

During World War II, Americans tried to train bats to drop bombs

Even a small amount of alcohol placed on a scorpion will make it go crazy and sting itself to death!

Just one cow gives off enough harmful methane gas in a single day to fill around 400 litre bottles.

300 Animal Facts

Teen Not Supposed to Be at Hotel After Prom

 How horrible! I definitely remember my first proms. Junior year, I went with a friend and we had a great time; I don’t think we ever left the dance floor. Then we drove into town and spent all night at the McDonald’s and I was home well before curfew. Senior year, we left prom early and headed to after prom. I know for a fact we never left the dance floor. I remember going to a hotel after wards, but that was to see what everyone was doing. I headed home early because I had to work the next morning. No one had to worry about drinking and driving because we weren’t drinkers and as far as sneaking off to a hotel for “you know what,” I lived on my own senior year.

Teen Found Dead After Prom 

This story is tragic. Every prom season, teenagers catch attitudes over all the safety precautions put in place by school districts to ensure that their prom is one of celebration and not one of tragedy. No one wants his or her fairy tale evening to be one of sorrow for their loved ones. In one night, parents can lose a son or daughter, classmates lose friends, and a community is left to pick up the pieces and wonder what could have been done to prevent the loss of a young life.

What Were They Thinking???

Sometimes, you have to wonder, what are people thinking when they do the things they do? For example, in Arizona, a teenager thought it would be a great idea to steal a tuxedo off a mannequin and wear it to prom the same weekend. The police were able to track him down and arrest him--AT THE PROM.
 

In Texas, a 31 year old woman, decided to enroll in high school as a 15 year old sophomore and did so for an entire school year. She even had a Facebook page. How do you come up with this stuff?



Texas seems to be on it. A teacher thought it necessary to teach her best under the influence. Police pulled her over for DUI on the way to work. Then, a guy in Louisiana drove to the police station to file an accident report while he was drunk!


Don't get me started on the three women who thought it was a good idea to get arrested for twerking outside city hall in Beaverton, Oregon.

More Chocolate

Anyone who knows me, knows that I love chocolate. As a matter of fact, one of my nicknames is Chocolatey!!! I can eat all types of chocolate, dark chocolate being my favorite. In meetings, my supervisor will make sure that there is plenty on hand if she wants me to behave and participate. I reward my students with it and I cannot think of a better way to say "I Love You" than with a box of chocolates.

In recent years, doctors have found that the antioxidants in chocolates are beneficial to heart and immune health. In a recent article posted on ABC News, chocolate has been shown to help with "reducing blood pressure, protecting the heart and brain, and curbing cravings for both sweet and salty foods." This is great for me, the borderline diabetic and anemic.

So how can I incorporate more of it in my diet? Well, in the article, it says I can add it to a smoothie; add it to cereal; drizzle it over certain foods; fold it into nuts; and add it to other dishes. Sounds great to me!!!

5 Healthy Ways to Eat Chocolate

Right from Shakespeare

Ok, I know that I tell my students all types of things when I am teaching them something new. I mean, who REALLY likes English? All those papers, and reading, and then I hit them with Shakespeare! Not my fault that I love my job and what I teach.

One thing I tell my Seniors is that there is Shakespeare everywhere. I could not have been more correct when I came across this article about a couple who go around hugging elderly people, acting like they know them, then the other person commences to mug the unsuspecting senior. In Shakespeare's time, this was called "hugger muggering." Imagine my surprise as we have recently completed an activity where we used Shakespearean insults to diss each other in class. "Thou artless frothy hugger mugger." Who would not be offended if someone called them this?

Hugger Muggers Do Exist!!!

Bring Back Our Girls

Why should we care what happened to the hundreds of Nigerian school girls kidnapped more than three weeks? We live here, in the United States where in 2011, more than 329,797 babies were born to girls ages 15-19. We live here, in the United States where Black American teens, aged 13-17, especially females, are at a greater risk of attempting suicide than other youth in the country. We live here, in the United States, where one in every five teenage girl will become a victim of domestic/dating violence. We live here, in the United States where 43% of women have an eating disorder by the age of 16 and 95% of those with eating disorders are now between the ages of 12 and 25. Finally, we live here, in the United States where one in four girls never graduate from high school (four in ten if you are an African American female).

Why should we care? To quote the First Lady of the United States, "In these girls....we see our own daughters.  We see their hopes, their dreams, and we can only imagine the anguish their parents are feeling right now." Three weeks ago, the terrorist group responsible for this atrocity and crime against humanity declared that they will continue their agenda to cease the education of the women in their culture. By kidnapping these girls, they sent a message that the value and worth of a female in their country is a THREAT.

I agree with the FLOTUS; what happened in Nigeria should make our own teenagers wake up and realize that they take public school education for granted. People for years have died for the right to have what our teenagers throw away so carelessly today.