Making Waves

This past summer, I adopted my very own fur baby. Her original name was Citrus, but I thought Sophia was a better fit. Yes, Sophia was a much better fit for us both. I’d been wanting to adopt a puppy for a few years and wanted to wait until I had the space to accommodate one, so once I did, I began my search. And boy, was it an adventure!   I always planned to adopt (#adoptdontshop 😊) since adopting would be a great opportunity to give a pup a great home, so when I first started looking, I searched for a male Beagle. I thought they were the cutest and had spotted a few that were available for adoption, however, I was informed that they howl, and that noise could become problematic, so I kept searching. Next, I came across a male Labrador Retriever who I immediately wanted to adopt. He was the cutest and most adorable pup ever, so I filled out paperwork to adopt him. The only barrier was that someone else had completed paperwork to adopt him before I arrived at the adoption shelter...

Lysa TerKeurst is an extraordinary writer. I’d read one of her books a few years back titled,   Uninvited,  and loved how she addressed the topic of rejection, so I guess it shouldn’t have surprised me that   It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way  would be brilliant too. When I read this book, I felt like God was sitting in bed with me as I read each page. Once I started reading and began the first few chapters, I was in tears because I’d never read a book from a Christian writer that was as open, vulnerable, and authentic as Lysa’s story and words were in   It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way.  If you’ve ever felt as if there were moments or experiences in your life that didn’t make sense, left you heartbroken, or wondering, “God, where are you in all this?” Then this book is for you. I believe that this book is powerful and will speak to you in some special ways if you’re open to checking it out. I’ve been through seasons that have been challenging, painful, and ...

Living and moving through the uncertainties of life can feel uncomfortable sometimes. Whether you’re a person of faith or not, not knowing what’s going to happen next can stir feelings of stress, worry, anxiousness, anxiety, uneasiness, and discomfort. If I can be honest, lately, I’ve been wrestling with a combination of these things. I’ve recently entered an exciting yet busy season of teaching, new (and super-duper exciting) writing opportunities, training a new fur baby, and grad school – all of which I’m thankful for, however as I move forward, I’m also aware that the world is still moving through a global pandemic, along with people who refuse to wear masks and others who refuse to get vaccinated to stop the spread. Which is scary, especially when so many men, women, and children are getting sick and dying. It’s also been disappointing living in a culture of entitlement, seeing the celebration and rapid normalization of bogus behavior, and observing the condemnation of people who ...

I can go down a list of times when I’ve asked different guys for help during different times in my life, and each time I’ve asked for help or reached out for assistance with things like car repairs, technical support, emotional support, or help with lifting and physically carrying an item that was hard for me to carry on my own, taking trash out to a dumpster at work (in a past role) or even something as small as responding to a text or a phone call, the following has happened: I’ve been ignored. Insulted. Humiliated. Disrespected. And talked down to.   When you are a woman repeatedly treated this way, inevitably, you either won’t get what you need, or you learn to figure a lot of different things out on your own. It can get tough sometimes, but you’ll find a way to figure things out. Honestly, I believe that women wouldn’t have to carry so much if guys would step their game up. I’ve even heard unsettling stories from married women who opened up to me about times when their own hus...

This summer, I took some tremendous leaps of faith. After completing my first year of teaching, I decided to continue my education and enrolled in graduate courses at Old Dominion University. I had just completed a course in the spring and thought it would be best to continue my professional development through the summer. So I took on more courses. And after a lot of dedication, discipline, consistency, and focus, I earned A’s (that 4.0 life is super nice) in each course and I also completed and passed my VCLA (Virginia Communication and Literacy Assessment) to continue the process of obtaining my 10-year teaching license.     Now, there were different teachers and close friends of mine who told me, “Simone, you’re smart, and you’re an English major, you’ll do fine.” But I never like to go into things unprepared or with an arrogant attitude. So I still studied and prepared for the test. And I’ll continue doing the same for my remaining assessments and coursework. I was going ...

Before I dive into this, let me just say that I think Issa Rae is a creative   genius . Really. She’s like the BFF I’ve always wanted but never had. Before watching her series  Insecure , I’d read her book titled   The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl   and thought it was brilliant. At one point, I ended up in tears from laughing while reading about her insights on life. I never kept up with   Insecu r e  past the first season when it originally aired, but I can remember laughing so hard at the first episode that my sides started hurting. I love how the show has a comedic approach and brings viewers into the reality of what life is like for many Black women moving through the complexities of work life, adult friendships, finding love, and everything else in between. It’s entertaining stuff.     Recently, I had the chance to catch up on every season (I just learned that the fifth and final season will be airing this fall), and as I watched each ...