Blogging from A to Z: Today's letter....H for Harvard University (and others)...

I received this email this evening and figured it would make for a good and informative blog post for the challenge:

Harvard University Announcement

No tuition and no student loans

Harvard University announced over the weekend that from now on undergraduate students from low-income families will pay no tuition. In making the announcement, Harvard's president Lawrence H. Summers said, "When only ten percent of the students in elite higher education come from families in the lower half of the income distribution, we are not doing enough. We are not doing enough in bringing elite higher education to the lower half of the income distribution."

If you know of a family earning less than $60,000 a year with an honor student graduating from high school soon, Harvard University wants to pay the tuition. The prestigious university recently announced that from now on undergraduate students from low-income families can go to Harvard for free... no tuition and no student loans!

To find out more about Harvard offering free tuition for families making less than $60,000 a year, visit Harvard's financial aid website at: http://www.fao.fas.harvard.edu/ or call the school's financial aid office at (617) 495-1581.

SEND TO SOMEONE WHETHER THEY CAN USE OR NOT. THEY JUST MIGHT KNOW SOMEONE WHO CAN.

This sounds spectacular, right? Students from low-income homes are receiving a great opportunity; just because someone is from a home that is struggling to make ends meet, especially in our current economic setting, doesn't mean that they should be blocked from attending an Ivy League school if that is the school they choose.  After checking around for some more information, I found an article on, CNNMoney.com, that discusses this. Apparently Harvard, and other major schools, are planning on using more work-study programs and grant money as financial aid for low-income students. While there is still the chance that the family will need to invest some money, due to the "expected contribution" amount, which is figured when completing the FAFSA. But the amount contributed will be extremely lower than what was previously expected. According to the Harvard financial aid website, at some point family's had to use home equity to pay for their child, or children, to go to Harvard. And chances are, the student would still leave the school with debt! I think that this program is a great idea and it should be taken advantage of.

Blogging from A to Z...G for Garcelle, what were you thinking?

Okay, this post is devoted to some celebrity news; I say celebrity, but those involved are "major" in my book, but hey, to each his or her own. Today "news" broke regarding an email that Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon apparently sent out an email to her husband's friends and co-workers at the Creative Artists Agency (CAA). According to this email, Garcelle says that her husband Michael Nilon has been having an affair with some woman for 5 years. The two have only been married for about 9 years! Now, of course the most important aspect of this story is that this man was cheating on his wife. But looking at it from a different view, I think that Garcelle's approach to handling this was a bad idea. Why? Well first, why send it to his friends and colleagues? The way I see it, most of those same people already knew he was having an affair. I mean really, five years? Folks were already talking about around the water cooler. Second, what sense does it make to put such scandalous information out in the open and then not want to speak to the media? Now that she let the cat out of the bag, she made this statement to USMagazine.com:

"My focus at this time is on my kids and healing the pain. There will be no further comment."

Why make the comment in the first place? Now you don't want to talk about it? Either someone was in need of attention, and by attention I mean attaching one's situation to the many celebrities going through this same situation (i.e. Tiger Woods and Jesse James), or someone realizes that it wasn't the best idea to throw personal business out there for media consumption. That said, I hope that Garcelle is able to make it through this, shielding their children from the stupidity of their father. I just think that this was a bad move.

Blogging from A to Z...F for Fusion...

I was sitting here thinking of a topic I could use for this post; several words came to mind. I narrowed it down to "forgotten" and "fusion". While I find both interesting, I decided on "fusion" because this is a topic is much lighter than what I would have said had I used "forgotten". Anyway, I was on Twitter and someone was talking about something called afro fusion. I was intrigued and broke into the conversation (because that's what you do on Twitter, lol). Apparently there is this process, afro fusion, that will feed my 'Fro envy. Mu hair is currently loc'd up but I've been considering chopping them off in at least a year; they're getting so long, almost to the point of annoying me. When I do the big chop, I'll have a small afro but I want something major. This is where the fusion process would come in, taking me from here:

To here, in a minimal amount of time:

I'm really going to have to schedule some time to go to Atlanta and visit The Damn Salon (I love the name)!

Blogging from A to Z...E for Empathy

This is a brief post, since I'm now a day behind! Yesterday was a bit hectic but I hope to stay on track now (smile). Anyway, this topic is one that I think of often; especially when I read about children committing, or attempting, suicide. Empathy us nothing and the benefits from it can be far-reaching. According to Dictionary.com, empathy is the "identification and understanding of another's situation, feelings, and motives." The current mindset of many people is that "different" is bad, it is something to be made fun of and, or, despise. Some of the same people, with this mindset, are raising children who go to school and see the differences of others and begin to bully and belittle the "different" kids. Now we have 8 year olds jumping from buildings and  11 year olds hanging themselves because the constant bullying is too much for them to deal with! I know that being picked on is something that happens in life, heck, I've experienced it, but every child handles stress differently. Expecting all kids to "grin and bear it" or "suck it up and deal" is unfair. While it is important to teaching kids that there are healthy ways to deal with the stresses they face, it is also important to teach kids that "different" isn't bad...it's just different. We have to teach kids how to look at the things that make us all different and simply understand those differences. Kids are dealing with so many things, so many adversities; we have to reduce these stresses as much as possible. Teaching empathy can enrich and save the lives of our children.

Blogging from A to Z...Today's Letter...D for Dreams...Crazy Dreams!

Good evening folks! I decided to do a post on the creepy dreams that I often have. I am extremely frightened of spiders. As a matter of fact, I can handle snakes and mice more than I can spiders. I think that this fear was influenced by my mom; she is terrified of spiders. In fact, when I was a kid, we were all at a family reunion in a park and she was sitting under a tree, on a picnic table, with my little sister (who was a baby at the time). A spider dropped down from said tree and my mom ran off screaming, leaving my little sister on the table in her carrier, with the spider! Needless to say, after my dad went over and moved my sister, everyone razzed her about it. This was the reaction that I often saw and I've been scared of spiders ever since. Spiders, being the one thing that I fear (possibly more than death, unless said death involves spiders), often make appearances in my dreams. I've scared everyone in the household because I'll wake up thinking that spiders are crawling all around the room, making their way to me. I've ran into doors, tables, stumbled over shoes, and my own feet trying to get away from imaginary spiders. As I type this, I laugh because I know that it is only a dream. However, in that moment, the moment where I'm falling out of bed, tangled up in sheets, there is nothing scarier in my life.

When trying to understand what these dreams could possibly mean, I found a website called Dream Moods. This is what I found:

To see a spider in your dream, indicates that you are feeling like an outsider in some situation. Or that you may want to keep your distance and  stay away from an alluring and tempting situation.  The spider is also symbolic of feminine power. Alternatively, a spider may refer to a powerful force protecting you against  your self-destructive behavior. If you kill a spider, it symbolizes misfortune and general bad luck.

To see a spider spinning a web in your dream, signifies that you will be rewarded for your hard work. You will soon find yourself promoted in your job or recognized for your achievement in a difficult task.  Spiders are a symbol of creativity due to the intricate webs they spin. On a negative note, spiders may indicate a feeling of being entangled or trapped in a sticky or clingy relationship. It represents some ensnaring and controlling force. You may feel that someone or some situation is sucking the life right out of you. Alternatively, if a spider is spinning a web in your dream, then it could be a metaphor for the world wide web and global communication.

To see a spider climbing up a wall in your dream, denotes that your desires will soon be realized.

To dream that you are bitten by a spider, represents a conflict with your mother or some dominant female figure in your life. The dream may be a metaphor for a devouring mother or the feminine power to possess and entrap. Perhaps you are feeling trapped by some relationship. 

Since I never see them spinning webs, I'm never bitten and I never kill them, the only points that apply are the ones about simply seeing a spider and spiders climbing walls. So it makes me look at my current situation; do I feel like an outsider? Possibly, but that's been something that I've carried for many, many years. I've been a loner, so it's not too surprising that I'd feel like an outsider. This site makes me think about any behaviors I have that could be seen as destructive. I'm not the healthiest person, so maybe that's manifesting itself in my dreams? I find the whole feminine power aspect real interesting; am I afraid of my own power? Running away form what I can be? Most definitely food for thought. Of course, the other point, spiders climbing walls, leaves me feeling hopeful. There is so much I want to do in life and I've been feeling like this is my year to really get to work on accomplishing certain goals, so maybe these goals "will soon be realized." Thinking about my spider dreams in this way makes them seem harmless, less frightening.

But, um, I'm still afraid of those creepy crawly things...what are you afraid of?

Blogging from A to Z: Today's letter....C for "who are you to be so Confident?"

I was on Twitter earlier today and someone in my timeline said something that got me thinking about confidence. This person sent on a "tweet" that said "Part of the problem is [you] think [you're] cute but [you're] just basic"; now, this was not directed at me, but it made me think of the many times I've heard that in my lifetime. I find it interesting when people make that statement; why shouldn't people think that they are cute? Why shouldn't people walk with their heads held high? Why shouldn't people feel good about themselves and their appearances? Some young girls, and some grown women, have this issue real bad; they see another female and whisper amongst their cliques and the refrain that tends to float around is "Look at her! She thinks she's cute!" Well, so what if she does? Why shouldn't she? Is it that women are supposed to walk around feeling lowly and unattractive? That is insane! If I don't think highly of myself, or see the beauty that is in me, how can I expect anyone else to? I often think that those who use the phrase "You think you're cute" are simply projecting their insecurities on others. For some it may be a mild, or not so mild, form of jealousy. But no matter the reason, I refuse to feel bad about myself or allow anyone to bring my confidence down to their level. Pardon my language, but fuck THINKING I'm cute, I KNOW I'm cute. And there's nothing anyone can do but deal with it.

Blogging from A to Z: Today's letter....B for Bereavement

I wasn't sure what I would post today for the second day of this blogging challenge. I was able to leave work early today, they actually let us leave for Good Friday (this is surprising). Anyway, I was able to get home in time to watch today's episode of Oprah. I don't usually, but today Janet Jackson was a guest on the show and I was curious about what she had to say regarding the new movie she's in, "Why Did I Get Married Too?", so I tuned in. As always, she was cute as a button and looked well. However, once the interview began, it was uncomfortable to watch. Why? Much of the interview focused on the death of her brother, Michael Jackson. If you've read my blog, then you know I'm a fan and when the media broke the news of his death, it hurt me, it was a visceral pain. And I didn't even know the man! So, as I was watching this episode of Oprah and saw the clips and pictures of MJ, I couldn't help but think of how difficult this had to be for Janet, his sister, one who grew up with, and truly loved, Michael. I can't watch the clips, or look at pictures, of MJ without feeling sadness or loss, so it doesn't surprise me at all that his sister doesn't want to see "This Is It" or look at clips and pictures of her brother. It shouldn't surprise anyone else either; I found myself giving Oprah the "side eye" because she seemed surprised by this reaction from Janet. Janet seems like such a private person, so being asked all these questions about MJ and where she was, how she felt, blah, blah, blah.

All that to say this: what is the deal with not allowing celebrities the privacy to deal with their bereavement, their grief, out of the view of the public? I think of the way I felt when my grandfather passed away several years ago and I think of the way I would feel if someone was in my face constantly asking me personal questions, gauging my reaction, my pain, and passing it around for the consumption of people I don't even know. A person's bereavement is personal and should be respected as such. You couldn't pay me enough money to be a celebrity and have to deal with this type of thing in the public eye. Everything isn't for everyone to see or know. Would you be able to handle such scrutiny?

Blogging from A to Z: Today's letter...A for Avoidance

For my first blog in the Blogging from A to Z challenge, I decided to do a post on avoidance. We avoid things daily, whether it's for our physical safety or for our emotional safety. The former makes sense, if you believe in survival; the latter is the more interesting one to me. I can be outgoing in certain situations, but there is one thing that I avoid like a plague and that's relationships. I think I may have a disorder or something because I cannot get myself to open up and express myself, for fear of rejection. It is a terrible habit, one that I would like to rid myself of. I know that I have missed many opportunities; I may have let a soul mate slip out of my reach and that really scares me. I think that I immerse myself in school because of my avoidance issues. With school, I have control over the outcome, for the most apart. If I want an 'A' then I put in the work to get it. Yes, I stay in school because the career I want requires certain degrees and certification, but I wonder if I get a slight bit of relief that I don't have time to put myself out there, you know, in the dating scene. I hear it's real rough out there and I'm often glad that I don't have the horror stories that others have. But, I also know I'm missing out; how do I expect to get married and start a family with a man I love, and who loves me back, if I don't get out there and meet him? I have to make a change and because avoidance is getting me nowhere.

I have to thank fellow blogger, arlee of the blog tossing it out, for starting this Blogging from A to Z challenge. I think it's going to be fun! If you want information on the challenge, click the logo, featuring Uncle Sam, to your right.

Janelle Monae's got me wanting to do the "Tightrope"

I already loved the song, but the video makes it that much more catchy. I'm looking forward to her new album, which comes out May 18th. That's right around my birthday...hint, hint, hint...(smile). Enjoy the video!