Out Of Many, We Are One

I was scrolling my timeline today and came across this video:



I have to admit when I first saw this, I was like God broke the mold when he made this women because aint no way 32 kids are coming out of my womb. Then my foolish fiancé says we're having 33! *side eye* I mean I do want 4 children but let's just get married first. Anyways, the woman is simply inspiring with her story of saving children off the streets of my motherland, Jamaica. The video needed 50,000 views by April 10. It has over 143,000 views and it's only April 1! The power of social! I'm sure Ms. AnnMarie will put those computers to good use. Awesome story!

♥ A.Erika ♥

Hello October.

Happy October to you all! It is officially autumn. I love saying autumn instead of fall. Fall sounds so...regular. Lol. Anyways, I am really looking forward to this change in seasons. Literally and figuratively. I feel a shift on its way and I am highly anticipating it.

Tuesday night/Wednesday early morning, I couldnt sleep. I was just up, reading my timeline. My TL has been very inspirational lately and it's definitely great because I will take that over excessive ratchetness.  One of my favorite writers/bloggers was reflecting on her journey to entrepreneurship, I was feeling inspired and decided to do the same. So this is straight from my TL...

 After the talk with @DANiBANANii_, journaling, now catching up with my TL, I am feeling inspired and ready for whatever is next. I'm learning its okay to expect GREAT things especially when I've been working hard the past 2 years. Networking, reading, studying, doing whatever is necessary to become the best ME I can. Proud to say that everything has worked together for my good. Even when I couldn't see the light, even when things didnt go according to MY plan, even when I questioned if I was going down the right path. I still knew something great is in store. Just keep grinding and the fruits of your labor will soon blossom. That's what I kept telling myself and now I see sweet fruit slowly blossoming. Now looking back I wouldn't change my journey because it built my character, forced me to take inventory and most of all love myself, flaws and all. Content? Yes. Comfortable? Not quite. But I'm slowly getting THERE and that's what matters. Life is a cross country race. Highs, lows, but persistence and endurance get you through.

I really had to stop and be thankful for where I am and where I'm going. Celebrate small victories while you conquer the war. That is my new motto. So to the last quarter of the 2012. I am so ready and I'm trying to go out of 2012 with a bang. Who is with me?

♥ A.Erika ♥

Perfection is a cancer.

As a child, I was under the impression if I do everything perfect, I would be successful or reap the best. Oh how I was wrong. I even stopped myself from doing things because I knew I wouldn't be perfect for it. SMH. I've realized perfection only leads to crazy thoughts, behaviors, and procrastination. Nobody can ever be perfect. We were created with flaws or in sin, however you want to say it. So don't allow perfection to stop you from doing what you want. I know I'm guilty of that. I'll say things like oh I have to wait until I get things in order or get myself together. Eff that. You have to just start sometimes and everything will come together. I was having a gchat convo with one of my friends regarding perfection. And she said, you know how many mediocre people are successful? Tons. And I had an aha-moment. I'm wasting time waiting on "perfect conditions" and other people starting with no plan are creating genius ideas. So I'm hanging up my perfectionist cape and start creating. I hope you all will too.

♥ A.Erika ♥

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!! I finally did a post on the new years day! Lol. I can't believe its 2012 already. 2011 has been an interesting year and I am glad I made it through! Thankful for the closed chapters, leaps of faith, lessons learned. They all gave me strength and directed me in the place I needed to be. Not to toot my horn, but I'm always so surprised by my progress every year. I'm like wow I'm really becoming a great woman. Lol. Even though I'm still flawed, I can't help but celebrate where I've come from and where I am now. I am so hyped about 2012. The first time in a while I have been so excited for the new year and new beginnings. So happy new year to you readers and wish nothing but great things for you this year!

♥ A.Erika ♥

um hi.

oh hello there! its only been 4 months since my last post. I took another sabbatical from the blog, not intentional though. It's harder for me to post since my laptop's screen has decided it's not gonna work. Despite technical difficulties, trust, I have been a busy girl. I am now working full-time at big computer hardware distributor. :D When I got that offer call, I was screaming internally because I was working temporarily at a private school. All those internships, pro-bono opportunities, etc have paid off and now I am a working woman!

I've decided to volunteer with the teen ministry at church, finishing up my shadowing process. As soon as I started my shadowing process, I got a call for a women's mentoring program I signed up for earlier this year. I was so elated because mentoring has helped shape who I am today. So our first planning meeting is this Saturday and I am ready to start working. I met with RPI Alumni in October and signed up to be a meeting coordinator for next year. I have photoshoot set up for later this month with my friend and I am hoping to meet with my image consultant so I can be fly for the shoot. And that is just small look into what I have been doing in these last 4 months.

In the midst of all that, I have been thinking about the future of my blog. 2 entries ago, I talked about changes and the changes I intended to make are completely different of the changes I am currently working on. When I started this blog two years ago [geez i cant believe its been 2 years], the intent was for it to be a one stop shop. Meaning I would post personal experiences along with sharing information [like pop culture, design, etc] I thought would be interesting to my readers. As my blog has developed, it became more of my online journal. So in a way, i'm sharing information, but its more personal, penning the highs and lows of my life. Although I love this blog, I contemplated eliminating it because I thought it was TOO personal. But I gave it further thought and decided if I can't share my personal stories and be transparent, then I shouldnt blog. So with that said, this blog is here to stay. But I still want to develop my brand so I have decided to create another blog that focuses more on my career as graphic designer and social media enthusiast. The launch date for that blog is TBD. But I am excited to "birth" another blog. I have all kinds of posts ready to go.

I have been doing much reflecting and assessing these last couple weeks in preparation for my vision board. I feel I'm moving in the right direction. So more updates in the next couple weeks. I have some goodies to share. :)

♥ A.Erika ♥

summer sabatical.

hello lovelies!

friendship.
my quiet storm and mouth-almighy

after a summer filled with toddlers and thinking, I'm back.

this summer I decided to nanny two 3-year-old girls. I was slightly nervous about it because I didn't suffer hell in undergrad for 4 years to become a nanny and this was not helping my career any. but I wasn't gonna pass up easy money. For two months, my girls and I went to the park, went to the aquarium, went to the petting zoo, got ice cream, went to storytime, did arts and crafts, talked about big girl school, AND took naps. [for all my tweeps, I hope my #nannydiaries captured the essence of summer as a nanny.] I realized children are not in my immediate future and riding with car seat is guy repellent. blessing and curse. Lol.

the family at mama lindo's celebration

I also used this summer to learn more about me. I was selfish this summer and I have never felt better. I was able to do some deep thinking about my career, friends, family, etc. Evaluate friendships even eliminate some. I got to meet new people and exchanged dreams/ideas with them, in turn they provided encouragement.  I reconnected to family I haven't seen in years. Partied with my parents until 6a in NYC. I was able re-develop my love of reading. Even able to meet one of my favorite writers and I'm now on HP book 4. I was able to explore my city and I'm proud to say I can navigate downtown Atlanta like a pro. Lol. I even gained a couple pounds by eating to my heart's delight. I shopped and got some "big girl clothes". I planned one of the best bday parties my mom has ever had. I got my belly button re-pierced and I'm going to see 1/3 of my rap trinity tomorrow. I'm going to a wine tasting next week and the week after, I'm meeting with some alumni. After all that, the thing I'm most proud about for summer 2011 is my relationship with God. If anything I could be selfish with is my relationship with Him. Understanding my significance and knowing who I am in Christ fuels my actions and keeps me inspired.

I'm so glad to be back. I've missed it so no more neglect. I have some surprises too as indicated by the last entry but I'm ready to unveil them just yet. But anyday now...hope u all have had a GREAT summer!


♥ A.Erika ♥

private party.

"im having a private party, learning how to love me, celebrating the woman I've become..." Private Party, India Arie.

Its been a long time coming, but this past week has been one of the best weeks I've had in a long time. Nothing really special happened, unless you count seeing my tallest friend ever in over a year, meeting a couple guys in my newly single status, partying at one of the nicest clubs in atlanta. I digress. Lol.

But apart from all that, i celebrated myself...looked introspectively and saw my progress. Getting past...the pain of a breakup...the disappointment of not getting a job after graduation...moving back in with my parents...changed friendships...etc. Not to mention, that i'm my hardest critic and sometimes i'm TOO hard on myself. Yet, last week i looked at what&who i've become, as a result. I couldnt help but be happy and have a private party like india arie. And then on sunday, pastor confirmed everything i was feeling last week with this quote: "This day could not exist without those days. You wouldn't be where you're at without what you went through."

we should all take a day to celebrate ourselves. sometimes we need to pat ourselves on the back. so as i continue to have my private parties in the future, i encourage you all to have them too. take some time to celebrate where you have come from, where you are, and where you are going.

 ♥ A.Erika ♥

march madness/gladness

March Madness! March Gladness! I love the month of March just because of the March Madness! There is no time like it. When I was at RPI, I would hardly pay attention in class, watching various games on my laptop. Almost screaming out randoms outburst in class because of great plays. Nothing gets my blood pumping like a GREAT tourney game.

So for the month of March, my church decided to give classes on Wednesday instead of Wednesday night service. I was excited because they had a class about prepping for the job market. Seeing as though, i'm still actively seeking full-time employment, i figured this would be a great class to refresh some skills and learn some new info. Apparently there was not enough interest so I'm taking a class called building biblical wealth, and so far, its been A-MAZING.

One of my biggest goals in life is to leave a legacy to my generational tree, comparable to the Rockefellers, Kennedys, etc. One of the ways I want to build that legacy is having wealth. In order to build that, I must learn how to budget my money so I can create a habit of good spending habits. In turn, I can teach my kids, grandkids, and possibly my great-grandkids to great spending habits. One of the references the instructor used in class to help with budgeting is www.daveramsey.com. I would suggest all my readers, look at this site and get some help managing that budget. As much I would like to build a legacy, I wish the same for my readers.

♥ A.Erika ♥

puts things into perspective.

saw another piece that i like. maybe sundays will be aesthetically pleasing day. and i got a PT job. YAY for income! :) orientation on tuesday, updates then.

♥ A.Erika ♥ 

mission statement.

A girl was just a lil emotional wednesday night. Today is a new day and im much better.Thats the thing about life...it has its ups and downs. And im learning that its ok to be down because it wont last always and it makes you appreciate high.

today i went to the crowned jewels [women's ministry] breakfast and as we signed in, we got a worksheet and it said "reaching you highest potential in hard times". I was like after the emotional week i've had, i def need this in my life. the speaker, Dr. Cage, spoke about the 5 P's: purpose, present, posture, plan, people. Im like wooo Lord you are tryna teach me something today. When she discussed plan, she said we need to develop a mission statement. Mission statement for companies are the ideals in which a companies is founded. It states the purpose of the company and helps to guide them when the get off track.

I then thought maybe this is what my life is missing...a mission statement. A statement that will state what i would like my legacy to be and serve as reference guide to the decisions I make. Everytime I make a decision, i should question it saying do this line up with my mission statement. Something that will keep me focused! So I know I talk alot about doing something and nvr quite finish but this is imperative that i complete. Maybe tomorrow since some of the major distractions will be gone.

this post is definitely more positive than the last one!

continue to live your life and one day we'll run this town...love my booskie! one of the greatest big bros a girl could ask for! :-)


♥ A.Erika ♥