Today I would like to ask you to take a moment of silence to remember those who have recently lost their lives to mass shootings in the United States (May 14 – 24, 2022):
Buffalo, New York (Supermarket) May 14, 2022 10 lives taken
Laguna Woods, California (Church) May 15, 2022 1 life taken
Uvalde, Texas (Elementary School) May 24, 2022 21 lives taken
Prayers for their loved ones who are heartbroken and confused. Prayers for those who are saddened, hurt and angered by those who fail to recognize and address the racial and ethnical issues we have in the U.S.; as well as the gun violence that continues to plague the United States. As much as I desire to see the good in everyone, I’m actually beginning to believe that some people are incapable of love, empathy and compassion. Because if they were, they would care more about lives than their agendas.
I have to remain hopeful or I will become like them.
In exactly one month from today, I will be 49 years old. As I think back over my life, I cannot think of a time where I actually believed I achieved things on my own. I have always known that everything I am and everything I have is owed to God. I also know that all blessings and accomplishments yet to come will be due to Him. Y’all, I’m so grateful for His love.🙏🏽♥️ ~ Shaun
Yesterday, was my son’s big day! Today, he begins a new chapter of life. As with my daughter, I’m excited to see where this next chapter leads him, and ready to help him maneuver through his next few years of college.
About College…
Yesterday morning KeShawn surprised us with news that he had chosen a college. He applied to and was accepted at both Mississippi State University and The University of Southern Mississippi; and, for almost a year now, he’s been undecided. Which means we’ve done everything for both colleges – set up student accounts, applied for housing, scheduled orientations, etc. Then, yesterday morning my dad asked him what college he planned to go to and he said……. The University of Southern Miss. Y’all, I screamed! You see, Southern Miss is my alma mater. I really thought he was going to choose Mississippi State. I was prepared for it. Had even bought myself a t-shirt to wear to yesterday’s graduation luncheon. However, once he said Southern Miss, I went rummaging through drawers trying to find something yellow (gold) to wear since all of my Southern Miss t-shirts were faded. I ended up finding two yellow shirts that I had never worn and they both fit perfectly. Yes.. yesterday was a pretty awesome day for us both!
By the way, I didn’t cry. I was too wired and happy to cry. I just wanted him to have the best, most memorable day ever, and I believe he did.
There’s so much turmoil happening right now, making it difficult to be optimistic. Remaining hopeful that things will get better. Today’s a new day. 🙏🏽♥️~ Shaun
Today’s Hello Sunday is dedicated to someone I truly admire, Mr. Tyler Perry.
A few years ago, I wrote a similar blog but decided to unpublish it. I unpublished it because I thought it was a little immature and could be misleading. Listen, when I’m passionate about something or someone it shows. Y’all, I can’t hide it. Well, at the time I may have been a little too passionate. I was accused of being a fanatic, obsessed, in love and so much more. All because I truly admired– and still do– Tyler. So I toned down my admiration. I mean, if everyone else thought all those things, there’s no telling what he would think had he known. I’m laughing now, but I didn’t want him or his people blocking me on social media. Yeah.. I was a bit much.
Anyway, what people failed to realize, which I attempted to explain in my previous blog, is how my life changed once I started following him on social media. From Tyler’s words of wisdom, to his passion for helping others, I was hooked. No, the plays, movies and shows didn’t draw me in, those came later. To me, he was doing everything I once dreamed of doing– connecting with people on a human level and assisting those in need. PLUS.. he was from the south.. “The Dirty South.” Ha! There was no way I would not follow and support him. He’s my people! Also, he gave me one of my greatest gifts, the ability to dream again. For this, I am eternally grateful.
Yesterday, I watched a commencement speech he gave to Emory University graduates. It was only 18 minutes long but packed with so many gems. Y’all, his ability to connect with people on a personal level is astonishing. It’s priceless!
So, today I’m giving Tyler his roses. He’s earned them. I could spend hours telling you how he’s influenced my life over the years but don’t worry, I won’t. During his speech, he dropped another nugget of wisdom I needed to hear. Smiling while crying. Again, forever grateful.
Listen, Tyler Perry is so much more than Madea and his movies, shows and plays. He’s a beautiful human being with a big heart. Wishing him a lifetime of unconditional love, blessings and success.
Today makes 361 consecutive days of blogging! For some reason, I assumed the one year mark was closer to my birthday, in June. Well, I actually began this journey on May 14, 2021 with this blog, Just Dropping In To Say Hello.
After reading what I wrote almost a year ago, it seems as if I have a pattern of logging off social media around the same time every year. It’s always around this time (April/May) and the end/beginning of the year. Makes me wonder what it is about these specific times that I need to take a break from social media, a.k.a. chaos.
Back in December, I officially logged off my main twitter account, the one that was beginning to make me feel like I didn’t belong and had my anxiety levels through the roof. Imagine feeling like you don’t belong, on your own account. It was crazy!
Well, after logging off, I reverted to my secondary account. The account that I once referred to as “boring.” Shaking my head. I only invited people who I believed I made a positive connection with, to follow me to this account. You know, real people with real lives. I no longer wanted to be in that pretentious, competitive space. I needed calm, boring (anything but.. Lol) and real.. real conversations. Every now and then I get the urge to discuss my shows or a good movie, and I’ll provide a comment or two. However, I will never go back to where I was. I didn’t like it there.
Today, I’m happy where I am, in the spaces I’m in. In last year’s blog I mentioned the Facebook group, We Are Sistas (private group based on Tyler Perry’s Sistas). Well, I’m still there. For a minute though, I was thinking about leaving the group. It was becoming too much like my old Twitter account, too many negative vibes. Then I thought about the people I’ve connected with over the past few years and decided that my bond with them far outweighed the other stuff. Now, Instagram (IG).. I still have a love-hate relationship with it. However, I believe I have unfollowed all of the accounts that used to trigger my anxiety. Either that or I’m becoming better at managing it. Currently, I mainly follow people/accounts that feed my soul. Sorry but I don’t want to hear bitter rants or about how awful people are. I’d rather have a calm, uneventful, inspiring timeline. Oh! And I do follow my shows on IG and Facebook. So I still get to comment on posts and replies whenever the urge hits me. Yes, it’s still my happy space.
Okay y’all.. I did not intend for this blog to be so long. Guess I felt like writing. Hope you’re having a wonderful week thus far and wishing you an even better rest of the week!
It’s Shaun’s World 
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