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.
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.
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!
My nephew shared a quote this morning and the words ring true.
“Everything you now do is something you have chosen to do. Some people don’t want to believe that. But if you’re over age twenty-one your life is what you’re making it. To change your life, you need to change your priorities.” – John C. Maxwell
He also added that due to social determinants it may be difficult to change your life. However, I’ll add, it is not impossible. Sometimes this means making sacrifices (changing priorities) so that you can live a better life – mentally, emotionally, and spiritually as well as financially.
I’ll end with this question–
Are you presently making changes to create a better life for yourself (see meaning above), or are you content with where you are?
Today’s “Hello Sunday” is a reblog from April 11, 2021. Y’all, it’s a year later and I still tear up when I think about how God has allowed me to live the life I have always imagined. Well.. minus the husband. Seriously, it’s funny how I always believed I could not live my best life without being married. This isn’t to say I never want to remarry because I would definitely be lying. However, over the past year, I have discovered that I don’t have to wait until I find a significant other or get married to truly live. I guess being happy really is a state of mind. God is good.
Here is what I wrote last year:
Happy Sunday! Came across a quote from a few years ago which basically sums up how I have felt over the past week. It read, “And so, she started living the life she’d imagined.” Y’all, I’m in tears right now. I have never felt so free. So in control. So focused. Been watching God work. […]
“Everyone has their own road to travel,” is what I wrote a few years ago. It seems like the older I get the more evident this becomes. No matter how much we want things and relationships to remain the same they won’t. Life is constantly evolving. Everyone has their own lives with their own set of dreams, goals and problems. And of course I have mine!
My world is finally opening back up and it looks totally different from the way it looked pre-COVID. I’m not afraid of what the future holds. However, it saddens me that things are no longer the same. As many of us have experienced, change – positive or negative – can be difficult to accept and adjust to, but it’s so necessary.
On this day three years ago, I wrote: “Reflect, Regroup, Refocus.” Never have I felt the need to do this as much as I do now. Change is inevitable and it’s happening right before my eyes. The only thing that has remained constant, and will always remain constant, is God’s presence and love. And you best believe I’m not letting those go. Nope! I’m leaning on Him even more.
It’s Shaun’s World 
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