Tag: social media

Life

Wednesday Writings

Shaun Bradford

Decided to use the quote that initially accompanied the graphic. It’s a much needed reminder that I control the pen that’s writing my story.

Lately, I’ve been warring between disconnecting so that I can fully recharge or staying connected so that I won’t lose connections. There’s this fear of starting over and disappointing others that has me hesitant to disconnect, yet I know it’s necessary.

Today will be my 459th consecutive blog. Believe me, ending this streak is one of the most difficult decisions I have to make. And social media… Listen, I can’t even begin to describe how difficult it’s going to be logging off social media. Sadly, it’s become an integral part of my life. Y’all, I have upcoming events and community information to share on Mississippi Thriving. I have content to post for Nutrition with LaShaundreaB. Daily posts for Shaun’s Daily Inspiration. Morning greetings for my sistas in We Are Sistas. Sunday tweets with my e-church family during Sunday service. Shows and movies to promote. Issues to support. Y’all, there’s so much that I do– that I LOVE doing– that I’m finding it difficult to take a break from. Honestly, I feel like I’m abandoning my friends, followers and community– as if I’m abandoning my tribe.

Side Note: I believe I have blogged about this before, but until recently (like a year or so ago), I suffered from abandonment issues. I always felt like those I cared about most would abandon me. Well, it’s the same way I feel about disconnecting to recharge. Even though I know I’m not abandoning anyone, I don’t want them to feel as if I am. I know that probably sounds a bit crazy, but the fear of abandonment so real.

Well, with everything said…

Y’all, I need to press pause and take an indefinite break. I need to take a moment to fully recharge. Operating on half empty just isn’t working anymore. I know it may sound like farewell, but it’s not. I assure you that I will return.

Please take care of yourself!

Love you always,

Shaun

Life

Just Dropping In To Say Hello

Shaun Bradford

About a week and a half ago, I decided to log off all of my social media accounts to include not blogging. I needed to concentrate on a few things and the noise was a bit much. Now that I’ve been off for a while I’m not sure when, or if, I’ll return. I’m not referring to blogging because I still love to write (been journalling several times a day). I’m referring to my other accounts, particularly Twitter and Facebook. They tend to give me anxiety. Always too much going on. With that said, there are aspects I do miss. I miss tweeting during my shows, saying “Good Morning” to the sisters in the Facebook group, We Are Sistas, and keeping in touch with close family and friends. The other stuff, I don’t miss it at all. It was just a bunch of noise. If I don’t see it on the morning shows, nightly news, or hear about it on the radio, I’ll live. As I said, it was just too much. If I do return, things are going to be different.

How I’m feeling. Life is good.

Listen, once you find peace it’s hard to go back to chaos. Just saying. Enjoy your weekend and I’ll see y’all on Sunday!

Shaun

Life

Me vs Twitter

Shaun Bradford

Yesterday I did something I’ve done many times before; however, this time was different. Yesterday morning I decided to log of Twitter, and I didn’t feel like I was being punished. Usually when I log off, I have to convince myself that it’s for my own good. Y’all, it’s never easy because I always feel like I’m losing my best friend or part of me. Pathetic, right? Well, yesterday I logged off without any regrets and it felt so good!

Oftentimes, I find myself wondering what life was like before social media. What were we doing? There was a time when I was so addicted to the games on Facebook (think this is where it began) that I was checking my farm (Farmville) and cafe (Café World) at work. I remember one of my colleagues asking if I remembered to check my food in my Café. Talk about crazy! Looking back, I couldn’t imagine myself living without my farm or cafe. Now they’re only memories.

Truthfully, besides the farm and cafe, I was never that attached to Facebook. I could log off for days and not feel like I was missing anything. But Twitter… Twitter is a-whole-nother story! I love Twitter because it’s fast-paced and so interactive. Talk about exhilarating! It’s a great place to discuss shared interests and get instant feedback. Now, this is where my problem resides– LIVE tweeting. (Y’all, I can’t even say “reside” without hearing “Where the money reside, where the money reside.” Lol) Listen, there’s nothing like LIVE tweeting during my favorite shows! It’s like being in a theater with a bunch of people who like talking during movies. As I said, very interactive. My problem, though, is I can’t seem to turn it off after the shows are over. I want to continue talking about them. Like… for days! I crave the interaction. I’m telling you, it’s addictive. I guess you can say the only good thing is, I like discussing fake drama not real drama. Real drama is a little too much. This is where Twitter becomes overwhelming and I’m forced to log off to maintain my sanity. Which was my reasoning for logging off yesterday.

With that said, yesterday evening I decided to log back on a little before my show, #TheOvalOnBET (just in case you want to tweet with us) came on. Was planning to log off afterwards but I stayed to tweet during my other show Ruthless (no hashtag for this one- y’all ain’t ready- LOL!). Afterwards, I happily logged off. I had gotten my fix and was out of there. Y’all, I’m really proud of myself because I didn’t think I could do it without feeling like I was losing something. Honestly, I’m good until my other show comes on. I guess you can say I’m reclaiming my life! Lol

By the way, two of my favorite shows were renewed for a third season– Tyler Perry’s The Oval and Sistas (#SistasOnBET). I’m so happy for Tyler and the cast! However, I’m even happier for me because I have something to tweet about for another year or so. Yep.. I’m smiling.

Shaun

Life

Logging Off Is Difficult But Necessary

Shaun Bradford

I’m really trying to create healthier habits by sticking to my scheduled times. I’ve allotted 1.5 hours to tweet during and after my shows. Tonight I did well. My show ended almost 30 minutes ago and I decided not to use the full 30 minutes to tweet afterwards. I also logged off Facebook. I have to stick with my set schedule because I really hate how attached I’ve become to social media. The only way things will change is for me to be intentional about changing them.

I know I can do this. I have to.

Good Night

Shaun

Life

My Facebook Memory: August 11, 2019

Shaun Bradford

Hello! Here is a Facebook memory that I thought I would share. It was written on August 11, 2019, after a year of being in the doctoral program. This past March I decided to take a leave of absence, again (details included in the memory). This time it was the uncertainty of COVID-19 that had me stressed. I just could not focus on school. So I decided to take a year off. As I did last time, I have questioned myself about my reasons for pursuing this degree. Is it something I truly want? Glad I have a few more months to decide. Then we shall see what happens.

Here’s the memory (unedited):

Good Morning! No social media find this morning. I just feel like sharing.

Today’s the last official day of class. It’s been a year that I’ve been in the DrPH program. I’m not sure why I thought it would be easy. I’m still puzzled about that initial phone interview with my advisor. I was just so chipper. Why???🙄 I work at a university. I’ve seem so many students struggle through their doctoral program. Yet, somehow I thought things would be different for me. What was wrong with me?😩

A few days ago I finally really looked at my degree plan. Yeah, I never really reviewed it. I just started taking classes and going with the flow. When I saw how many hours I had left, my heart sank. The thought crossed my mind, “Will I ever have a life?” Y’all, this program is about to consume ALL of my time. I’m not going to lie, so far I haven’t been disciplined at all. I started off really disciplined. Had everything scheduled down to my “Tyler Perry Tuesdays” tweet time. Yeah, one hour to watch and tweet during the show and 1/2 hour afterwards to reply to tweets. I was serious. Then, life happened. It’s amazing how one little thing can shake you and your whole system crumbles.

I began to realize I used social media as a way of coping with the things happening around me. Whenever I wanted to get away, I would log on and mindlessly scroll down my timeline. Social media is a great distractor when you don’t want to deal with reality. At the time, I was going through the divorce. Somehow, in my little mind, I thought it was going to be a piece of cake and it wasn’t. Also, things at work were becoming stressful. It was just a lot. Then, on top of that, I had school. I had to post and respond to discussions every week. Honestly, it was all taking a toll on me. I finally realized I couldn’t take anymore and sat out the spring term.

During my break, I did a lot of soul searching. Was this program for me? Could I fulfill my purpose without the degree? Was my purpose even worth the struggle? Why couldn’t I just let everything go and just enjoy life like everyone else? I mean, I’ve already retired from the military. I’m sort helping my community through my research projects. Why not sit back and enjoy life? Why do I always have to make things harder for myself? Well, because that’s exactly what I do. I love a challenge. Something inside of me, no matter how hard I try to fight it, wants the adventure. So, when my advisor called me before the summer term began, and asked me if I was returning to school, I confidently told him I was going to finish the program.🤦🏽‍♀️🤷🏽‍♀️

So, here I am. This time I’m really serious about being more disciplined. I’m trying to narrow down my use of social media to things that will help me along this journey. I’ve discovered that the Twitter accounts I follow on my ResearchDiva site reflect were I’m going (UN in Geneva☺️). I’ve been able to use some of the information I’ve come across for my discussions and assignments. My Mississippi Thriving IG makes me feel like I’m still supporting my community. My blog, It’s Shaun’s World, gives me an outlet for sharing my random thoughts. And this page… y’all make everything worth it. I love logging on and seeing your smiling faces. Y’all keep me grounded.

I know this was long. I needed to get it out. So, if I miss posting a few social media finds, or showing you love, it’s not because I don’t care, I’m just trying to stay focused.

I love y’all!

GodIsWorking

BeBlessed 🙏🏽♥️

Thanks for reading!

Shaun

Life

Psalm 23

Shaun Bradford
Makes me feel like royalty.

My first thought was to save this for my weekly Hello Sunday blog since it sounds like a Sunday message. But this is how I am feeling now– in this particular moment. So I am sharing.

After checking Facebook and Twitter this morning, I began to feel discouraged. Every post/tweet was about chaos and doom. If someone was not sharing stories about us going to a cashless, socialist society, then they were sharing stories about injustices and living in the last days. Sometimes.. no.. most of the time, it is so overwhelming. However, this morning, as always, God reminded me that He is still in control. Our job is to trust Him in spite of what we see.

Story time:

When I was a little girl, I spent my summers with my great-great grandma, Madea. Every morning Madea would get up, pray, and read one chapter from her ginormous white Bible. That chapter was Psalm 23. It was her morning ritual. Y’all, she did this every morning before she started her day. To this day, that entire chapter is instilled in me. However, verse 4 is my secret weapon. Whenever I feel afraid, that one verse seems to calm all of my fears. I dare you to recite it when you are afraid. Whew! Talk about peace like no other! Personally, it kind of makes me feel like royalty. As if my daddy is The King and I am His princess. Like nothing can touch me. Sounds crazy– huh? But it does.

Anyway, without further ado, here is Psalm 23. Enjoy! And use it!

Psalm 23 KJV

1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Amen. Y’all, God is with us. Trust Him.

Shaun