Facebook Status Reflections: Part I

One of my friends suggested compiling my Facebook status messages because she found them to be generally positive and uplifting. I thought it was actually a pretty cool idea. The more I thought about it, the more reminiscent it is of reading through an old journal and reflecting on your growth and experiences. So here goes Part 1!

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09/17/2013

This morning I woke up and just praised God for this chance to be better than yesterday. Praying we can all embrace being great today and continue to improve! Have a positively productive day ppls!
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09/14/2013

Send your prayers for our sister from the Atlanta Masjid of Al-Islam community who lost her daughter and granddaughter Thursday night in the car wreck on 285. This chapter from Qur'an came to mind this morning. Praying anyone who has lost a loved one finds relief in God's promise to ease our burdens and raise our spirits.

(The Holy Qur'an 94:1-8)

Chapter Ash-Sharh (The Opening Forth)

1: Have We not opened thy heart,
2: and lifted thee the burden
3: that had weighed so heavily on thy back?
4: And [have We not] raised thee high in dignity?
5:And, behold, with every hardship comes ease:
6: verily, with every hardship comes ease!
7: Hence, when thou art freed [from distress], remain steadfast,
8: and unto thy Sustainer turn with love.

This reminds me that during our toughest times God is working with us to get us through whatever the situation may be. And when we finally come through whatever our difficulty is, we have to stay focused on serving Him by living upright. God is Greater than any difficulty! Allahu akbar!
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09/13/2013

Reminded today again how precious life is. Please reach out to your loved ones, especially if you haven't spoken to them in a while. Let them know you love them and you're grateful to have them in your life.
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09/12/2013

Ok people. As usual I'm hoping everyone is enjoying an awesome and very productive Thursday. I just had to share this sad moment real quick tho, lol. Just about a week from my 26th birthday and I'm feeling a little aged. All these past sports injuries are really taking a toll during this recent training regiment I've been on. And to top it off, Agnes Scott College Registrar tells me they have to look in the ARCHIVES for my student records. The ARCHIVES???? Eeek! Ok, I'm officially an old lady. Thanks ASC. lol #OldScottieLady — feeling Old.
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09/10/2013

Value yourself. Value yourself by taking good care of your body. By controlling your messaging and always using a positive filter. By cutting out the people who don't help you become better. Value yourself because time is precious and this life is short! Happy Tuesday folks! God bless! #TooBlessed
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09/09/2013

Today I'm thinking about choices, especially in our youth. Every single decision we make has a ramification. It's up to us whether it's good or bad. God has blessed all of us with such potential. Such capacity to be great. To do great things. To consistently overcome whatever obstacles appear. It is NEVER...EVER too late to change course and turn around for the better, no matter what area of life. But we have to CHOOSE to be great! No one can do that for us. God is the Greatest! Allahu Akbar! #TooBlessed
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09/08/2013

Hajj flight info just got confirmed!! EEEEeeeeeeee!! I'm getting very extra super excited! Whoosah...trying not to hyperventilate. God is good!!
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09/04/2013

When you sincerely pray for something. When you work hard toward that goal. When you set your mind to it. When you overcome all of the barriers and negative energy. You sure enough better be ready for God to answer your prayers!! Have a blessed and productive day everyone #TooBlessed
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09/03/2013

Praying hard and working hard for many life events and goals right now. God is good and I know His plan is the best. If you're aiming to do something, anything, just do it! When you work hard and pray hard NOTHING and NOBODY can get in your way! God will orchestrate all the good energies of this universe to push your positive growth plan into action one moment at a time. Everyone you meet will somehow be a tool to help you work toward a better you. Even the miserable ppl will be reminders of who you DO NOT want to be. A person who gives up on themselves and loses faith that God has the power to do all things. Why can't you become whatever you wish? Why can't you achieve whatever you dream of? #DreamPlanPrayWorkBelieve #GodIsGood! Allahu Akbar
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09/03/2013

Choose to be awesome! Because, why not?? #thatisall
Happy Tuesday!! (or Muesday as I've been calling it around the office :p)
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08/22/2013

I have so many thank you letters to write! God is so merciful! I am completely overwhelmed once again. Whatever you go after, just know when you take steps of faith, God makes the universe align with your every move! Praise God, truly and forever! Alhamdulilah!

A Beautiful Literary Nightmare...

Reflections from a young soul....
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You pick it up and take a risk.
You place it to the journal,
To the notepad,
To the napkin.

It's sweet.
It lights up your heart.
Uplifts your soul.
Makes you giggle.
Maybe it brings a tear to your eye.

Then it's over.
Can't take those words back.
He knows.
She knows.
How you felt.

You can burn the paper.
But you can't unburn the image of naked literary soliloquy that enchanted his soul.
Her soul.

You can't take back the giddy feelings.
You can't take back that rush.
The tingle.
The lust.
You can't take any of it back.
It haunts you like a bad dream.

Did he keep it?
Did she keep it?
Who did he show?
Who else knows?

You've never prayed for a shredder so hard.
You've never unwished your wish for companionship like this.
You've never felt so alone after feeling so together.
Break up.
Never.
Break up.
Never.

Forever you will hold.
Until your untold story is sold.
Jealousy. Disenchantment. Falling out of touch.
Out of love.
Out of when you were so into.
Into each other.
Into his arms.
Into her heart.
Into his fantasies.
Your wifey dreams.
Your husbandly.

But it has been done.
It was fun while it lasted.
Now there is none.
Too young not to take the leap.
Too old not to know better.

To stubborn not to try harder once again.
Out of touch as long lost kin.
But the risk was worth the adrenaline.

...the poetry that's left

At once it unfolded,

Sultry, forbidden, ironic.

Konnections untold.

Invagination directed

Always will behold.

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At last

Seeking, sought after for so long.

Kharacter unmatched, mahood unsold

Intimacy beyond measure, forgetting the past.

A premonition of heartship forever will last.

Heartfelt Haiku

More than meets the eye.

To my surprise, you caught me.

Love, eternally.

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Great escape is Love.

Fortunate to be so real.

Please don't wake me.

Kryptonite

Tell me this is real.

I melt like snow,

While your heart remains

Cold as steel.

Just let me know the plan,

My Superman. 

Thrifting Discovery

Who has touched you?
Before my fingertips found your smooth surfaces, was their touch softer than mine?

How did they hold you?
Did they grip you firmly, afraid, as you might fall?
Were they careless?
Did they toss you aside?

Where did they take you?
Did you find many adventures?
Or did you suffer neglect?
Did they rummage your content?
Or did your binded heart suffer for lack of respect?

How did they know you?
Were you strangers? Did you meet by happenstance?
Were you recommended or did she stumble upon you?
Were you cased for days or ripped from what you knew?
Did they love you intimately or were they distracted?
Were you offended by the way he acted?


Surely they must not have loved you. After all, here you are with me.
And like a sweet symphonic melody I lull you until I fall asleep.
And when I awaken and find you adjacent, I'll cull through you slowly like doctor on patient.
And when our time is through I'll never toss you aside.
I'll visit you often and never neglect your spine.
You'll stay only on my shelf until the day that I die.
And unlike the others, I'll appreciate your quirks. Because surely many will develop with time.

And when my time finally ends you'll have the memory of my touch.
You'll think of me dearly and how I'll miss you so much.
But I'll never throw you away or off to a thrift.
I'll always caress you softly with my imagination's sweet kiss.

11/08/2009: I rarely do this...

I rarely go into the pages of one of my journals to cut and paste something online...
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11/08/2009: American Public Health Association 134th annual conference, Philadelphia, PA.

"Ladies and gentleman, please take your seats. The program is about to begin." A man's voice echoed through Hall C of the conference center. "The program began when I found out I had a sponsorship to attend APHA" I thought to myself. The program had definitely started by the time I caught the first shuttle to the conference center from the hotel.

The room wasn't full yet. Although there were many people in the hall, the space was enormous. Thousands of attendants were expected from all over the United States and some international locations. Some familiar faces emerged from the dim light. Dr. David Satcher was swarmed with Public Health colleagues and groupies. True to form, I sat four rows from the front, in the center. Too far from the aisle where he stood to get my own handshake. Definitely too far to get a picture for Facebook (I got that later). Dr. Camara Phylis Jones also had her group of admirers nearby. For the first time, I regretted sitting front and center.

The program began -the 137th annual meeting of the American Public Health Association- and so did my first Public Health conference as a "future public health practitioner". For some, this conference was a renewal of their commitment to Public Health. But for me attending was a testament to my commitment, dedication, and support for what I'm so passionate about, the human right to live a healthy life despite: socioeconomic status, gender, education, religion, culture, sexual identity, history of incarceration, or any other social identification.