Oh The Places You Will Go

Methods in research and writing were very different through the majority of my school years. I still remember asking my grandmother a question and she would always respond “check the encyclopedia.” It wasn't that she didn’t know the answer, but wanted us to know how to find our own answers. I feel like encyclopedias are hardly ever referenced now-a-days, at least not the way they used to be. This is mostly because in today’s day and age everything is at your fingertips and just a click or push away.  A person can share their words (opinions or facts) just as fast as they can retrieve it.

The way we share, interact, speak, and write is extremely different than it was 10 years ago. We write through text, email, Twitter, Facebook, Tumbler, and the list goes on. It’s no question that language is changing. Language will always change. Throughout time language has developed and evolved more and more. New words are made, defined, and replace old words with each passing year.

Although technology has widened our sources, I feel it has narrowed our humanity. Technology is a great gain in retrieving and sharing news, facts, thoughts, opinions, support, you name it, but it has also dwindled true human interaction with each other.

My first blog post is one of my favorites, but not nearly as developed as the latter ones. Looking at one of my other favorites developed later in the course, you can see the differences. Although both were good, the succeeding ones were stronger, arguments were more developed, and the words persuaded you to keep reading.

Another good example of a well-developed blog post is MayaMackey's. Trying to pinpoint or narrow down the most effective demonstration or my favorite blog post she has written is a tough one. Her posts were fantastic to begin with and continued to get stronger with time. As I stated before “Maya is entertaining and informative with a style that is brilliantly fun. The context is clear and concise in a non-rigid way.”

Blogging Newbie

Comparing some of my older blog posts I have come to the realization that I have gotten better at blogging with time. Practice makes perfect, right?

Not saying I’m a perfect blogger but I am way more impressed with the most recent blog posts I have written. However I do love a few of my early ones.

Writing blog posts can be tricky. In order to be an effective blogger you have to capture an audience with your topic and delivery style. People like to see visuals and non-intimidating paragraphs that entice them to read further. As a reader you want a work of art that entertains and delivers information quickly.

I truly enjoyed reading Maya Mackie’s blog. Maya is entertaining and informative with a style that is brilliantly fun. The context is clear and concise in a non-rigid way. 

Maya's Language Is Changing is an excellent example of an effective blog post and one of my favorites that she has written. When you get a chance you should most definitely check it out.

http://mmackeyblog.blogspot.com/

Technology: The Ups and The Fails

When using technology unexpected circumstances can arise and they definitely did for me.  I didn’t have any issues creating my PowerPoint presentation for the Celebration of Student Writing, until I went to present it on the professor’s computer.

As I began to present my PowerPoint I realized the audio had not transferred. What ran fine on my computer did not on my professor’s. I ran into an unforeseen snag and it was no one’s fault but my own for not having a backup plan. Fortunately for me I have an understanding professor and learned this lesson in a classroom, not at a new job.

After realizing there was a lack of audio, I spent an ample amount of time trying to correct the error without any luck. Having no other choice, I called tech support at Microsoft. After an hour on the phone I had the answers I needed to correct my situation. Microsoft’s tech support taught me how to save my PowerPoint as an MP4 which allowed me to share my presentation while preserving the audio’s integrity.

Even though technology has its drawbacks it also has a ton of advantages. Some of the advantages technology has shared with us is efficiency, enhancement in professional confidence, improved ease of sharing material and ideas, as well as increased speed in organizing business globally by enabling communication in seconds.  

Some of these advantages however, may not be able to build trust like personal interaction. At the same time, technology sure can be consistent, allowing one to show logical and imaginative views, and if done right can extend emotion and establish credibility. 

Does Gender Bias Still Exist When Hiring?

Does gender bias still exist when hiring management staff?

In my experience, yes, it absolutely does! For eighteen years I have worked in various work settings with the same ending result: I apply myself completely, becoming practiced at what I do to such a great extent, that I am given managerial responsibilities, without the actual title of a manager. On more than one occasion, employers have told me, “You need to be a manager.” However, when I asked for the position from a previous employer, I was told, “Women cannot manage women.” Furthermore, that was not the first time I had heard this phrase. This experience is extremely contradicting and stagnantly annoying.

Fully able and willing women are overlooked when it comes to promotions. Women hold more than 44% of master’s degrees in business and management, but only acquire 14.6% of executive offices, 8.1% of top earners, and 4.6% of Fortune 500 CEOs,

according to Judith Warner a New York Times Magazine writer and a Columbia University Masters Graduate (Warner, 2014). Managerial positions are being filled with less experienced male counterparts. In addition, women are being paid less for the same work. This is a problem that is silently noticed and seldom discussed in the workplace.

What can be done to try and close the gap preventing women from equality?

Mentoring is a popular topic when discussing career development. In today’s world, businesses have developed into massive identities with intricate internal networks. Having assistance can be extremely helpful in gaining advancement through a company.  Mentorships can give employees that needed boost to make a connection to fast track their career that they may not have been able to access without help.

Mentorships are the professional relationship between a mentor and mentee/protégé. A mentor is usually a higher-ranking senior professional, who aides in the development of a mentee by being a role model and coach. The mentor takes the mentee under their wing providing nurturing support in career development. A mentee is an apprentice or beginner who has knowledge in their given field but desires further growth for prosperity. Mentorships in business have many different roles, mostly consisting of someone who shares their wisdom, experience, contacts and support, as well as being a sounding board for their protégé.

Mentorships have been initiated to neutralize old exclusive networks. The Old boy network or “Good ol’ boy network” is nothing new. This close knit inconspicuous social network consists of higher positioned males, in business settings, that incorporate competition and power advantages handed down through friendships and alliances, yet excludes women and less powerful males. Typically, the hierarchy chooses their next “boy wonder”, grooms them, and introduces them to exclusive connections as they send the manufactured prodigy on the fast track of their career, while shutting the door on others.

Business has been done through this network for decades. The mentality of this system can appear to be threatened as women and males of “non-white” heritage rise to contend for these higher positions. Some might wonder if this state of mind will die off with older generations retiring. Like gender biases, this approach is passed down to the next generation of “Good ol’ boys” creating a never ending succession. With the help of mentors these doors are not as sturdy as they once were, but is mentorship all that is needed to achieve an even playing field?

What Are You Talking About???

When having a conversation and you don’t understand what someone means or is talking about you have the option of asking. However when reading, some terms might be lost in translation.

While writing a paper you have to remember not everyone has the same understanding of things or the same history on a topic as you. There are several words in the English dictionary that have more than one meaning as well.  

The idea is to give your audience an understanding or background of what you mean without overdoing it. This was brought to my attention by reading Bartholomae and Johnson Black, I’m sorry I do not have a link to this enlightening read.

My point for example is that the point of a pencil is very different from your mother saying "it is not polite to point."

Let me point you in the right direction by following this link http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/point.

What's Your Method?

What’s your method?

Let’s face it not everyone learns the same. In fact not everyone does anything the same for that matter. This is pointed out in:
http://vizedhtmlcontent.next.ecollege.com/CurrentCourse/priorandshipka.pdf

I was asked to present a visual of my writing process. This is what I came up with:

Usually I have the television going quietly in the background when writing. If I sit in complete silence I just want to take a nap^_ taking a nap is very counterproductive.

(My surroundings usually looks like this before I get started)

Once everything is set and I get myself settled, typing a list of the key components I need is an excellent way to help me organize, create sections and make sure I cover all points required. I continue to go through one section at a time until I am satisfied with my rough draft. I get by the Writing Center to make sure I understood the assignment properly and all requirements are covered. This is my way of double checking before I move forward.

Now that I have a sturdy foundation, I can continue to fine tune my paper and finish my final draft. After my final draft is complete I have a peer or someone else review it to make sure I didn't miss anything.

Before turning my paper in I like to read it one last time to make sure the delivery of my words and thoughts are to my liking. If I don’t like something I can correct it real quick before saving it and turning it in.

It's an Abomination!

It’s an Abomination!

                There is so much controversy surrounding grammar, spelling, and that language over-all is being ruined by texting. “Texting is not really writing at all” says John McWhorter in a TED Talk I recently watched.
  https://www.ted.com/talks/john_mcwhorter_txtng_is_killing_language_jk#t-133449

Some consider texting as “fingered speech” instead of actual writing, while others still consider it writing. I am certain some in the past have opposed new methods of grammar or words when they were first introduced. Taking the “fingered speech” approach, for the first time ever we are capable of writing how we speak in real time. If we look back at how language and writing has developed we can see the evolution through time. Is texting one of those incidences?

http://community.cengage.com/GECResource2/info/b/bus_comm/archive/2013/05/30/does-texting-hurt-grammar

As a student, I hate working in groups simply because I have to go back through my younger peers portions making ridiculous corrections on written work that should be formal. Not only is this frustrating, but it is time consuming and complete garbage that I have to do other’s work so I don’t have to worry about my grade.

People lack ambition and self-pride, they have become lazy. People everywhere, everyday have become so complacent about how they speak, write, and carry themselves that others can hardly understand what the other is saying. The sad part is that they don’t even care what people think.

I recognize that everything evolves and becomes more complex or “efficient” but an understanding needs to be grasped in order to maintain a professional setting. Let’s face it, we are not writing contracts or laws in “finger speech” and the line needs to be defined.

What's Your Problem?

What’s your Problem?

There is a lot of hype about mentoring in the business world. The more I have read about the success of mentoring the more intrigued I am. What I don’t understand is, men still advance higher and more rapidly than women. The question is why?

Why has mentoring become stagnate?

We know that some people are still stuck in their ways with that “good old boy” mentality and their perceptions of commendable women contending for equal pay and higher positions is never going to change. No one knows for sure if this will fade with the retiring of older generations.

We also know that women tend to be insecure and second guess themselves. The concept of feeling like a fraud tends to lead individuals to not trust the capability within themselves making them feel fraudulent. Just because women are not likely to articulate their own desires or wants, does not make them inept or less deserving of career enhancement.

The mentoring problem is within the concept itself. The terminology of mentoring needs to improve in order to correct what is lacking, to establish vital progression for one and all.

Let’s shed a different light on the matter. Consider mentoring to be more of a sponsorship, where a senior not only mentors, but contends for their protégée’s deserving respect allowing developmental growth for individuals and companies to flourish. After all a well-developed company is a strong competitive business.

Well That's Smart!

Well That’s Smart!

                Recently I wrote an Annotated Bibliography for the first time. For those of you that don’t know what that is don’t feel bad because up until recently I didn't either.

An annotated bibliography is a list of citations to references trailed with a brief summary and analysis of each reference being cited. This type of writing is to describe the relevance and quality of the source you are citing.

In this annotated bibliography I used articles from newspapers, scholarly journals, blog posts and I’m still in search of other genres of research that I might be able to use for my paper.

As informational and useful as the scholarly journals are, they were really thorough with tons of studies but quite lengthy, and sometimes awfully hard to gain access to some. On the same note, I found the scholarly journals to be tremendously helpful.

Newspaper articles were useful due to the more current take on my topic. The authors tended to give a more updated informational based point of view without just giving the cold hard facts. Articles of this fashion didn't take up a huge chunk of my time to sift through and were fairly easy to find.

Blog posts tend to be more opinionated in general yet have a lot of truth and experience behind them. Aside from being extremely easy to find they were quick reads. This was a great resource to use in order to gain different personal perspectives as to how they felt about being a woman in business and having mentors or the importance of having one.

Writing an annotated bibliography made it a fairly simple and more organized way to handle a research project. It definitely made it way easier to tell heads from tails. Inserting cites will also save me a lot of time later.

How Are Cohesive Networks Important?

Attitude and Relationships…Do they make a difference?

In anticipation of broadening my viewpoint and references for my research I looked in my own backyard. I came across Mary E. Vielhaber’s paper “Communication and Attitudes Toward Work-related Change.” Vielhaber is a professor who teaches managerial communication, human resource development, organizational behavior, organization development, and leadership at EMU.

                “Communication and Attitudes Toward Work-related Change” takes a look at how employees are more accepting to change when they have positive work relationships by means of a survey of 131 employees. Another conclusion her study had was that employees were more motivated towards work related change when they had constructive official networks.

                In my experience as an employee I am much more productive and receptive at a place I feel comfortable at. When I say comfortable I mean that I know my colleagues and bosses and have healthy work relationships with them.

                Most concerns in my field are how to retain employees and obtain more productivity and cohesiveness for long-term growth. When companies keep a low turn-over rate they acquire more talented employees and tend to receive better financial projections.

I feel this supports my theory that mentoring, sponsorship and/or positive work relationships are not only good for employees but companies too. When everyone gives a helping hand the results are motivating and beneficial for all parties involved.

http://nca.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00909888309365227#.VNLTUJ3F-_Q

The Verbal Standstill

Why can’t we end the war? Why is stereotyping still an issue?

Diving further into my research, I found a blog post written by Leona Charles, titled “Why You Need a Female Mentor.” In this blog post she claims that women are better mentors to other women because they have a better understanding of their gender than their male-counterpart. With Charles giving different examples, she is pretty much stating that there is a connection between women that you cannot find in an opposite gendered colleague.

The things she writes in this blog post are intended for female readers. She shows no inclination of targeting both genders, she gives example that “only women would understand” with no scientific evidence to back it up. This particular blog post Charles wrote is more opinionated than anything.

Sure, I get what she is trying to say but I do not believe that those qualities and connections can only be found in other women. I do believe that this feeds into limiting perceptions of males, which we represent to be our own problem to begin with.

 In my opinion the best way to get your point across is to keep an open mind. I feel that in the first half of her post she limited her point by focusing on gender instead of qualities to look for in general. Yet she was not as definitive towards gender in the end by testifying that she has learned from both sexes. However, I feel the best way to change peoples’ perspective of women in business is to erase the line that separates us in the first place. By practicing what we preach, we can set a standard or trend so that others follow and return.

http://www.womenonbusiness.com/need-female-mentor/

Is Equality For Women Still Trending?

In light of pinpointing more on my research development I conducted an Ngram Analysis. I established an inquiry set for 1975-2008 (this was the latest year available to examine.) Entering the words mentor, protégée, council, and mentoring gave me the following results:

Mentor, Protegee, Council, Mentoring

With another attempt to narrow down my results, I decided to exempt the word council from my next analysis, leaving me with the following graph:

Mentor, Protegee, Mentoring

In my belief this shows me that my topic was a stagnant concept in the 1980’s, with development in the 1990’s, and a progressive realization in the new millennium. As women’s rights developed so has the concept of mentors and mentoring protégées.

Even though protégée is still not a common word, my topic area trends more frequently than before. If you enter gender differences, gender equality, and mentoring the following results are shown:

Gender Differences, Gender Equality, Mentoring

Like I stated before, it appears that my topic has grown and trended with the development of women’s rights in the workplace beginning in the 1980’s.

The only question I really have about these graphs is what would it have shown for the years 2008-2015?

                                                 

What Do Men Have That Women Don't?

What do men have that women don't? What are the pros and cons of being a female in business?

Dynamics in business have changed over the last few decades for women. For years the business world has been run by men alone and to this day some of the same old habits die hard. Yes, women have come further with each passing year but we still remain in the shadows. A great example of some of the stepping stones pertaining to women and business are portrayed in the movie “Nine to Five”. (Watch a great clip below)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNnRamMk7xo

With my interest being in business I would like to know more about why or how this has not leveled out more in such a progressive field. Reading several articles and Sheryl Sandberg’s “Lean In,” I have come to think that it may be the networking support for men that is different than for women, and whether this is an organizational and/or individual factor, I don’t know, so I reached for a peer-review article for further enlightenment. In avoidance of limiting myself through this research, I think this is a great place to start.

I found “Barriers to Mentoring: the Female Manager’s Dilemma” written by Belle Rose Ragins at Marquette University. Her aim is to address the difference in how quickly men move up through an organization vs. their female counter-part. Ragins addresses gender differences in mentoring functions, what men do differently than women to obtain such connections, and future areas of interest pertaining to these matters.

People in general I think are creatures of habit. With that being said, I wonder if this will be a dissipating issue as younger generations from broken homes or different teachings find roles in management. You figure children from broken homes usually grew up with a different perspective of women. The mother was probably the main care giver, worker, maid, teacher, etc. which changes people’s point of view now-a-days vs. lets say people who grew up in the 50’s or 60’s because their upbringings were very different.

Obtaining a mentor for a woman can be crucial for advancement in her career, not that it does not hold any value to men but women tend to be overlooked more often. Whether this discrimination is blatantly, secretly, or unmindfully done it still happens.

Ragins looks at this problem and brings it to our attention with studies, and statistics mostly with an addition to logical thinking and experience. She finds that women are not perceived as “bona fide equals” and are therefore overlooked for protégée opportunities.

I would like to look into this matter further to see how it has progressed recently or if it has remained stagnant for a period of time with no further progression of equality. Some questions I would like to look into are:

-Is this an issue because of generational differences?

-Will it dissolve itself as older generations retire?

-Are women to blame for not communicating properly their desire for advancement in pay and/or position?

- Or are women not confident enough in themselves that they do not think they are as deserving as their male counter-part?

http://hum.sagepub.com/content/42/1/1.full.pdf+html

Networking and Mentors

Can you do it alone? Do you need help? How important is networking?

I have been reading a lot of material lately about women and mentors. This subject interests me particularly because I am a woman going into business. As a woman with experience in different fields, I have come to the realization that most women, including myself, second guess themselves, are timid when doing business with their male-counter parts and do not know how to ask for a raise. This is where mentoring comes in handy. Mentoring creates confidence, advice, and knowledge on how to mold your career. This is a topic I would like to research further over the next few months, to see how beneficial this is to potential leaders in the management field, if a mentor is worth seeking and/or how this helps the morale of the business itself.

http://www.womenonbusiness.com/need-female-mentor/

The World Today

Greed and entitlement is our one way ticket to hell in a hand basket. With everyone being so self-absorbed, no one even notices the steady path we are on. I think MLK would be ashamed of the society we live in today. He had a dream that everyone would be equal and sit in brotherhood. Yes segregation has ended but his dream still has not come full circle. I am not saying that everyone will be financially equal or that discrimination doesn’t exist but that work and persistence is absent, the concept of love thy neighbor has been aborted and have been replaced with the mentality of what more can I get by any means necessary. There is an elephant in the room that needs to be addressed for our country and society’s sake. This elephant is political correctness, free-trade agreements, and inflated compensation for modern day pirates. Reform of policies is a must to correct the path we are on. Without a change in policies the rich will continue to get richer and the poor will get poorer. How many of our standards and values are we going to abandon at the expense of political correctness? How much longer are we going to abandon our blue collar workers by allowing our jobs to be shipped to other countries? How much longer are we going to follow our government blindly down this path of mutilation?

In 2 Chronicles 7:14 it is written “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land”

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm

What Am I Getting Myself Into?

I know I’m not the only one who has ended up with all the responsibility at work and not had the pay to match. Circumstances like this is part of what fuels my concentration in business management. I have been reading several blogs with the intentions of familiarizing myself with the ideological business atmosphere. Furthermore, to gain insight of what I am getting myself into.

I read How to Get Management Experience When You Aren't a Manager, by Brian Brookshire. Brian speaks about one having management experience even though one may never have had the official title of manager. I truly enjoyed this article, mostly because I could relate to it. In every job I have had or have (and I emphasize every) I have trained new staff, ran shifts in my boss’ absence, and carried out end of shift procedures that normally a “manager” would do. Aside from actual duties one might have, I have also redesigned typical procedures or layouts of companies I have worked for to be more efficient. When reading Brian’s article I confirmed that I do have manager experience, I just never had the title or pay. I feel this is important to identify because I know I am not the only one who may have second guessed myself. I have heard several times that you actually learn a job on the job not beforehand. In other words schooling isn't everything, yes it helps, but you still get a handle of your job once you start because not everyplace or position is the same. My best advice is do not limit yourself to what you are familiar or secure with, broaden your horizon and just go for it.

http://blog.brazencareerist.com/2009/03/27/how-to-get-management-experience-when-you-arent-a-manager/

                Another article I read was, 2 Pivotal Steps Women Must Take to Get Ahead in the Business World by Anett Grant. I found this interesting for the simple reason of avoiding “paying dues” at a new company. If I can get on the fast track of where I want to go because I earned it, why not? Although the advice given was not the first time I had heard it, I can definitely appreciate it. The blog post talks about building professional relationships with key members of the company. Some of this I think is common sense and have used these tactics in previous positions as a bartender myself (very cut throat industry), but not everyone has common sense and or the experiences I have had. On the other hand there are also points that I had not thought of, like needing more than one person to contribute to a nomination for a promotion. Another point this article discusses is recognizing your accomplishments properly. With companies being so large and having tons of employees these tactics can definitely divide you from the herd.

http://www.womenonbusiness.com/2-pivotal-steps-women-must-take-get-ahead-business-world/

                The last blog I want to discuss is Natalie Macneil’s, Set Yourself Apart: Creating a Personal Brand When You’re Running a Business. “One of the main things I appreciated about this article is her promotion to be unique. Natalie states “I believe business owners should inject their own personalities and personal brand attributes into their businesses. Your personality and your story can really set you apart – after all, you’re the only YOU on this planet.” With so many businesses out there, how do you set yourself apart from others? I love her statement, you’re the only you on this planet. With technology and everything advancing so quickly, I feel uniqueness and individuality are being diminished. People are losing their sense of creativity and individualism. Individualism is what makes us special and draws people to us in the first place, why not incorporate that into your business as well? When I bartended I incorporated my true self into my work, which gave my patrons a sense of connection to me. Ultimately this created a unique and loyal familiarity time after time again. I created a steady customer base off of this concept.

http://www.shetakesontheworld.com/2014/07/set-yourself-apart-creating-a-personal-brand-when-youre-running-a-business/

My Un-single Story

Have you ever recalled a moment where you have assumed a perception of somebody until you have actually met them and realize you were completely wrong? I know I have.

 I watched this inspiring video of the “single story.” Up until recently I have never heard of the concept. What is the single story? Watching a TED Talk given by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, she spoke about the “single story." If you have not seen it you should watch it, her words are intellectually escalating. Adichie discusses that “the single story is the single perception of a people based on what you hear,” that if you see or hear about a type of people as one thing, and only one thing, that is the only thing they become to you. In promoting the single story the similarities in humanity are blocked by the differences that flood our perception of a type of people. Everyone is guilty of basing conclusions of people from areas they are unfamiliar with based on what they read, hear or watch, as the good old saying goes “don’t judge a book by its cover.” Take Detroit for instance, not all areas are horrible or unsafe. I am from Detroit and my neighborhood is nothing like the news stories aired. To someone who has never been to Detroit to see all the beauty it holds, they only have the perception of hell on Earth.

My name is Susie and here is my “un-single story.” I grew up in a suburban neighborhood right outside of Detroit. Some say I grew up on both sides of the track, to tell you the truth I have to agree with them. I am grateful for this though, as I have obtained a widely diverse upbringing full of wonderful memories, good times, and great friends and family.

 My mother comes from a large musical family, picture the Brady Bunch meets Partridge Family. Family gatherings are always interesting and fun. Most holidays are laced with instruments, games, puzzles, storytelling and singing, not just carols either, I’m talking Beetles, Hall and Oats… all the good stuff. I wouldn't trade any of those moments for anything.

I went to school with all sorts of kids. I didn’t care if you were a jock, stoner, roughneck, bookworm, or a gleek (for lack of a better term), I talked to them all, even the smelly and awkward kids. School wasn't my only source of meeting people. I met a ton from surrounding cities at a nearby skating rink, the dance studio I attended and choir (both school and church). Yes, I am a rink rat, a bun head and a choir geek. Over the years I made friends from several cities and states, all unique in their own way, with different cultures, hobbies, and interests, which I still see and talk to on a regular basis.

 I enjoyed the rink so much that I got a job there when I was 14, which I held for two whole years. Since then, I have been employed at a few different places, in different jobs. One of my most favorite was bartending. I got to meet new people every day and it was a fast paced environment that suited my need to keep busy. Sometimes listening to people made me feel like an under paid therapist, however, listening to great music at work was a bonus. I did my job, I did it well, and I truly enjoyed it.

When you know a vast amount of people things happen more often than not, including funerals. I attended my first non-family member funeral when I was 11 years old. Since then I have attended at least one funeral per year, almost all of which never saw the age of 30, some tragic accidents, others illness, habits or murders. I’m not telling you this for a pity party, but to give you a full understanding of my life experience. Life experiences contain good as well as bad. Yes I grew up in Detroit, yes I had a highly diverse group of friends (still do), and yes I came from a warm loving family. All of these experiences are not typical, but what is typical? Just because I hung out on both sides of the track does not mean I sell drugs, run with gangs and shoot houses up, however, I do have two Pit Bulls that don’t fit their stereotype either. To tell you the truth I am a well-rounded person who would give you the shirt off of my back, offer you my home, and be there to help whenever. I have learned so much from the people I have met and the things I have experienced. I have been a therapist, a rock, and a sister to many, as they have been to me.

This is my un-“single story”. Life gives you experiences, choices, learning lessons, and opportunity but most of all joy. Joy in being a daughter, sister, aunt, skater, dancer, singer, provider, student, worker, life-long friend, care taker, girlfriend, fiancée, bartender, and being the best that I can be.

http://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story?language=en