Sistah's Blog

Have you ever felt like you didn’t’ fit in because you were too dark or not light enough? When you grow up with siblings that don’t look like you and tease you because you’re darker or lighter than them, it does something to your self-esteem and your spirit. You find yourself with an identity crisis as a black woman. Growing up, I had an aunt that did the brown paper bag test when you became of age to start dating. Now, this sounds cruel because what you are teaching your nieces and daughters is to not bring home a man any darker than the brown paper bag. You remember the brown paper bag, right? She was a stickler for making her point that if you dated someone darker than a brown paper bag, your babies would be ugly because he or she would be dark skinned. Photo Credits: Black Beautiful Women Tumblr   I am a beautiful brown skinned woman that struggled as a pre-teen thru my young adult years with my skin color. Because some people in the family said I was not light ...

Have you ever worked in an environment that was toxic to your health, your spirit, and your well being? How did you handle it? How did it affect your personal life and your work performance? Photo credit: Pinterest via 500px.com   There are many characteristics that can describe a toxic workplace or toxic environment. They range from over stressed, lack of communication between management, lack of communication between departments, lack of support from management that leads to depression, weight gain, and other health issues.   Feeling overwhelmed and not getting having the proper support system in place that makes an employee feel unappreciated and over worked.  The tears fall as you drive off from your driveway because your spirit cannot take another day of a toxic workplace. You always feel sad because you dread coming to work. You feel your energy being depleted as you get out of your vehicle in the parking lot. Speaking from experience, a...

This week's article is apart of a Self-Love/Self-Awareness series with a goal to get you thinking about what's best for you.  This question have been asked of many celebrities and authors.  It's a good question to ask yourself as you reflect on who you are, how far you have come, and most important when you can give a youth, niece, god-child the same advice you would want to give a younger version of yourself.   If you were given the chance to talk to a younger version of you, what would you say?  What age would you want to talk to and why? Photo Credits:  Courtesy of Pinterest via Shavar Ross Photography Well, I would talk to a 12 year old pre-teen middle school version of myself.  Why?  This is the age where self-esteem and confidence in ones self is start.  It's a struggle due to peer pressure and trying to fit in with the in-crowd.  It was at this age that I didn't feel beautiful or that I fit in with the girl...

As apart of a new series for Self-Love and Self-Awareness, we like to discuss and inspire someone with our topics in these next couple of weeks.  Have you ever found yourself in a dark place?  About 3 years ago, I found myself in that dark place feeling depressed, unappreciated, and lost.  This was a point and place in my life where I was struggling with who I was, where I belonged, and where I should be.  I found myself trying to please everyone, but make me happy.  The man I was with didn't see the beautiful diamond standing before him instead, he was trying to mold me into someone I was not.  Have you ever been in this position? Photo Credits: Pinterest/Phoenix Org -Quote Dr. Steve Maraboli   Over the course of three years, I would loose myself and drift into this dark place.  I was smiling on the outside and crying on the inside for someone to see me.  The battle was real and you find yourself trying to hold it all to...