“Why do we resort to ignoring every fiber of our being to appease others? Everywhere I look, I see people who are crippled by the fear of what might happen if they were to veer from tradition, or religious indoctrination. Placing the opinions of others above their own authenticity. Forcing themselves towards “achievement” as approved by society. We are prone to do this, although it is a well-known fact that you can’t please everyone.
When you are making decisions for the heart, and in line with your purpose you cannot even rely on a majority vote.”

“I think this year I have a different sense of motivation to complete a summer bucket list. With the quarantine that we have all endured it has been hard to feel like you’ve accomplished anything. You can feel bored and unmotivated. But this year more than anything I WANT to complete something. I want to feel like I started a project and finished it. So I’m challenging myself to find the best bucket list for us and to work hard to complete it with my children.”

“There are many painful truths living and being aware as an American minority. One being the road to reconstruction is hard. But the call for justice reform is a torch that must be carried, a light that cannot be snuffed out. Nothing is going to change until the system is dismantled and reconstructed. Preferably with everyone effected present during the conversations. It can happen. It has to. Policy over everything.”

“As I stated last week, I have been very intentional about diversifying my Instagram feed over the last two weeks. It can be difficult to find diversity in the foodie, food blogger, and homemaker circles on social media, but that’s what we have hashtags for! This week, I would like to share some of my favorite Instagram accounts that are run by Black women.”

“Preparing food, to me, is one way that I care for myself: I love the creativity of transforming fresh produce into a delicious meal, as if I were creating a mixed-media art piece. It’s a way of accomplishing one small thing that nourishes and re-energizes me. It’s a way of absorbing and honoring the energy that farmers, farm workers, and gardeners (including myself) have put into growing the food I’m putting into my body.”

“I think it is important to support black owned business, especially at a time like this where people are being divided more and more. Supporting black-owned businesses is not reparations, and it is not enough, but it is a small way that an individual can empower less privileged communities and help lift them up from the many systemic ways that they are oppressed.”

“America, God is not our scapegoat. God did not create these problems; we did. And whether you are holding up the Bible as a magical talisman or whether you think the president is the Antichrist, God wants no part of our partisan fiddling as the nation literally is burning. In another time of national crisis, President Lincoln once said, ‘Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side. My greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.'”

“My days are filled with manic highs and mind-numbing lows. There are days where I am just ‘fine’ and days where I can barely get off the couch. There are days where I feel like I am drowning and being swallowed up by sadness. Of course on these days parenting is the hardest. Thinking and breathing hurts. Doing anything hurts. Parenting is the last thing on my mind. I can hardly take care of myself, so how do I take care of another human being?”

“It had been an amazing 24 hours. Three Rivers was even more electric than when the football team won the state championship. The media frenzy, which had started with just the local affiliates, had spread to the national networks. The Today Show and Good Morning America had sent correspondents to report live from the 131 Gas and Go, and half the town was outside in the background to witness the biggest thing to happen to Three Rivers in its over 150-year history.”