March 26, 2014

Don't Die Afraid

March 26, 2014/ Ashley

I love inspirational quotes and I would like to share some with you so you can be inspired too! This is a photo I took a year ago on a road trip to Mississippi. (Don't ask me why I thought an 18 hour drive would be the best way to spend my Spring Break...I'm crazy I know.) Of course the first quote I want to share is one I wrote myself. I wrote this over the summer when I conceived the idea for this blog. To me it means, don't let your fears limit you. Do something that you've been curious about, start a YouTube channel, go zip-lining...do whatever it is that you might regret not doing 60 years from now. For me it was applying to jobs outside of my "dream field." After two months of not working post graduation and thinking that was the end of the world, I realized I am interested in a lot and could apply to a job anywhere! I could have been a food stylist, tour guide, food buyer, food critic, chef...anything that has to do with food clearly. Once I realized that my possibilities were endless, I found a job in technology.

If you aren't familiar with this location, it is the Lorraine Motel, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was shot. April 4, 2014 will make it 46 years ago. I chose this background photo for this quote because Dr. King is the perfect example of a person who didn't die afraid.

You can find more of my favorite quotes in my weekly edition of #BeSureSundays

What is one of your biggest fears? How are you actively working to get over that fear?

March 25, 2014

Journée

March 25, 2014/ Ashley

I love music! It is a great escape and some songs have the power to allow my mind to just drift away. This song, "Journée" by Joke ft. Ayomari has been on replay since I was introduced to it a month ago. The beat is fluid and relaxing. I imagine myself cruising on the coast of an island when I listen to it. It's in French so that probably affects the mindset it puts me in.

When I heard the beat, I immediately fell in love. After some research, I found out the song is actually sampled from "Sourire" by Les Nubians in 1998. The original is a great song too. Too bad I have no clue what they are saying either since it is in French.

I don't encourage excessively vulgar music. I have moments when I love to indulge in senseless rap songs. (I'm trying to not use the word ratchet on my blog...haha. Since this is in parentheses, it doesn't count.) You know the ones that come on Power 105.1 and you are like, "Seriously, this song is stupid but it is my jammmmmm!" I have a confession, my guilty pleasure is "Collard Greens" by ScHoolBoy Q. The first time it was introduced on the radio I said, "Why in the world did they name this song collard greens?" Then I changed the station without even listening. Then one time I turned on the radio and was like this song is dope! I Shazam'd it and to my disbelief it was "Collard Greens" unfortunately.

Anyway, back to my man Joke...do you see his lips?

I said all that to say, if you know French and this song is really vulgar, I apologize. All the translations I found were faulty. I just love the beat and the sound of French rolling off his tongue. If I was into the whole bad boy persona I would totally be attracted to him.

By the way, he isn't a new artist, this song was released in 2012. However, the cool thing about music is no matter how old the song is, it still has the power to affect you. Why do you think throwbacks are so popular? Because there is no expiration date on good music! I tried to find as much information about Joke as possible but it was all mostly in French. I tried finding English subtitles on interviews and that didn't even work. I'm interested in him but this language barrier is a killer.

"Harajuku" is another song of his that I have on repeat. I love traveling, so hearing this song in French while watching the video in Tokyo has my brain on culture overload.

Joke's Def Jam France Page

Do you like listening to music in other languages? What do you think of Joke? Does he remind you of some American rappers?

March 24, 2014

Go Red for Women

March 24, 2014/ Ashley

Do you know your blood pressure level? Do you know your cholesterol level?

Do you know your blood sugar level?

If you said no to the above questions, there is no need to raise your hand and feel embarrassed, instead go ask your doctor. My sorority co-hosted a Go Red for Women event back in February. The main speaker asked the questions above and a majority of the women in the room couldn't answer them. She then asked us what if we were hospitalized and the doctor told us our stats and then asked if those were our normal numbers, we would be screwed because we don't know our numbers to begin with.

The young lady then went into details about the different signs of a heart attack and explained how you can never be too young to be informed. Of course I can't imagine myself having heart problems at 23 years old but I rather be aware than in a hospital bed thinking, "How could this happen to me?"

Here are some unsettling statistics:

Cardiovascular diseases kill nearly 50,000 African-American women annually.
Of African-American women ages 20 and older, 49 percent have heart diseases.
Only 1 in 5 African-American women believes she is personally at risk.
Only 52 percent of African-American women are aware of the signs and symptoms of a heart attack.
Only 36 percent of African-American women know that heart disease is their greatest health risk.

Source: Go Red Campaign

The whole program got me really fired up to start caring more about my heart. "Know Your Numbers" just like you should "Know Your Status". The rest of the program was spent exercising to get that heart pumping! We had a great instructor,Nik from Get Fit w/Nik who gave us some great workouts to do. She had us laughing and sweating at the same time.