A black president.

To the tune of Lil' Wayne's (or whoever wrote it for him) "A Milli"


OBAMA, OBAMA, OBAMA!


Congrats to Barack Obama on being our nation's first African-American male president! This is a complete milestone for our nation and I'm so glad I was a part by voting and seeing all the campaign work that went into this election. Then January 20th yet again will be another history in the making moment as Barack Obama accepts the presidential position and is sworn into office.



Through all this celebration of our new Mr. President, I do however, have a concern raised in my mind; bandwagoners, ignorance, the media and the bigger picture.


Bandwagoners and Ignorance


"Well, if you vote for Obama all he's going to care about are his people." As terrible as that sounds this is something I've heard throughout the election straight up to the election day. The idiocracy of that statement alone hasn't been able to let me begin to comprehend how the speaker managed to let it slip out of their mouths.

What do you mean "all he's going to care about are his people"?! If we break it down, what do you even mean by "his people"?!
First off, thinking like that must mean that you think all these years and all other forty-three presidents before him must have been there to serve only the 'caucasians'.
Then if you mean by "his people" you mean just blacks, then you are so wrong, his people are AMERICANS. They are all (legal) citizens and all who have a voice and place in America. That's you too, speaker. You are Barack Obama's "people" now.

"Yes! A black president, I can do whatever I want!"
I swear to you all I heard this straight from someone's mouth. Whether or not they were joking it does not matter because there actually ARE people who think like this. I don't even feel the need to go all out here I'm sure you all know where I'm getting at; if you don't...ask someone.


Then we have the people who didn't even vote with no valid reason as to why not, forwarding "Obama won!" text messages or walking up and down swearing McCain should've been the winner. Now, there's no big problem with that, but the problem enters when these people don't even understand, care, and/or know what these candidates stand for!
Bandwagoning is ridiculous point blank. There's not a thing wrong with celebrating or stating opinions, but doing so when you didn't even care to take part in the action or don't even know who is for or againsn't what issues let alone even care to educate yourself on what the issues were and how they'd affect your life; that's just absurd. You wouldn't buy second hand underwear would you? Get your own education and opinions.

The Media

At exactly 11:02 pm I turned on CNN to find that Obama has won the election and they are interviewing (from all the clips i saw) all the black people. They showed an entire Baptist church celebrating and kept showing up clips of EXTREMELY excited blacks...ONLY.
Clicked over to Fox...same thing.
Another news channel...same thing.
Woke up this morning, turned on CNN...the image of a heavy set black lady whose shirt did a poor job of housing her 'goodies' was on the screen. She kept jittering up and down and screaming like a maniac, "OBAMA! OBAMA!" My immediate reaction?

WHY.

Why does the media have to show such clips or show only interviews of blacks. It is more than obvious he won majority vote from blacks we KNOW that it's in every overview.
But what about the little more than half votes from whites that he won! Why not interview one of those people that voted for him it wasn't just black people that voted for him!
By showing clips or interviews of only ONE thing the media is boosting what the ignorant people at home are already thinking!

Now I'm not saying the media is the devil and that we should all boycott the news stations...I'm simply suggesting that we do not take all that we see too deeply.
Here again is the idea of educating yourselves, if you were one of the people that did not agree with Obama's win please make sure your answer is because you don't agree with his point of views on something and not just because you don't agree with his skin color.


The BIGGER picture


Barack Obama's win is a huge stride from the days of slavery and segregation; now America is more than ever a melting pot which is great!
But Obama elected president doesn't just mean something blacks and it should carry more pride for everyone, not just black pride.
Obama's mother was white and from Kansas his father black and from Kenya. The union to concieve our Mr.President says something all on it's own!

Obama elected should mean everything that was thought to be a "White man's job" has now become an anyone-willing-to-work-hard job. It is a remarkable leap for EVERYONE.
This win isn't just for blacks.
It's a win for America as a nation.
A win for Hispanics, Asians, orange people, purple people.
It's a win for the Future.

So don't look at it from only one angle; take a step back and look at the bigger picture.

Budweiser, Corona, Miller it's all good...

...for your hair.


Yes fellow females, beer such as the above listed does a hell of a job to repair damaged locks.
Odd? Well so are many other "beauty tips" that I've tried out and I'm pretty sure one of you have heard of at least one of these interesting and vouched for (by yours truly) tips that are listed below and a handful has probably responded with a "Riiiiiiight" mentality.

SO! To put your concerns and curiosity to rest I share with you all the weird, wacky and "are-you-serious?" tips.




1. Beer: After you shampoo, rinse, repeat and condition your hair, pour a bottle of beer in your hair, work it into your hair as thoroughly as possible, and then rinse. You won't smell the beer in your hair if you rinse properly. Beer helps you repair dead and split ends. Another benefit from this is that it also gives you a nice, thick and full voluminous look. It also gives your hair a kick for shine, and it locks in the moisture very well. Anyone with fine hair (like me) will suddenly be replacing other shine products with beer in their showers.

2. Milk: Vitamin D, 2 percent, fat free, skim milk. It doesn't matter which kind, 'cause in the end you're pouring it through your hair anyway. Why you ask? Because the vitamins in the milk not only does your bones good, but when poured directly onto your hair the vitamins in the milk helps fortify your split ends and makes it RIDICULOUSLY soft after you rinse it out.

3. Powder: your hair. The powder absorbs the natural oils of your hair, so use a powder brush or pad, dust your hairs and flip your hair about. This, however, is not a substitute for taking an actual shower sooo..yeah. Just another quick fix for one of those days when you're rushing and don't have time for a shower.

4. Toothpaste & Visine: Got a lipstick-red pimple that's out to get you? Cool it down with the use of toothpaste or Visine (or any redness-relieving eyedrops). Apply directly on the pimple (amount according to how..vast..your friend is) - it's best used before bed and rinsed off in the morning. This isn't always guaranteed because if you have severe acne, you'll find that this will leave your acnesters quite irritated. However, this a quick temporary fix if you generally don't break out. Toothpase has a chemical cool to it that turn the pimple from Mountain Pimple to Slight Hill Pimple, and the Visine is self-explanatory: It "Gets the Red Out."


5. Heat up your eye lash curlers: Using a blowdrier, heat up your eyelash curlers. But heat them up less than seven seconds, because any more and it will burn...BADLY. Just like a curling iron, the heat of the eyelash curlers will keep those pretty lashes curly. This works especially well for those with really straight eyelashes.

6. Ten minute or less bronzing: Going out for the night? Or just want to splash on a little bit of shine and don't have time to sit in the sun or tanning booth and wait for cancer? Take loose bronzer powder of your choice and mix it in with lotion of your choice. Use as much as you want and apply. Then for those envious shiny legs you see 5'9 models with, enhance your mix and add in baby oil with a little bit of shimmer (or buy the bronzer with shimmer or lotion with shimmer - NOT GLITTER, because you'll hate life if you get the glitter one). Apply the shimmer and baby oil, and this will keep your poles looking smooth and vibrant.

That's all that I pretty much have for you guys. I'm pretty sure there are a lot more different and effective things to try, but I'm writting about ones I can vouch for. One I have NOT tried is Mayo in the hair, so if anyone of you out there are brave enough to try, let me know the results! Until then, try one of the above tips. I hope they worked the same for you as they have for me.

So remember to grab a cold one [beer] the next time you take a shower!

On Your Mark...

Get set.
Make a decision on what you are going to do with your life. Go!

That's how I felt at times when it came to choosing a major and a future career for myself. Since junior year of high school and with each passing school year at FAU, I feel like I'm in some sort of rush to make these decisions.
My parents don't make it any better. When they are talking to their friends, this is how the conversation goes:

Bragger: So this is your oldest daughter, what's her major? What is she going to do with her life?
Disappointed parent(s): ...we don't...well actually, she doesn't...she likes to write and read.
Me: Yes mom. I am very literate.

Then the friend would mention he or she has a son/daughter/niece/nephew/cat that is going to be graduating with honors and has jobs for as soon as the graduation ceremony is over.

[My parents love me just the way I am… My parents love me just the way I am… My parents love me just the way I am…]

When you're trying to decide your future life goals, keep in mind that whatever it is you decide, don't do it for your parents, family, and/or pets. Do it for yourself. In the end, you're the person living your life and not them. Besides, the people who care most about you like your family and friends, they ultimately want you to be happy.
Also not everyone immediately knows what they want to do with themselves, so you shouldn't feel rushed into finding your calling in life, it’s very normal to not know yet.
There are a lot of many different factors to consider when it comes to choosing a specific field to major in. Amongst those things is whether or not that particular career will offer financial rewards and create stability.
In other words, are you gonna BANK?
However, money shouldn't be your only motivation. This may sound cliché, but money doesn't buy permanent happiness. (Well...) (<- I'm kidding.) The point of higher learning is to take whatever it is that you have a passion for, are really good at or seriously take an interest in, and enhance your skills and/or knowledge. Even though I felt pressured, rushed and completely stressed, I didn't jump in and just grab whatever to fill a blank space just because everyone else had filled theirs. With all that being said, don't stress, take it a day at a time and everything will fall into place. Perhaps sometimes things just don't happen or are realized until they are supposed to.