Friday, March 11, 2005

Making my way towards divahood

Supermodel Iman .... Actress Salma Hayek .... Singer Patti LaBelle .... Singer/Actress Jennifer Lopez .... Actress Sanaa Lathan .... Actress Uma Thurman .... Rocker Tina Turner .... Anchorwoman Supreme Katie Couric .... Media Mogel Oprah Winfrey .... Writer Jackie Collins .... Writer Nikki Giovanni .... Senator and the President's decisionmaker for 8 years Hillary Rodham Clinton .....Congresswoman Maxine Waters ..... Singer Alicia Keys ... The cast of Sex and the City (all of them style mavens) - all of these women have one thing in common .... They Are Divas! Divas come in all shapes, sizes, colors, nationalities, backgrounds. Divahood is as diverse as the United Nations. But haven't you ever wondered how they have even became divas? Well each and everyone of these women have fascinating stories to tell about their lives that have stretched and shaped them to become divas, being a diva doesn't happen over night nor does it happen to only the rich and famous. It happens over time, dealing with life as it comes along. Let me share some examples ....

Did you know that at the height of her career in the 80's Supermodel Iman was in a car accident that broke some of her facial bones? Girlfriend looks and feels better now because of that accident. How many of us remember Jennifer Lopez as a Fly Girl for "In Living Color?" Even though she'd done small roles on television, she didn't break out in Hollywood until her non-speaking and rather very small, but influential, role in "Mi Familia" and the ever popular Vh-1 movie "Selena." Alicia Keys speaks candidly and often about how she worked for 7 years about becoming an overnight sensation in music. I bet you didn't know she had acne that would make a pizza say "Damn! She is blotchy!" Who can forget Oprah Winfrey's climb to the top? Through her
start in life in Mississippi as a girl,the battle with her weight, the whole mad cow/Texas Cow Rancher case, and her shooting straight to the top of the Billionaire's List in Forbes, her life is truly for television movie. Hell she's now in the business of making other people's dreams come true! I'm telling you, the stories go on and on and on.

Being a diva is more than about style. It is about the grace, moxie and charisma you carry with you when dealing with life and the things it throws out at you. It's about not taking "no " for an answer. It's about making your life's dreams and ambitions becoming a tangible reality, not just talking about it and not doing anything about it. Divas don't talk in the "shoulda," "coulda" and "woulda." Divas are always present and represent, looking at the end goal as a reality and making it happen.

So what does this have to do with me? I'm rallying up all of my divas in training so that we can join together and become divas. Divas don't become divas alone! We employ our mothers, grandmothers, sisters, cousins, and friends in the journey. We chat with our girls that are also in divahood training. We seek mentorship from those that have already made their way there and are reaching back for us. We get up off of our asses, shake off the haters, reach into our closets and start making room for the Oscar, Grammy and Emmy gowns. We clean our Chrysler Sebrings to shine like the Mercedes Benz we want to own. We chit chat with our girlfriends and family in a Trans-Atlantic way. Although we own Nine West shoes, we walk in them like they are Manolo Blahniks. And we wear our Target/Dillard's/ Macy's/Forever 21/ etc. clothing like it is our own couture line with our names on it! I mean! Who in the hell said that we can't have what want when we want it? So to all of my divas in training, let's get out of the remedial diva classes and enroll in Diva 101: the making of a diva ..


Saturday, March 05, 2005

Romance and Relationships

It has been six years since the last time I was in a relationship with a man. Don't get me wrong, I have had plenty of suitors, but none of them had made me have "the feeling." You know "the feeling"- the one where you're just stupid- you can't think straight, everything reminds you of the person. Nope instead, I've had plenty of sex and a lot of heartache. I mean really, sex can only take a person so far, there needs to be something else there to sustain the heart, the body and the spirit. So my question is .... can I get some romance? Some talking on the phone all night until the sun rises, long walks to nowhere, falling asleep together in the same bed cuddled up, blockbuster movie night, too many martinis to name the 50 states, "Let me serve you" romance. I've often wondered how it would happen ... in a library trying to write a paper and he happens to walk behind me just as I am getting up; sitting next to one another in a movie theater and we happen to like talking back to the screen; or we meet because of our connections to people that, through a small glimmer of a chance, otherwise wouldn't know one another. Romance really can happen on so many levels. But it can't be one-sided romance, both sides have to be willing to be romanced. Both sides have to be honest about it- without honesty, there is no romance, it can't thrive under false pretenses. Yes I am in a relationship with a man I have known since I was 12 years old, but we are still lacking the romance. I pray that romance finds it's way into my life and my relationship with my man.

Thursday, March 03, 2005

The truth about the late 20's (part I)

Truth is .... right now I'd give just about anything to be in high school again.

Truth is .... right about now, undergrad doesn't look so bad.

Truth is .... if I knew then what I know now, a whole lot of things could have been avoided.

Truth is .... I'm living life with one foot in the sea and the other on the shore.

The barenaked truth is that if I could go back and relive life, a whole lot of things about my life would be different. If you've ever seen the movie "The Butterfly Effect," you might be scared to change even the smallest thing about your life. I mean had I not cut my hair as a child, I could very well have become the next Tyra Banks. Or had I attend undergraduate school with my best friend at St. Louis University, the chance is great I could have become a millionaire by now. At the same time, had I not made certain decisions in my life that lead me to writing this blog right now, I wouldn't be writing this blog. And who knows, my writing this blog right now could lead me down a whole other path later on in life. The purpose of all of this is to keep living to find out, right? So my question is, really, what will it take for me to realize my own potential, my own self worth? I look at Oprah Winfrey- surely life for her has been no crystal stair, she's dealt with quite a bit in her life for her to be where she is in life right now. But I can't imagine her not being "Oprah." Everyone in every phase of life has a certain purpose, a calling. Some are extremely fortunate to land right on it and follow it through until it's very end. Others happen to trip over it and continue to trip through it, surprised and every twist and turn. Even more others, search and search and search to find only to find out that that's not it. I often wonder what category I fall in. I have been undeservedly blessed beyond measure and I still have a ways to go before coming to my own apex in life- I just pray that I am ready for the responsibility of all that it encompasses.

Tuesday, March 01, 2005

Snow is the enemy

For those of you that live in cold weather states with this horrible precipitation feel where I am coming from. And those of you that think it's beautiful, go shovel the stuff for an hour and a half and then tell me how beautiful it still is to you. I promise you your mind will change. To my people in Alaska, I truly don't know how you do it, but I can promise you I won't be there to find out.

I don't know about the rest of you but snow ruins my day. It makes the roads messy, which has people forgetting how to drive in the snow, which, in turn, puts me in the ditch. Although the speed limit says 70 and there are 3-6 inches of the crap on the ground, and the road has YET to be cleared, you might want to consider slowing the hell down!! I mean damn, do 35-40 mph just off good principle so that the big rig truck doesn't jack knife off into a ditch and block traffic even more. There's never a reason for a fast trip to Walgreen's that's down the street taking an hour. I say this from the bottom of my heart, I gotta move to a place where the only seasons they know are Spring, Summer and Fall- damn Winter and especially DAMN THE SNOW!