Accepting Imperfection

It’s nearly March. Perhaps you are looking at your New Years’ Resolutions and giving yourself the side eye that more of it isn’t complete or that you are already tired of going to the gym and eating healthy. Perhaps you don’t make resolutions on January 1st; maybe you have goals that you are working on – I know I do. The thing that makes or breaks our ability to succeed is fear. Fear stops us from even trying. . . . Read More

Life explained in a Video Game

So I recently starting playing Super Mario Brothers again
after like 20 years, thanks to the new digital version. The furthest I could
make it was to level 8-4 (so far), but those stupid ninjas killed me off. After
repeatedly going through the levels I noticed how deep this game was. I’m so
serious.
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My Life without Facebook

Why did I give up Facebook? It started out as a 20 day fast. My church was participating in a fast, where you give up something and use that time to focus more on your spiritual growth. Jan 11th, 2018 I had to decide what I wanted to give up. Pretty easily, I recognized that I spend wayyyy too much time scrolling through Facebook feeds. It was the beginning of the year, and I was over it all. I was over the political rants, the constant anxiousness of the next racial event that was happening, and all the digital expectations. So, without too much preparation I turned off off my notifications and left a message that “Facebook and I are on a break.”

That was over 8 months ago. . . . Read More

Book Review: Born A Crime

This book was phenomenal. Noah took a somber true life experience and turned it into a comical reflection. I literally laughed out loud, got visibly angry, and cried throughout this book. I stayed up reading at times when I should have gone to bed because I wanted to find out what happened next.
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Fear of Missing Out

FOMO, or the Fear of Missing Out, is a real thing. It is the social anxiety of feeling that you are missing out on something because you are absent. In the age of smartphones and as much technology as we have, I think this is becoming more of a social problem than we let on. There are lots of interesting psychological articles written on the topic, which itself is not new, but social media, definitely enhances this fear. If you are on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Reddit, SnapChat, YikYak, Messenger, and even Pinterest, you may want to keep reading. . . Read More

AirBnb Explained

Traveling is so much fun, but it can be very expensive with hotel prices. Nowadays, I’m sure you have heard people talking about staying at an AirBnB, coined after the term Bed & Breakfast, but maybe you didn’t know what that actually meant. Well, fear not! I am going to share my experiences and what I think you might expect while staying at an AirBnB. This is not a review of the AirBnb website or business, but rather an informative article about the AirBnb process. I will forego discussion about ethics, gentrification, and the effects of rent/mortgages surrounding these types of establishments, specifically in urban areas. I’m sure you can find additional articles on that if you so choose. So, sticking to the topic, we will just dig right in. At the time of this article, I had stayed in 8 different AirBnBs (6 different cities, 2 different countries). . . . Read More

A Parade of a Lifetime

On February 4, 2018, the Philadelphia Eagles NFL team won the Superbowl for the first time EVER. The Eagles have been called the Underdogs. Always a bridesmaid, never a bride. And the game was against the New England Patriots, who have been to the Superbowl like 6 times. It was Epic. The minute the game was over, the city jumped up and hi-fived itself . . . for about a week.

This is my account of the moments after the Win and the time up to and leading to the parade. For those that were not able to make it, this is for you! . . . Read More

Book Review: The Tipping Point

Malcolm Gladwell, author of Outliers and Blink, has also written a book called The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. In a world where a single tweet can end your career, this concept is both interesting and stable. I thoroughly enjoy sociology and understanding the science behind how our brains work. If you ever want to create a product that is widely used or go viral, definitely a good read.

The book is pretty true to its title. We learn about products and ideas that “went viral” to put it into today’s terms. From Hush Puppies to yawns to crime in New york City, Gladwell really breaks down what happened with these things to make them ‘contagious.’ Gladwell says there are 3 rules of epidemics: the Law of the Few, the Stickiness Factor, and the Power of Context. . . . Read More

No New Friends

Happy New Year and welcome to 2018! Prepare for a paradigm shift, as you probably haven’t heard this before when we talk about resolutions.  I’m going to talk about the concept of #NoNewFriends.

As we start a new year, there will be many new year’s resolutions. You know the typical ones: work out more, get places early, try new things, blah, blah, blah. We are always in search of something more to acquire, do, or be. But what if what you had was enough? Instead of looking for new friends, what if you dedicated your time to the existing friends who love and cherish you? . . . Read More

Cruise Vacations

Cruises are great if you want to relax and not worry about planning too much. They are good for groups, as you can go on excursions together, but also have your alone time and do what you want on the boat. If you’ve never been on a cruise, please see my tips below. From planning the cruise to what to expect once you are on the boat. You will be thoroughly prepared for a cruise vacation! . . . Read More