Experiences of a Serial Dater...

.... Well at least for a night. ;) so this summer will be my third summer spent in DC and I feel like it's my third summer to actually get out and enjoy what this great place has to offer, so what does that mean? Well for me it meant that I created a list of things to do, with the help of friends and the 1,000s of websites that post about "things to do". So last night's adventure was the first of many. I decided to sign myself up for speed dating. OMG! I know, I am 25, is speed dating really the thing for me? And not to knock anyone who has done it, but I just don't think this is the outlet for me to find a date, I have held this belief that it would be a last resort. But I wanted a fun night on the town and to at least say I did it. So I convinced a friend of mine to come out with me and signed us up.
Turns out another friend of mine was down for the fun and he came too with one of his friends. Leading up to last night and the main event, I was an awkward bundle of nerves. Was I really going to go through with this and did I seriously think this was how I would find a date? Well, I think somewhere along the path of jumbled nerves and cold feet I decided that I would just have fun with it. If nothing else it would be a great networking opportunity for this rising star in Graduate School :) to mingle with other 20 or 30 somethings and hopefully find the next thing career leg up, or at leat the next opportunity to learn and grow. That went well.
We get to the location and everyone's eyes are on everyone else. Sizing us up looking around, it was awkward,but the truth was, I'm amongst 30 other people who are feeling the same way-- AWKWARD. The downside not many 20 somethings were male. The majority were in their 30s- nothing wrong with thatm, but not what I was looking for.
But this girl had 10, count 'em 10 dates! Look at me. No but really, it was a great opportunity to just sit and talk to people, meet someone new and see what if any connection there could be. I was appreciative of my friends who came with, who just had a good time and enjoyed the event for what it was, they made it exciting, they made it enjoyable and they and well the "Open Bar" helped to take the edge off.
For anyone who is thinking to take on the world of Speed Dating, do it at least once. Take it seriously, because the people you meet are. But most importantly have a little fun.

As for this girl, I'm putting up my Speed Dating nametag and crossing off one more thing on my DC Bucket List. It was fun, but not for me and not how I want to find that next special someone.
Cheers!

So many things to be happy for...

Hey all.. It has been a minute since I have posted to the blogs, and my apologies that the other Social Media networks (Twitter, Facebook etc) have been getting more love from me than you. I do have to say however, the blogs will always be my favorite source. I have more of an opportunity to really write about what I want to and to be "long-winded" with it as well.

So here is the news in my life. I don't know if I have spoken much about my education etc. I am currently in school for my Master's in Political Science: Applied Politics at American University. I completed my Bachelor's Degree here as well in Political Science in 2010. I currently work for Housing and Dining Programs as a Campus Host (a Resident Assistant and Desk Staff Combo) as well as a Graduate Assistant position with THE FREDERICK DOUGLASS DISTINGUISHED SCHOLARS PROGRAM- (yes I am an overachiever). Because of the two latter positions I have been drawn to a life in Higher Edcuation and more primarily to a life in Education Policy. Why?! Well because I have begun to see through the many Social Justice Issues that I have been privvy to be apart of, that Education at least in my opinion is the base for which all other problems stem. My interest in news on Education, my attendance at programs speaking on Edcuation hav eall been drawing points for me to invest further in creating solutions for educational systems. I think a lot of this passion stems from seeing how education is handled in the United Sates and particualrly within Urban communities- as this is a community I identify with. Anyways, because of this love of a more focused direction, I recently applied for a position within Housing and Dining called the Assistant Resident Director. While I might not be educating students in the traditional sense, I am making a difference, or will make a difference for students I connect with, by challenging them to be smarter leaders. To really understand issues and to learn from them. I am still learning, I think that is the great thing about life. I do not have all the answers and while I am still trying to carve out what type of person I want to be, it will be hard to help another person carve out their direction, but I know that it will be fun.
So here is to the new path I am taking in life. While the journey may seem daunting moving forward, I am extremely excited for the opportunity.

No Apologies Revisited

So I have had an amazing year of finding myself and still learning to enjoy this time for me. I have realized that I have accomplished so many things and I never really took the time to enjoy them or be satisfied. This year that has been different, I have definitely grown to live in the moment and I am proud of how far I have come. I have grown to be extremely self aware and self reliant, in ways that I think had someone else had gone through what I did, that he or she might have had a different outcome. I am so blessed to be HERE right now, and I am so over the things of the past and allowing them to hold me back, that I will not settle or make apologies for not wanting to live in yesterday. Yesterday takes away from the joys of today, and I wish some people would get that.
With that said, I am still not talking to my mother. I am not holding a grudge, but I don’t trust that she will listen with understanding as I would like her to. I think that to have a conversation with my mother that is planned, she will go into it only waiting for her chance to get out what she wants and I don’t think she will ever really HEAR me. And that’s unfortunate because I mean she is my mother, but at the end of the day you definitely don’t get to choose the life you are born into, you only have the choice to do with it what you can. In the last few years I have learned that right now it’s only me and God. I mean I have support from so many people, but at the end of the day if I can’t stand on my own two feet what am I showing about the life I am living? I think I will always be hopeful for a better relationship with my mother, but the young girl who used to YEARN for it, well she’s closed the door. DUECES to who I used to be and the person that I keep hoping you will be for me. #PGS