When the Universe talks to you, listen...

Hello everyone,

I hope all is well. So much has happened since I've written here and so much I want to share.

1)  

During Homecoming  weekend here at the University, I got to attend an event featuring Brandon Stanton, the creator of Humans of NY. He was part of the University at Albany Speaker series. It was amazing to hear his story and how he started HONY. For those of you who don't know what HONY is, pleaaase do yourself a favor and familiarize yo' self. http://www.humansofnewyork.com/

He shared his story of how HONY came to be and it was amazing! I took away so much from hearing him speak but what resonated with me most is how he encouraged each and every one of us to pursue our dreams. He shared that he came to NY with little to no money, had to live with people he didn't know in a huge room and slept on a mattress. All of this in pursuit of his dream to photograph 10,000 people on an interactive map. He also shared how he overcame the fear of taking pictures and talking to people. One of the reasons I started this site is because I am so fascinated with people who fearlessly go for what they want. I am fascinated with how people step out of their comfort zone in pursuit of themselves and their passions. His story is truly inspiring and I encourage everyone to check out Humans of NY (HONY) on Instagram, Facebook, and at your local bookstore lol.

One of my life's goals is to be interviewed by him and interview him. Some of that came true when I had the opportunity to ask him a question =)

My heart was beating sooooo fast lol. I asked him why he chose NYC to start his series and he shared that NYC is so diverse and rich in many ways. He also shared that before this, he'd never been to NY. I told him I will see him on the streets of NY lol.

2)

My friends and I made a hilarious parody  video of some of our favorite stars from the 90s which you can check out below. We received a lot of attention from it on Facebook. Thus far, we have 3.8k views and lots of laughs lol. We appreciated all who checked it out and want to encourage folks to do their own 90s challenge videos. With the positive attention, we also received negative attention which I blog more about on  the blacklove portion of the website.

3) When the Universe talks to you, listen.

So, I've been considering getting my doctorates for a while now but with this being my last year of grad school and considering I'm up to my longest strand of hair on the top of my head in papers, I cant fathom why I'm considering a doctorates. Some of the reasons I want to pursue it is because

  • I love the way Dr. Mable sounds.
  • As a black woman who grew up in foster care, the odds were stacked against me and still I rose. I owe it to myself and those I love to keep going as far as I can.
  • I am genuinely interested and invested in the population I'd be doing research on.

However, reasons I haven't thought about it further was because

  • I am in a grad school program that is emotionally, physically, mentally and spiritually taxing on my overall health.

But when the universe talks, you listen.

So, back in early September, I had the pleasure of meeting a woman while on my job. I saw that she was in a PHD program and asked her about her experience. She told me about her experience and inquired about my interests.  After I told her and expressed my doubts, she asked me questions like "what's stopping you?!" and "why not?!" and told me to "go for it!!". I felt inspired by her words but still had doubt. I took down her information and told myself I'd email her. Unfortunately, I lost her info. Months later, at my internship, one of the women there asked about my interests in a doctorates degree. She said the same things that the other woman was saying. I had the same response and she had the same response as the other woman. I put it on the edge of my mind.

Recently, she asked again and I shared with her that I hadn't looked into it since we last spoke about it. I told her the story about the other woman and how she said the same things to me and how I think the universe is talking to me.

Right after the conversation, I was going to a meeting with my supervisor. When we walked through the door, the first person that greeted us was the woman who I had spoke to months earlier when I inquired about her PHD.

LISTEN! when the Universe holla's at you, holla back. Peace y'all!