Autism Speaks

There are many diseases and injuries that affect us around the world.  I learned about one, specifically traumatic brain injuries, in 2009 through my brother.  Since his car accident, my brother's life and mine has dramatically changed.  Unlike my brother, some lives begin with change.  Parents are affected when they're child is born with something like Autism.  Some of my friends know this first hand, and I've been asked to perform at an event in Atlanta, Night of Awareness: Autism Speaks Because of this, I've been able to learn more about this disorder and how it affects our population.  Recent studies have estimated the lifetime cost of an autistic individual to roughly be $3.2 million.  Parents with an Autistic child have a 2-8% chance of having a second child that's affected.  These disorders, are 4 to 5 times, on average, more likely to occur in boys than in girls.  These are just a few of the statistics.  Well, I'm a very optimistic person.  I don't focus on statistics too much.  I focus on what can be done to change them.  Honeys, we can attend this event and donate to help improve someone's life.  With a $25 ticket donation, you can do just that.  So, RSVP now at Autism Speaks.  Let's come together and fight Autism!

The Dating Game - Unpublished Rules

I count it a blessing to have grown up in a two parent home as the only daughter with an older and younger brother.  I learned so much about boys and men.  My parents taught me certain things about dating that serve as my relationship foundation.  

1. A man interested in you won't mind taking you out on a date and paying for it. 
2. The chances are slim to none that he'll respect you if you sleep with him on the first night.
3. It's best to wait until marriage to have children. 
4. Men like smart women.
5. Men don't mind if a woman takes care of herself.
6. There's nothing wrong with keeping yourself up before, during, and after the relationship.

The list could continue, but these serve the purpose for our digital conversation.  Somewhere in my 20 years on Earth, these rules have been changed.  The new rules are somewhere unpublished and unknown to me.  

1. It's common practice for a man to send naked pics or adult videos of himself.
2. A woman has to sleep with a man first before he takes her out on a date. 
3. If a man pays for a date she's a gold digger. 
4. Something is wrong with a woman if she has children.
5. So what if a woman is smart?! 
6. If a woman takes care of herself, she's bourgeois.

The above unpublished rules are ones that I refuse to follow, but it's amazing how these rules are becoming heavily practiced.  What's up with the pics and videos from these nasty men?  Now, honestly, I can see if y'all are together and you want to spice things up.  If not, women, of a certain standard, are less concerned about this type of behavior.  A nice picture of a man's smile or him in a nice suit is the better choice.  While pictures of this kind may do it for a man, they typically don't for women.  I think I speak for the majority when I say we're action creatures.  When did my Applebee's dinner become contingent upon me sleeping with you first?  I just used that restaurant as an example, but I hope women aren't putting a price tag on sex.  In addition, when did men stop wanting to take women on dates to get to know them better?  Furthermore, why am I gold digger because my dad and grandfather taught me that men pay on dates?  Once we've been dating for a while, I don't think there's anything wrong with the man and woman bearing the financial burden of dating; however, until exclusivity is established, I was taught that the man takes some sort of pride in paying.  This has to be the number 1 point that raises my temperature.  Because most women my age have children, I have to as well? Because I don't, there's something wrong with me!  LOL.  I missed that rule blatantly.  I've learned from my friends' and family experiences.  I'd rather wait until after marriage.  My brothers constantly deal with unnecessary baby mamma drama.  I don't want to turn into baby mamma, and I'd prefer to have a husband as the father of my children.  If there's something wrong with that, I'm at a loss for words.  Finally, I refuse to believe that taking care of myself lands me in the bourgeois category.  There have been several times in my life where I couldn't afford to look a certain way, but when God allows me to, I'm going to look the best my financials will allow me to.  I like getting my hair, nails, eyebrows, and pedicures done.  Why would a man not want that?  So, if these are the new dating rules, I QUIT.  Otherwise, I'll stick to what mamma and daddy taught me!  

Getting to Know You

I pray that one day I will get married.  Until that day, I have to put up with some things that I'm not happy about.  One of them is the getting to know someone process.  I thought this was the process:  I see him.  We're attracted to each other.  We get to know one another.  We like each other.  We spend time.  We become exclusive to each other.  We become engaged.  We get married.  We live happily ever after.  Right?  Not that easy, especially in my case.  Because of what I've been through, this getting to know process is one that I can't stand.  Reason being is because too much change happens.  For instance, the conversations are magnetic at first.  At least with me, they last for hours, and normally, I don't want to stop talking.  Then, as time goes by,the conversation frequency decreases, and they drastically shorten to minutes.  Another change that happens is the attention paid to me.  Initially, attention is shown to me like I'm the only thing on Earth that matters.  That is so beautiful.  As time goes on, other things become important.  So, when we're talking, I'm sharing attention with the computer, radio, and everything else.  This part of the process really sucks.  So, I encourage each one of you reading to do better.  Make him or her feel special during the communication process.  If they're not that special to you anymore, then make a change.  These changes hurt, and as a woman, I think I can speak for us all when I say consistency is key.