What is Success??

As I embark on my new journey in life, I have always envisioned myself as a successful person. A proud African American woman on the way to making an impact in her community. While searching the Internet, I came across a poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson "What is Success". When my journey gets to tough I will look back and remember the words of Ralph Emerson definition of success

What is Success by Ralph Waldo Emerson
To laugh often and love much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the approval of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty;
To find the best in others;
To give of one’s self;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition;
To have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exultation;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived…
This is to have succeeded.

2011 - Where Do I Begin??

So it's a new year (2011) - and of course like everyone else I have my New Year's resolutions (finances, sanity, career, etc, etc). Every year I jot down what I would like to accomplish in the upcoming year and I am very fortunate to have a 85% success/completion rate. The one that I always have trouble with is losing weight. Now, for the past 2 years I've said that I wanted to lose weight - tone up, get right blah, blah, blah for the new year; which of course I always renig on my yearly resolution.. As I was talking to my mother today she kept repeating to me "You're 30 years old now; the fat doesn't slide off of you like when you were younger; be/stay active". So this year I will go about my Get Fit 2011 challenge in a different way.

CONFESSION!! I hate working out - let me say it like this; I detest working out, always have even when I played basketball in college but I loved the way I felt after a good workout or practice. Running was not a joy of mine, I was always quick on my feet and pride myself on being the fastest but when we would have track workouts I would come in 3rd or 4th and of course my coach would get into my a$$. Which now that I'm older I understand why she would chastise me - "if I was the best athlete out there why wouldn't I display that talent in every aspect of the game; including track workouts" - HARDWORK pays off.

So my new "Being the best you in 2011" drive I plan to get back into sports - be active; participate in activities. When I lived in Oakland I had a variety of choices; I use to play anything and everything (kickball, basketball, capture the flag, run the stairs @ Lake Merritt etc, etc). So the ending of 2011 I signed up for a gym membership at the local fitness center (AGAIN). But this time you will not see me trying to kept up on the bike exercise or running on that horrid machine called a treadmill. I will start off slow and make it fun - so my mission is joining those cute exercise classes that I use to laugh at when I walked by when I was in college and before the back fat. I think that is a good way to start and keep me interested in my goal and hopefully by being active I will be inspired and get involved in local activities around my area.

Soooooooo.. I will post my 2011 New Years resolutions and check back when it's Dec 31, 2011 and see what have I accomplished this year - I think this is more for me to stay on track:)

-Be financial stable in 2011
-Be active
-Find a new job/new location
-Regain my inner DeeStar
-Start a new life of happiness
-Continue to have God as a strong presence in my life/faith
-Get involved within my community
-Be happy
-Find a hobby besides shopping
-Less stress
-hope to be promoted by Dec
- stay committed to my sanity

DeeStar has returned....

I'm backkkkkkkkkkkkk and believe me I have a lot on my mind. My friends, Lodz and Ogonnaya; have reconnecting me back into this secret society of random blogging on the internet. (Check out their blog @ http://travellingwomanists.wordpress.com) My last blog was dated back in 2008, and let me tell ya, A LOT has happen to me in a span of 2 years. I am in a new town, new job, new friends, new hairstyle and LOTS of unusual experiences I could ever imagine myself being connected to in my quest to have dinner with Oprah and em. So please sit back, pull up a nice chair, stop cringing with all my grammatical errors and entertain yourself with the introspections of a lost soul. Some might be amused, others might be annoyed but this is one way to keep my sanity in a unfamiliar world.