31 Day Reset Challenge Day 26

Make a New Friend

My new friend is someone that I’ve began working with for the Republican National Convention. She’s a journalist and has been in the broadcast industry for more than 50 years and has broken down racial barriers and looks good doing it!

I honestly think God brought us together. She’s deeply religious and apart of NABJ and needed someone to help her cover the RNC while she was down here. I received word of it from one of the members in my local journalism organization (see how they look out for a sista?) and it’s been blossoming since then!

She’s been a positive impact in my life and my career thus far and I can’t wait to see how we can both continuously benefit from each other.

Naomi and Alex take Dallas

For the past four days I've been in Dallas visiting my best friend Alex and trying to make up for four years of not seeing each other. We met at the end of our sophomore year in high school and were inseparable! After graduation, she moved to Texas and I moved to Florida for school, but we still remained close throughout our college years. Now, after four years of being apart, we reunited and the events that followed are nothing short of blog worthy!

Only 2 hours after arriving we decided to jump off a 75 foot ledge! I was on it for 20 minutes before actually jumping!

My fearless best friend did so, so flawlessly even though she's afraid of heights!

And that was only day one! We went to Cowboys Red River, a country dance hall later that night and line danced the night away! It was my first time ever going to a country music club and I thoroughly enjoyed myself!

Adventures in tea houses, museums and beaches!

This time last week, my mom was in town and running me ragged! We traveled to places I had never been including a nice quiet beach (comparable to Clearwater Beach which I describe as the Wal Mart of beaches) in Largo, the Zora Neale Hurston Museum of Fine Arts in Eatonville and a cute French store in Ybor City. However, my favorite place to go to with dear old mom is a cute tea house.

La France in Ybor City...very quirky!

 Our tradition now is to go to the Tea Rose Cottage in Ybor City anytime she visits. It's a quaint little house and gift shop that has a delectable variety of teas and delicious tea sandwiches and "crumpets." The tearoom's atmosphere is so cozy and inviting...and exclusive! It's only open Wednesday through Saturday and their hours are from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. ONLY with reservation. Yes. Reservations are required for this joint.

#WEverb11: Gush

29. Gush
Begin to create a plan for “My friends day out 2012″ – tell us what you envision.

I have so many different types of friends I can't just describe "my friends day out 2012" because it's an blanket statement that generalizes that all my friends are similar. Wrong.

I have some friends like my London sisters Tiffany Y. and Christine that I  could take to a museum, out to an arts festival, go to a hole in the wall restaurant, read each others writings and enjoy a nature walk.

2008 end of the school year dinner when I lived in Gainesville

Then there are others like Mirah, Tiffany T. and Shannon, whom I have fun with all the time! Somehow we always get into trouble. I let loose when I'm with them and usually when we go out, obscene amounts of alcohol are involved, dancing to the point of bruised toenails and memories that last forever.

Of course there's girls like Alex, Aditi and Vanessa. We can do anything and everything and make it a "friends day out." It could be grocery shopping or laying around the house, catching a movie, eating sushi or having a spa day.

I have friends who inspire me, friends who make me laugh, friends who I can just chill with but the truth is, they all bring out different sides of me, so I can't simply say what this "friends day out 2012" would include because NONE of my friends are the same. So take that take that!

#WEverb11: Ripple

21. Ripple

The butterfly effect posits that a small change can ripple across whole ecosystems. Who do you credit for the small action that made all the difference in your life this year?

 A former friend who I ended my friendship with made all the difference in my life this year. It's amazing what can happen when negativity and bad relationships leave your life. Usually, people are sad when a friendship ends but trust me this was for the best. I'm able to get a full night's sleep with no interruptions (phone wise) which leaves me energized for work in the morning. I'm no longer consumed by someone else's problems and am able to concentrate more on my family and other friendships which I had neglected because of this one-sided relationship. A lot of positive things have been happening with family, employment and social life which I feel is a result of the end of this friendship. Thank goodness.

How Did We Get on This Subject?

Last Saturday I went to a Fine Arts Festival with my London sister and my "Granny." We had the most WONDERFUL time and I felt as though I was getting back to the real me. The me that no one really knows about except for my London sisters, my family and one of the girls I traveled to Paris (2009) with.

It's been five years since I've seen my London sister, and reuniting with her brought me back to that time...that place where I felt so safe and good with myself. I had an extremely strong relationship with God and was an avid reader and wrote so much. That 15-year-old girl now only exists deep within my heart and wants to come out but feels now as though it'd be inappropriate in a way. The person I am now, hasn't changed that much, but if you were to see a video and compare the two, you'd notice a huge difference. But maybe that's why she stays so deeply guarded because I still want that girl to be my own little secret.



Wow...I had originally intended for this post to go a completely different way, but I'm glad I ended up getting sidetracked. Sometimes getting sidetracked produces the best things. All I know is that I plan to see my London sister MUCH more since we live only an hour away from each other. Reverting back to that young girl you see above when I'm with her can only bring good things!

Everything and Nothing

A wise woman once said: "Tell your girlfriends everything and tell your girlfriends nothing."

We have girlfriends for support and love. We have girlfriends to share the latest gossip, to laugh with, to cry with and to share secrets with. However, all of these things that we have girlfriends for can ultimately be our downfall.



A smart woman, won't tell her girlfriends EVERY thing that happens in her life and it's for the best. How are the private affairs in your life benefiting your girlfriend? How is your sex life, divorce or the fights you go through with your significant other helping her out?

Out of the gaggle of girlfriends a female has in her life, only one will be a TRUE friend. There will only be one girlfriend who will unconditionally support you, pass no judgment and listen to every single word you say and offer a neutral opinion. Examine your girlfriends and see who that is.

What many females fail to remember is that in the end, YOU are the one who has to live with the decisions that you make. YOU are the one who truly knows how you and your man operate. YOU are the one who decides whether to apply for that job.

There's a simple equation for all of this. Listen to about 20% of what your girlfriends say and the 80% is between you and God. If you're a confident and secure woman, you should already be doing this. If you're easily overpowered and insecure, well, try it out and see how it works. We all need to vent every now and then, but if you're venting about about something personal, skim the surface with them so they get gist of it. It may seem crazy now, but in the end it really does pay off, because believe it or not, some of your girlfriends don't have your best interest at heart.

Pick the women you surround yourself with VERY wisely, and you won't regret it.