Archives for December 2018

Book Giveaway

To celebrate being in attendance on Thursday, November 29th at the Wells Fargo,  I am giving away a copy of Becoming.   On Thursday, November 29th I had the pleasure of seeing Michelle Obama at the Well Fargo.  Special shout out to my cousin for giving us the tickets she won.   I began reading the book and it is relatable to some of the chapters in my life.  It is heartwarming to read about the upbringing of people we admire and see their life reads like a chapter from your own life.

On Thursday, I learned so much of what to expect as I dig deeper into the book.  Some of the lessons from the conversation on Thursday included:

1. Never allow someone to dim your light, When Michelle spoke about her high school counselor telling her she was not Princeton material, it turned on a memory from my high school senior days.  I can clearly remember a counselor (who looked like me) tell me to reconsider majoring in engineering because I was graduating from a city high school.  In my case, I remember the counselor first and last name, which I will refrain from mentioning here.  Just imagine if we never shut off the naysayers, where would we be?  The best way to handle is to show them we are enough by leaps and bounds.
2. When Michelle speaks of how hard working her father was even with his illness it reminded me of growing up with my dad. My dad did not go to college but he was a proponent of education and having a strong work ethic. He strongly believed that education would write your ticket to anywhere you wanted to go in life.
3. Her memories of growing up in a close-knit neighborhood with her extended family.  It brought back memories of my childhood growing up in my Philly neighborhood.  I grew in a working-class neighborhood on a tree-lined street, where each house or duplex had a lawn.   My grandparents only lived about twenty-five minutes away.  Most of us grew up in two-parent households and we did normal things like play hopscotch, double-dutch, ding dong dixie, tag, jacks, and hide-n-seek.     There was real outdoor time and no distraction from gadgets until we got Atari 5200.   Michelle reflects on the card games adults played and I remember my relatives playing rounds and rounds of pinochle.
4. I love the fact she makes it clear it is fine to ask for help.  In her marriage when they reached a roadblock, the sought marriage counseling.  In her interview with Robin Roberts, she stressed the importance of counseling and the fact marriage takes work.  Also, she talks about taking care of herself.
5. Personally, I always admired the mutual love and affection shared by Michelle and Barack.  A piece of advice she gave on Thursday night was to find a man with intention.  Also, take the time to get to know your significant other in different scenarios to see how they handle themselves.

Becoming give brings me joy for the opportunities that lie ahead in 2019.

Just in time for the holidays, I am giving away a copy of Becoming.

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