Smart Girls Have More Fun!

Hi my name is Andi and I am 16 months sober! LOL! For those of you that don't know that means I've been off the creamy crack (relaxer) for 16 months now! I started relaxing my hair when I was like 11 or so.... by the time I made the random, on a whim decision to go natural I really couldn't even remember what my hair texture was. The past 16 months began randomly and has been a journey for sure, but my hair is healthier, thicker and grows so much faster now! I am surprisingly enjoying the transition more than I thought I would. I've been met with some confusion and actually had a guy tell me not to do it, it's not me. Umm, well little did he know that I was already a year in at that point and his approval or opinion was not needed or cared for. I'm still experimenting with styling my hair naturally. Seen as I've not done a big cut of the relaxed ends yet I do end up pressing my hair a lot, so for most people who don't know they can't really tell a ...

Sunset on Gordon Beach, Tel Aviv, Israel So over the past couple of days I have seen some really great quotes that have stuck with me. I also saw this really amazing ted presentation this week. It was so inspiring and really something I thought I should share. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qqqVwM6bMM&sns=fb So I've been thinking about friendships a lot this week. One of my best friends and I have known each other pretty much our entire lives. Even though I do have sisters, I'm closer to her than them. She's pretty much my sister I'd say. It's crazy too because you know a friendship is real when my mom gets upset when something isn't right with her and vice versa. Earlier in the week my mom actually gave me a lecture because she felt I wasn't doing enough to help my friend.  I saw this image today. It sums up my friendships perfectly. I have few very close friends for this reason exactly.  Gratefulness is a practice, like happiness is a choic...

So remember how when I first started this blog I said this move was going to be a positive journey for me....well it has been so far. Aside from the educational experiences I'm having, I'm definitely growing personally. My professors are pretty amazing! I have like literally some of the most renowned professors in the field of trauma. One of my professors. Dr. Roni Berger (Psychologist - child and family therapy), has been a part of teams that have worked on psycho-social interventions for some of the world's major disasters in the past decade (9/11, Hurricane Katrina, The tsunami in Asia, The earthquakes in Haiti, Japan, and Christ's Church, New Zealand, etc). Dr. Zahava Solomon, is pretty much a Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), war trauma specialist. She's written so many research articles in this area. She works with the Israeli military, and a lot of her research is focused on combat stress reaction/war traumas. If I learn nothing this year it'll b...

So Christmas is coming up. I am thousands of miles away from home and for the 1st time ever in a place where Christmas is not really celebrated. There are no decorations, Christmas trees, carolers, Salvation Army bellers, none of the traditional Christmas festivities. This is only the second time in my life I've not been with my family at Christmas either. I'm gonna miss seeing my mum on Christmas morning and having a huge meal with my family. And as crazy as my mum is about Christmas.... like really.... the woman loves it. She has a Christmas tree farm in the Bahamas and a store that sells all kinds of decorations and stuff for Christmas. {Side Note: If you're in the Bahamas check it out. Her store is called Yandi's Seasons [After your's truly :)] on Thompson Blvd and her Christmas tree farm is opposite Arawak Cay.} Our house is always decorated for Christmas even if it means my mum has to stay up all night on Christmas eve. We always have multiple Christmas tree...

I will go ahead and give the disclaimer that I don't want anyone to feel guilty or any sort of way about this post.... I'm just expressing my feelings. So remember how I said all of my friends are getting married and starting families etc.... well going along with that theme... there is an old saying that I remember hearing. Something along the lines of when you get married the ways of your single life go out the window. This totally makes sense and I agree that life when married or in a committed relationship will change. I guess I never spent the time to think about how it'd change my friendships too. Over the past couple of years more of my friends have gotten married and started families... we're kinda at the age, like I said before. However when you're the single one and all your friends have moved on into another phase in life, your relationship slowly but surely starts to dissolve. You either become your married friends pet project and it's operatio...

I had a mini pity party for myself the other night. I'm 27 now and I realized a larger percentage of the people I know from college and friends are now married, engaged, or parents. OR at the very least are in a relationship. I'm none of these. I'm so single I don't even have a regular cuddle buddy. LOL (Actually to be honest more like, sad) Mind you I do have single friends. I guess its that old adage, when you're single you feel like all of your friends are married  etc and vice versa. But I think I'm just at that age when the switch begins to happen and all of your friends are getting married and having babies. I'm not really ready to get married just yet, but it'd be nice to meet a good guy and be in a relationship again. Oh well these things can't be rushed.... So during my pity party I started thinking about me and how I present myself to the world and what I attract to myself. Then I got to thinking about being a tomboy and is that off put...

My arrival in Paris earlier this week and my connection to Tel Aviv from there, didn't disappoint. It sure did continue with the trend of my trip thus far, a little drama and frustration. It got me thinking about things from a security perspective too. Since 9/11 air travel has completely changed around the world. Security in air travel has become more and more strict. We now have the 3-1-1 rule for liquids, gels, etc that we can carry on the plane. There are air marshalls on flights now. Increased security in airports. In Paris I even saw the military walking around the airport with M-16s. In Paris I got off my American Airlines flight and had to go check in with El Al (the Israeli airline). The counter was surrounded by soldiers with guns. This was kinda weird. No other counter in the airport had this. I was flagged by El Al again so they questioned me at the counter when I went to check in and then they had to search me again. My name was actually highlighted on a list tha...