#RachelJeantelKeyWitness

Hey everybody!! And a Happy Friday to you!! I could not let this week end without me writing something on Ms. Rachel Jeantel.  Now if you are not familiar with this young lady, she is the key witness in the George Zimmerman Trial.  She was the last person to speak to Trayvon before he was shot by Zimmerman.

Why Ms. Rachel Jeantel has become big news is not just because she is a key witness but because of her performance on the witness stand. 

Disclaimer: The purpose of this post is NOT to throw shade at her at all.

As I am writing this post I am having a hard time trying to figure out where I should start.  So I guess  I will just start with her whispering on the witness stand.  Why is she whispering?  For awhile, I thought something was wrong with the volume of my computer.  At times, she was even mumbling.  Like girl, what is wrong with you?  I would hate to be that person that has to type the transcript.  I would mean mug her real hard. 

Then she seemed to have an attitude the whole time.  From the moment she was sworn in to the moment she stepped down, she seemed over it.  She reminded me of what people look like in the DMV waiting area, pressed and ready to go.  It seemed to me she was more ready to go than wanting to do her best to defend her friend.  Her "side-eye" attitude was really confusing to me.  Like she had a year and half to prepare mentally and emotionally  for this and I feel she chose to have a stank attitude instead.

But what really took the cake for some folks and myself was her speech.  It does not bother that she does not talk like a Harvard Scholar.  But what does bother me is that she does not know how to switch between kicking-it-with-my-girls talk to I'm-in-a-court-of-law talk.  And you got some over zealous supporters saying she is only 19 years old.  Only 19??!!  You are technically considered an adult in the United States of America at 18!  She is 19, not 12.  She should be able to articulate herself better than what she was doing.  I bet when she with her friends she can articulate herself very well.  Does she not understand the seriousness of this trial?  Get cho life immediately.  I had to go to traffic court at 16 and I took that $200 traffic ticket more seriously than she is taking her part in this trial. 

I completely understand that she is under a lot pressure but her being 19 and English supposedly being her second or third language is not an excuse for me.  You are a grown woman and sometimes you have to do things that you do not want to do.  That is what comes with being an adult.  I am not sure to blame Rachel for her nonchalantness or the prosecution for their lack of preparing her for the defense's questions.  Whatever the case, I do not think that Rachel's performance made or broke this trial.  But this should have given parents a wake-up call to start early with making sure your children can present themselves in a mature way at least by 19, just in case they are a key witness in a major murder trial. 

What are your thoughts on the Rachel Jeantel and/or the trail so far?

Socially Awkward Forever

Hey everybody!! Sorry for neglecting you guys.  I know I have been off my blog game lately.  But I am back!

I have a confession I need to make: My name is Ebony and I am socially awkward.  I am not a fan of small talk. I get anxious when I am in a room of people I do not know.  I do not always know how to end phone conversations.   And I never know what to say at funerals.  Whoo, it felt good to get that off my chest. Until now, I hated my socially awkward ways.

One night I was bored and decided to watch Awkward Black Girl on Youtube.  After one episode I fell in love.  Within 2 days I had watch both seasons.  Where had Issa Rae (creator of Awkward Black Girl) been all my life?  Like seriously, why are we not best friends?  I could relate to every episode dealing with dating, making friends, socializing at parties, and getting a new job. 

Here is the first episode to start you off





I think Issa has been secretly watching me for the last 25 years and decided to make a Youtube series from her observations.  But she hadn't and she was talking about her life.  She was a success because she accepted who she was and was not trying to change it.  Then I had a epiphany:  I can be awkward and be good at stuff.  Issa had taught me to embrace my weird ways.  It is what makes me...me. 

There were times I wish I could be smooth like the popular folks in college.  Now I did not want to hang with them too much because of a lot of them were elitist douche bags  but I did wish I had their smooth ways.  But it seemed like when I tried to be "cool" I actually made myself seem even more awkward.  I remember when I was in college and I was in RA training.  The room was packed and I unpurposely ended up sitting next to some Black Greeks (If you know anything about Black Greeks, they can instantly make you feel your cool level is nonexistent).  One of them made a joke and I tried to chime in by laughing too.  Needless, to say it was a bust.  They kind of glared at me like "Who gave you permission to laugh at our cool jokes? You ain't cool." 

At 25, I have come to the realization that I am socially awkward.  But not only have I come to that realization but also I can't say that I want to change it.  I love telling my roomie and other friends my awkward interaction stories.  I have stories for days about not  remembering who the president of the organization I work for is and calling my roomie Celie instead of Sydney the first few months we knew each other.  It makes my life seem so much more interesting.  You can keep your smoothness.  I will take my weird social interactions any day.

#InstagramHasVideo

Hey everybody!!! Hope your Thursday has been great! If you have not heard by now Instagram has video and I, for one, am excited.  Out of all the social networks that I am a part of I will have to say that Instagram is my favorite one.  I enjoy seeing others' lives through photos.  I think it is because I'm such visual person.  Fortunately, I follow some real cool people on Instagram so I am entertained on a daily.  I see vacations, baby photos, dinners, lunches, fashions, and creative memes. 

Today Instagram announced they now have a video option.  You can record up to 15 seconds of video.  I am excited for this new option because I cannot wait to see how creative people get with these 15 seconds. On one hand, I know I am going to see millions of baby first steps or sounds.  I look forward to seeing snippets of concerts and lectures.  But as history has taught us,  foolish people will take something like this to another level.  I can only imagine what the ratchet will do with 15 seconds of video.  Twerking teams? Cussing folks out? 15 second rap demos? People showing off their joint rolling skills? Yep, I can see all that happening. 

I think this is the first time I have looked forward to an app update.  If you have not updated your app yet, you should.  Go head and put up your first video and if you want to follow me on Instagram @ebonymariere.  I will most definitely be using this feature. 

Lets have a moment of silence for Vine.  I never downloaded you but I've heard you were the Instagram for videos.  You will be missed

 



Thick, Baby! Presents NishaSPEAKS







Thick, Baby!

Presents

NishaSPEAKS



Hey everybody!! I am back with a new video!! In this interview, I sit down with Tonisha 'NishaSPEAKS' Porter about her new single "I Love You" that will be on iTunes, Amazon, and CDBaby on June 11. Be sure to check it out and leave comments!

 

 

Thick, Baby! Presents My First Runway Show

Hey everybody!!! I know I am always posting about awards shows, celebrities' foolery, or interviewing others about their life experiences.  Very rarely, do you all get to peek into what I am doing outside of this blog.  Well, I am happy to give you

Thick, Baby!

Presents

My First Fashion Show

Posing for my life

That is right, I had the opportunity to grace the runway for the first time! And honey, it was an experience.  I was a guest model for Kurvy Kuties, a full figure entertainment company.  As you all can tell, I am proud of being a full figured woman but I was not sure if I was confident enough to strut down the runway.  I went back and forth for a long time until I finally convinced myself to go to the model call.  When I got the email that I was going to be in the show, I could have hit the floor.  But then I remembered, I have not performed in front of people since high school.  Yall, I felt the butterflies in my stomach and it was still 2 months until the show. 

Me and the other guest models

Now, it wasn't just the getting up in front of people that had me a little nervous but I was going to have to model and dance in 3 inch heels.  The most I do in 3 inch heels is walk from my truck to my desk during the work week.  I do not even go out in the door to door ministry in heels.  Thankfully, we had teachers that taught us how to walk, control our arms, and make fierce poses at the end of the runway.  Honey, those teachers were TOUGH! They basically said that we were going to go hard or go home.  They were not going to let us on stage to embarrass them, honey. 

These Divas were our teachers

But let me tell you, I got ALL my life up there on that stage.  Once, I walked on stage I forgot to be nervous.  I wanted to put on a show for the people who came to see us.  The cool thing about this fashion show was that there was a theme: The Wiz, yes, the urban version of The Wizard of Oz.  In the beginning we opened up doing the munchkin land scene and then me and 4 other fierce women ended the scene with a "Go Hard" dance number to Beyonce's End of Time. 

Then each fashion showcase was from a scene in The Wiz.  I was in the Tin Man, No Bad News, and the Emerald City scene (If you have not seen The Wiz please do so immediately.  It is a classic.).  Our hair and make-up was slaying.  We wore these big dookie braids with a huge afro puff on top (By the way, I'm still wearing mine now.  My coworkers love it!).  I modeled a jewelry line and clothes from Simply Fashions and Rainbow. 

Yall, I am still on a high from the fashion show!  It was the coolest experience I have had thus far.  It was awesome to share an experience like that with other women who are as proud of their bodies as I am.  I cannot explain the feeling I get when I see women who are not afraid to take fashion risk or step outside of the box when it comes to their style.  It is truly inspiring.

Muchkin Land!



Thanks for reading this post and I hope you enjoyed the pictures.  Please stay tuned for what else the Thick, Baby! Series has coming up. 

Thick, Baby! Presents Sydney Washington

Thick, Baby!

Presents

Sydney Washington

When you think of full figured women what comes to mind?: Monique, Gabourey Sidibe, Beyonce, or Sofia Vergara? Just like there is a battle between light skin and dark skin women, there is a battle between thick women and thicker women.  Women size 18 or above might balk at considering a size 14 woman thick.  But in the fashion world, even a size 8 can be considered “thick”.  For this installment I interviewed my bestie and roomie Sydney Washington , a young lady who has be told “You’re not full figured!” I will let her give you her perspective of being a full figured woman.  I present to you Sydney Washington:

Dress: Ross
Boots: Old Navy



How does it make you feel when women say you are not “full figured”?

It gets on my nerves.  I may not be able to relate to heavier women but I still have to be cautious.  Like Old Navy, I at times have to go a size up. I have to watch what I wear too.

Women work out trying to get the “Beyonce bottom” and some might feel like you are lucky to have it naturally.  But how do you feel about having the “Beyonce bottom”?

It’s nice to have something that guys want but at the same it's not.  Like when I have the guys cat calling me from the car or when a woman tells me she likes my shape and everyone stares to stare.

 

How do you describe your style?

I like to be trendy, conservative yet sexy, and comfortable

Do you have challenges dressing your body type? And how have you overcome those challenges?

I do have challenges. Certain shirts have become a problem like babydoll tees.  Jeans because I have to find something that fits my thighs.  I accept it for what it is.  Some things that I use to wear and now I can’t or try to find it in  a bigger size.  I try not to put myself down because of my size. 

Who or what inspires your style?

In Essence magazines like to look for the “What their wearing in…” series or other fashions in magazines

Is there any style of clothing that you absolutely stay clear of?

Yes, short shorts

What stores do you prefer to shop?

Dillard's, Savers, Consignment Shops, Rue 21 for trends, JCPenny

Some women with your shape might feel a need to wear tight clothing to show off their shape but you tend to dress conservatively.  Do you find that you do this on purpose?

Yes. If people can already see it then why over do it.  You are sexy when you are conservative.

When did you realize that you were going to be a curvy woman and did you always embrace it?

  I didn’t realize how thick I was until I was in the 7^th grade and size 13 in pants. I told my mom I was going to tone up because my butt was big but then she told that I was going to have a big butt so I might as well get use to it. 

What advice would you give to curvy women?

Embrace your size. Size can be overrated. Love yourself. If you can fix it, fix it but love yourself. Everyone was not built to be stick thin.