: About Me

As a child, I wanted to do and be everything possible. A ballerina, singer, social worker, writer, nurse, etc. The one thing that was consistent throughout the years, however, was the desire to write.

I tried escaping it (not necessarily on purpose). I majored in Vocal Performance and planned on being a recording artist. (That would've been fun too, I must admit). But then, when the writer in me could no longer be silenced, I switched my major to English.

Five years, a master's degree in journalism, and a career (and a half) later, I've become a 29-year-old woman who has finally embraced her life's passion.

Recently, I did something fantastically freeing: I quit a job I despised. Now, I'm enjoying life as a freelancer and magazine publisher.  

My passion is ...

Writing (duh) lol. Also I'm absolutely obsessed with magazines!

I know too much about ...

celebrities I "stalk" online (lol).

My parents always told me ...

that if I worked hard, I could become whatever I dreamed.

My childhood ambition ...

was to become an author, then a recording artist, then a writer again.

My favorite memory ...

There are way too many! I'd have to write a book. Now, that's an idea...

Why I write ...

As Nikki Giovanni said, "We write because we believe the human spirit cannot be tamed and should not be trained."

What I am reading/watching/listening to ...

I've recently gotten into Eric Jerome Dickey books and am currently reading "Dying for Revenge."

My first job ...

J.C. Penney Sales Associate...summer before college

My best moment ...

was getting my Master's degree.

My inspiration ...

Life

Society & Lifestyle > African-American Issues Black hair and the African-American beauty culture

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The air is thick with the smell of fried hair grease, food, and chemicals entangled with the exuberant laughter and chitchat of stylists and clients alike. CeCe Winans' Throne Room is radiating from a small stereo in the back room, and several people join in the singing. "I'll be right with you," says stylist Michelle Payne, as she delegates one client to a shampoo girl and situates another under a hooded dryer. Still, several more are being washed, relaxed, weaved and braided. It's a typical Saturday afternoon at Utopia hair salon in Stafford, VA, as the stylists scramble to attend to eve...

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