Dear Diary: My Life Raising Brown Girls

I am not a parent of a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgender (LGBT) child, so I cannot say I understand what a parent of a LGBT child is going through. However, I have friends and family members who are and have children who are LGB so I can relate to a certain degree. Growing up I had friends who were gay and who were lesbians. A few of them told me and a few of them hid it from me. Why? I have no idea. What they failed to realize was I already knew, but I wanted them to tell me on their own. It is on no account painless for mothers and fathers to find out that their son or daughter is a lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. Nor is it any easier for the child to tell their mother, father, friends or other family members that they are or may be a lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. I remember the day someone very close to me told me he was attracted to guys. He was so nervous. As he began to speak, he started stuttering and sweating bullets. After he finished speaking I did no

I am a single parent of two wonderful brown girls. I want nothing but the best for them. However, I realize growing up in today’s society is not easy. It is completely different from when I was a child.  Young girls of every race will encounter similar challenges on a daily basis. These challenges consist of peer pressure, low self esteem, self worth, bullying, education, the expectations we as parents have set for them and let’s not forget self perception (body image, hair, fashion sense, sexuality, identity, etc). Several of these girls may encounter one if not all the challenges. Instead of enjoying their formative years, they are preoccupied with trying to fit into society’s expectations of how they should look. Young girls of every race has some insecurities, but the media, social networking sites, and the community have made it very difficult for brown girls to accept, embrace and love their self for who they are. Commercials, TV shows, magazines, movies and videos persuad

A lot had occurred throughout the relationship with my youngest daughters’ father.  I tried to forgive him for the things he said and did, but it was very hard to forgive him. At some point in the relationship, I was left feeling hurt, disappointed, frustrated and angry. These feelings began to affect my well being. As time passed and the longer we stayed together, those feelings turned into resentment. When my youngest daughters’ father and I parted ways, my children were thirteen and seven. Unfortunately, our relationship did not end on good terms. Nonetheless, I was optimistic that we would be able to collaborate as a team to raise our daughter. Boy was I wrong. He wanted what he wanted when he wanted them. Things had to be done his way or no way. Talking to him was very stressful and draining. There have been times when a straightforward conversation turned into a shouting match. Sadly, we were not able to have a civilized telephone conversation. There have been many days th

Hello, First I would like to say Thank You for stopping by my page. I found this list on Spark People as I was searching the internet for nutrition, health, and fitness tools. I also saw a similar list on Good Reads and decided to merge the two lists to develop a list that worked for me. Nonetheless, I thought this would be a perfect way for everyone to get to know a few things about me, to connect with my readers, as well as to learn something about you. Please note, I don't own this and all rights go to whoever created it. A - Age: 36 B - Book you are reading: Psychology of Aging C - Chore you hate: Laundry D - Dessert you love: Cake & Pie E - Essential start your day item: Phone F - Favorite color: Blue (all shades) G - Game to play or watch: Candy Crush (play); Basketball (watch) H - Hometown: Brooklyn, NY I - Inside or outside: Inside J - Job or Occupation: I work fulltime  in Managed Care; I am a fulltime student K - Kittens or puppies: Puppies L - Life i