We all have people, places and things that bring us joy in life. Here are a few of mine with links to learn more.
Giving Back
I don't think that there is anything in my life that gives me more joy than the look on someones face when I've done or said something kind for or to them. One way I've been able to build upon this Joy is by supporting my cousin Shakir.
Shakirs son passed away a couple of years ago and in order to honor his memory his parents started a charity aimed at giving. JahlenGestures is the perfect site to help me and others truly engulf themselves in the idea of giving and doing.
Vacation
For years, my best friend and I would visit Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. It was the perfect locale to get away and forget the "stress" that was our lives back on Long Island. It wasn't until I went to Buenos Aires that I began to realize going to Tortola was a trip, not a vacation. Argentina sparked something in me that I haven't been able to shake. It awakened a desire to travel, a desire to learn, a desire to explore. I've gone many places since that vacation to BA, and I look forward to the day that I go back there for a visit.
Giving Back
I don't think that there is anything in my life that gives me more joy than the look on someones face when I've done or said something kind for or to them. One way I've been able to build upon this Joy is by supporting my cousin Shakir.
Shakirs son passed away a couple of years ago and in order to honor his memory his parents started a charity aimed at giving. JahlenGestures is the perfect site to help me and others truly engulf themselves in the idea of giving and doing.
Vacation
For years, my best friend and I would visit Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. It was the perfect locale to get away and forget the "stress" that was our lives back on Long Island. It wasn't until I went to Buenos Aires that I began to realize going to Tortola was a trip, not a vacation. Argentina sparked something in me that I haven't been able to shake. It awakened a desire to travel, a desire to learn, a desire to explore. I've gone many places since that vacation to BA, and I look forward to the day that I go back there for a visit.
Music
When I was going to college in North Carolina, I had it in my head that I would be a lawyer. I took all sorts of Political Science courses and immersed myself in anything and everything legal. I failed miserably in those courses. It wasn't until I started working in a retail chain called Sam Goody some years later that I realized I was following a dream that wasn't mine. I loved music and felt like by any means necessary i'd make a living in that field even if it meant selling cd's in the store for the rest of my life. Once I transferred my college courses to a school back on Long Island, I secured an internship at Billboard Magazine. I just knew I was on my way. After a year I started to pay more attention to the industry and ultimately got a job at Sony BMG. But, it was Sam Goody and Billboard that solidified my love for music that stands today.
Reading
I love to read! Been reading since I can remember. My favorite authors as a child/young adult were Judy Blume, VC Andrews and Lawrence Sanders. As I began to mature, I started reading the works of Langston Hughes who is my all time favorite. Reading opened my spirit up in ways nothing else could, not even music. When I read, I escaped. I was always transported to worlds that often seemed worse off than the one I felt mine was. I loved it. Reading was the catalyst for doing what gives me not only joy, but complete satisfaction...writing!
When I was going to college in North Carolina, I had it in my head that I would be a lawyer. I took all sorts of Political Science courses and immersed myself in anything and everything legal. I failed miserably in those courses. It wasn't until I started working in a retail chain called Sam Goody some years later that I realized I was following a dream that wasn't mine. I loved music and felt like by any means necessary i'd make a living in that field even if it meant selling cd's in the store for the rest of my life. Once I transferred my college courses to a school back on Long Island, I secured an internship at Billboard Magazine. I just knew I was on my way. After a year I started to pay more attention to the industry and ultimately got a job at Sony BMG. But, it was Sam Goody and Billboard that solidified my love for music that stands today.
Reading
I love to read! Been reading since I can remember. My favorite authors as a child/young adult were Judy Blume, VC Andrews and Lawrence Sanders. As I began to mature, I started reading the works of Langston Hughes who is my all time favorite. Reading opened my spirit up in ways nothing else could, not even music. When I read, I escaped. I was always transported to worlds that often seemed worse off than the one I felt mine was. I loved it. Reading was the catalyst for doing what gives me not only joy, but complete satisfaction...writing!