~Notes From Nessa~

  "To Engage In Downright Plagiarism is Disappointing. It's Cynical, Opportunistic, and Hypocritical"  -Saul Bass                                                                 Credit: Rad Ryan Edits Imagine working on something you are truly passionate about. You spend so much time, energy, and money creating it. Finally, you finish it and decide to share it with the world! Then, someone takes what you've made for their own personal gain and doesn't give you credit! Others who see it have no idea that product is yours. All that effort and pride you put into it is not acknowledged. Wouldn't that hurt your feelings and make you feel taken advantage of?  Wouldn't you be pissed off?! I know without a doubt I would be. It's rude and inconsiderate, and it's plagiarism. This is why pla...

  "You Can't Force Someone To Respect You, But You Can Refuse To Be Disrespected" You want to know what happened right?! You're assuming I fought the customer or something crazy!? My pictures and title intrigued you didn't it? Well... I didn't fight the customer at all. I grabbed my manager to handle the situation and walked away calmly. Not what you were expecting was it? That's because you were misinformed and mislead. I did get cussed out by a customer, that part was true. However, I used those pictures and the second part of my title to draw you in and make you believe I beat the customer's a**! (Trust me, I really wanted to...but your girl has to keep her job!) Misinformation and disinformation are prominent everywhere we look and many times we don't recognize it! How many times have you seen a news article on Facebook that once you clicked on it, the content had NOTHING to do with the title?! Or, you're on Youtube and come across thumbnai...

  "Dipped in Chocolate, Bronzed in Elegance, Enameled With Grace, Toasted With Beauty, My Lord, She's a Black Woman."  -Dr. Yosef Ben-Jochannan It's a beautiful day to be a Black woman! Happy Black History month y'all. A month of celebrating the beauty, resilience, power, and magic of being Black. It's a month of reinforcing pride in Black people. We matter and we are powerful, despite the hate, racism, and brutality we've experienced in our White hegemonic society. Black women throughout history have been compared to the (White) standard of beauty. We've been told our lips and noses are too big, our hair is too nappy, our skin is too dark. All of the things that make us truly magical, are conceived unattractive.  I want to discuss the photo above. Janet Collins was the first Black woman to become a ballerina at The Metropolitan Opera in the 1950s. She faced racism along the way of course; a ballet company she auditioned for stated the only way they...

  "Information is Only as Reliable as The People Who Are Receiving It." ~ Julia Koller How many times have you seen something posted on Facebook or Instagram that you automatically believed, only to find out later it was false information? I have countless times! Social media is full of misinformation and fake stories. Tabloid magazines pride themselves on uncovering the "secrets" and inside scoops of celebrities that aren't even true! These fallacies generate views and profit so the media prints them without question. We automatically assume it's true just because the media said so.  Carl Bernstein, an investigative journalist, once said,  "The lowest form of popular culture - lack of information, misinformation, disinformation, and a contempt for the truth or the reality of most people's lives - has overrun real journalism. Today, ordinary Americans are being stuffed with garbage".  After practicing critical reading with the "reading wit...

  "Good Food is The Foundation of Genuine Happiness" ~Auguste Escoffier "How do you stay so small when you eat SO much?!"   While I'm not exactly sure how I stay my size when I eat enough for two grown men (& I'm allergic to exercising LOL), one thing I do know is I LOVE FOOD! I'm such a foodie and I have no shame in it. I particularly love to visit restaurants unique to where I travel. I have a whole process for finding good eats. Since I usually crave pasta, first I may search "best Italian restaurants in (whatever city I'm visiting)" on Google. Next, I scroll through the options until one stands out to me. They could stand out because of their unique name or different food highlights. I'll check out the reviews on both Google and Yelp (this takes a while going back and forth), the description, and pictures. Then, I click on the restaurant's website to view their menu. If I'm not feeling it, I'll circle back to Google ...

    "Don't Let Anyone Steal Your Joy" ~Momma Taylor Hey ya'll! My name is Vanessa but everyone calls me Nessa. I am 23 years old and currently a senior at Ball State. My major is Criminal Justice with a minor in African American Studies. One fact about me is that I love cats! They are the elite animal, honestly. I have two cats named Rajah and JC, both of which I adopted. I also enjoy anything crime related (obviously, I'm majoring in it!). I spend most of my free time watching Criminal Minds or listening to podcasts. Another thing to note: I am a proud Black woman who loves her culture in every aspect. Growing up, Black people were unfortunately not (and still aren't) educated enough regarding our history and culture. We learned what we know from family, friends, and our own lived experiences. The option to minor in A.A.S gives Black people the chance to gain more knowledge and sense of self, and I love that. I chose blogging as a journaling method because it...