Lifestyle

15 Confessions

It’s time for another 15 confessions!

  1. I’d rather write a blog post every day for the rest of my life than write a book. But I’m writing one anyway.
  2. I miss being a full-time journalist. Sometimes.
  3. I will cry actual tears if The Bold Type isn’t renewed for a second season.
  4. My husband is a music blogger and hip-hop snob, but when he’s not home I blast ratchet and ridiculous rap by artists I pretend I don’t know exist.
  5. I sing so hard in the car I often give myself a headache.
  6. When Shameless Maya hit 1 million subscribers I celebrated as if I had won a Pulitzer.
  7. I want to revive WriteousBabe.com, but I have no idea what I’d blog about there.
  8. Sometimes I miss the days of blogging just for fun. 
  9. I want to sign up for Neighborhood Barre classes not to improve my flexibility or overall health but only because I want to lift my booty.
  10. I am prepared to give Rihanna and Fenty Beauty all my money.
  11. Even though I use social media to promote my work and believe most writers, bloggers and entrepreneurs should I low key hate social media and hope to take a break from it soon.
  12. I often feel as if I’m too old to go after my dreams even though I’m not even 40 yet.
  13. Though many of my friends see me as a good Christian girl because I pray and read the Bible daily and even post uplifting scripture on social media I haven’t regularly attended church in two years.
  14. Because of my busy schedule, I am a terrible daughter, sister, and friend.
  15. I have no idea what I want to be when I grow up.

What do you have to confess?

What Losing 20 Pounds Taught Me About Writing

I had no idea I’d lost 20 pounds.

My pants were easier to button, my dresses easier to zip. But since I usually only step on a scale when a medical professional forces me to do so, I had no idea I’d lost 20 pounds.

Then I went to a wellness screening mandated by my health insurance provider, stepped on the scale, looked down and saw a number 20 pounds less than the number I saw the last time I’d weighed myself.

“Your scale is broken,” I declared to the nice nurse practitioner filling out my paperwork. She just laughed and assured me it was not. I didn’t believe her. When I got home I weighed myself again and those 20 pounds were still nowhere to be found. “Maybe my scale is broken, too,” I thought.

Last week my fellow teachers and I returned to work after a two and a half month summer break and that’s when I realized those scales must have been right.

“Oh my gosh! Javacia, you look great!” one co-worker exclaimed. “Wow! You got so skinny!” said another. “Girl, what did you do?” a colleague asked.

Good question. What did I do? And how can I use the same principles I used to lose weight to help me with my writing and blogging goals?

I’ve realized that there are four things that helped me lose weight: mindset, movement, motivation, and momentum.

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Let Her Sleep

Monday afternoon after a long day at work and after visiting my mom, I came home, put on my pajamas and got in bed at 5 p.m. I stayed there for three hours eating Golden Flake Sweet Heat potato chips and watching television. My husband thought I was dying. Seriously.

I’m the woman who comes home from work only to launch into at least three additional hours of work and one hour of exercise.

And the Monday to-do list in my Day Designer* was full. But I just didn’t care. My body told me to get in bed and so I listened.

And I’m glad I did.

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