Tag: #lifestyleblog

New Black Girl Magic

I must admit, I have never really been a fan of tennis, but recently my bae sat down and explained the game to me and now that I understand how things work and now that I can follow the game I actually enjoy watching it.  Another thing that has me checking tournament schedules and sitting in front of the TV is all of the #BlackGirlMagic I see on the screen.  So now we don’t only have to watch Venus and Serena we have so many more talented tennis players to watch.

Venus and Serena are not the only two faces we see in tennis that look like us.  I love watching the Williams sisters play, their strength, power and control are bar none.  They show with each and every match they play that their star status was not given to them that it was earned.  And while they are aging out in tennis years, they have blazed a trail that is being followed by a new batch of strong, dedicated and winning African American girls and girls of color.  Not only are these talented young ladies following this trail they are paying homage to the two sisters from Compton, California that made more girls like me take a notice to the game of tennis.

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So if you are not a tennis fan, I encourage you to get to know the game or if nothing else watch these rising stars as they take their place among the tennis elite.

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Sloane Stephens                                                                                                                           Sloane just won the Miami Open a few days ago and she is definitely one to watch.  A native of Plantation, Florida this young woman is a tennis star on the rise.  Sloane also won the US open last year (2017) and has at least 6 singles titles under her belt.  Her athleticism and power during her matches make her great to watch.  She is definitely going places and will be winning more titles in her career.

Sachia Vickery                                                                                                                           Another Florida native, Sachia Vickery is just as enjoyable to watch as the Williams sisters and Sloane Stephens.  Vickery admits that Serena Williams is one of her idols as well as tennis great Martina Hingis.  My first time watching Sachia was during the Indian Wells Tennis tournament and she was powerful as she took out the third seed to advance.  She did not win the tournament however she did give an amazing performance.

Naomi Osaka                                                                                                                                 Osaka, born in Japan won the Women’s Division of the Indian Wells tournament.  Osaka the daughter of a Haitian father and Japanese mother was a silent threat.  You can tell by her demeanor that she is shy, but she is not shy on the tennis court.  She was able to advance through each round, even taking out Sachia Vickery at the Indian Wells BNP Paribas tournament to win the title.  The 20 year old was able to walk away with the largest amount of prize money in her career.  There is so much more to be seen from this talented powerhouse.

Madison Keys                                                                                                                         Rounding out this list of #BlackGirlMagic tennis players to watch is Madison Keys.  Madison is from Illinois (yaaa for a homestate representative) and she is just as dynamic on the tennis court as Sloane, Sachia and Naomi.  Madison’s tennis idol is Roger Federer and he is definitely a great person to admire.  Madison is coached by former tennis great Lindsay Davenport and is ranked in the top 10 of players in the Women’s Tennis Association.  I haven’t yet seen her play but I am looking forward to it.

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The best thing about each of these young women is that there are at the beginning of their tennis careers and they have a long was to go.  I look forward to many more years of watching them play and watching them keep the mantel that Venus and Serena created.  The strength, power and professionalism of these young women make them great already with only greater things ahead of them.  Look out WTA, #BlackGirlMagic on the rise.

 

Be Blessed! Be Fabulous!

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BlogHer17

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So if you are a blogger and you do not know about the BlogHer conference I don’t know where you have been.  This year was my first time attending the annual BlogHer conference, though I have attended BlogHer Food the past two years.  While BlogHer and SheKnows Media are responsible for both conference as a first time attendee to the annual conference I was not disappointed.

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Obviously, since I attended BlogHer Food on two separate occasions, I enjoyed the conference.  While I am not a food blogger, the information shared at BlogHer Food was invaluable and it allowed me to learn a great deal more about the craft of blogging in a smaller setting than the annual conference.  As a newbie to the annual conference I was amazed that the workshops for the annual conference were at standing room capacity!  Not only were the worship sessions at capacity, there were an overwhelming number of people in attendance at the general sessions, which people often skip at some conferences.

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Maybe it was the speakers that drew people in, when you have Carla Hall, Cato Cora, Tai Beauchamp, Chelsea Clinton and the incomparable Serena Williams on stage, you are most certainly compelled to hear what they have to say.  When you have bi-partisan political discussions with Joi Reid and Ana Navarro, and humorous and engaging dialogue with Luvvie Ajayi, you most definitely want a seat in the room, or as Solange puts it “A Seat at the Table”.   And we were most certainly in the room and at the table.

There was so much information shared during this weekend it was almost mind-blowing and overwhelming.  I am an avid not taker so being prepared with paper and pen was a definite must.  Also knowing people in the other sessions who were live tweeting or taking notes was a tremendous help with being able to get all of the information that was available during the conference.  So having friends or networking is the greatest tool you can take into this weekend.  There are also tons of groups on social media where you can connect with other bloggers and within this group there was a person willing to share all of their notes and it was a God send.

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If you are looking for tips, tools or techniques to take your blog and/or business to the next level, this is definitely the conference for you.  If you did not attend the sessions and simply networked with others in attendance, the conference would be worth the investment.  The ability to attend the sponsored events that take place throughout the conference are also definitely worth the investment.  This is a great conference for those in the blogging world no matter where you find yourself along your blogging journey.

For those who have been on the fence about attending this conference, I would highly recommend it.  It is most definitely worth the investment.  For those who have been before, I hope to see you at the next one.

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