2011 Reading List

In between reading books for my anthropology and African American studies class in 2011 I will squeeze in time, mainly on bus rides to and from campus, to read entertaining books. My 2011 book list is below. If I’m lucky I’ll finish half the list. Don’t judge me; when it comes to my anthro and AFA classes I’m up to my neck in books, articles, and chapters to read. However, if I don’t make the time for some light reading (or should I say ‘self proclaimed light reading’) I’ll blow my brains out. Check out my list… I’ll most likely be writing blog entries on them as I finish them.

1.  Wild Seed by Octavia Butler 

 My last Octavia Butler Book! Ok, I’m cheating with this one, because I’ve already started it, but I intend to finish it within the next few weeks. Once again the late Ms. Butler has stolen my heart with yet another promising book that tackles race, gender, religion, poverty, power, politics. 

2. Sistah Vegan by Breeze Harper

 This anthology discusses veganism from a racial standpoint while discussing "nutrition, food, ecological sustainability, health and healing, animal rights, parenting, social justice, spirituality, hair care, race, gender-identification, womanism, and liberation that all go against the (refined and bleached) grain of our dysfunctional society” according to www.amazon .com.  I'm excited!

3. The Vegetarian Myth by Lierre Keith 

4.  Archaeology of Violence by Pierre Clastres 

5. Finders Keepers by Craig Childs

6. The Naked Ape by Desmond Morris 

7. The White Man's Burden by William Easterly 

8. The Trouble With Diversity by Walter Benny Michaels

9. In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan 

10. Get the Sugar Out by Ann Louise Gittleman 

11. The Hunger Game by Suzanne Collins 

12. A Thousand Spendid Suns by Khaled Hosseni 

13. Little Bee by Chris Cleave 

14. The Help by Kathryn Stockett

15. Mama Miti:  Wangari Maathai and the Trees of Kenya by Donna Jo Napoli

The links are all to Amazon because my wallet loves them. If you're a student for a year you can get free shipping on their already cheaper than Barns and Noble books. Happy Reading!

Peace

So Let's Sweat!

I was surfing the web for different health statistics on Black women (yes because I’m a little nerdy) and sure enough the first ones that pop up were obesity and heart disease. According to www.womenshealth.gov and a number of other sites heart disease is the number one killer of Black women. Heart disease is almost always directly connected to diet and life style. One in every four Black women is obese and one in every four Black women over the age of 55 have type 2 diabetes. The stats are tragic and disheartening. The main solution that is always given to counter and prevent obesity, heart disease and diabetes is exercise. The main plague that seems to flow among Black women is an overall lack of activity. We’re not exercising.

I have to admit that before I embarked to holistically take charge and change my mind, body, and soul I was never exercising. My rational was very stereotypical.

1. I never made the time to take care of myself and set aside time to exercise.
2. I was receiving positive feedback about my body type from males.
3. I didn't want to mess up my hair that I spent 100+ dollars on at times to relax and straighten
4. Eating whole foods always seemed out my wallet’s range

Now, exercising has become more than just a 30 minute run and weight lifting; it is a physical and mental activity that affects not just the body but the spirit as well. However, I can’t help but notice the general lack of black women when I’m at the gym. There could be a number of reasons for this, the main ones that come to mind are the ridiculous prices of gym memberships these days and their strategic location away from minority areas. Lucky for me the gyms on campus are free to students; however that doesn't draw in many black female students.

Another thing I notice, because I love to surf the net for exercising blogs, was the lack of blogs written by black women on health. This isn’t to say that blogs written by women of other racial or ethnic backgrounds are of no help to Black women, but sometimes information is retained better when the face it’s coming from looks like yours and more importantly the blogs that have drawn me in tend to take a black feminist approach to health.

Some of my favorite blogs written by Black women are:

http://sistahvegan.wordpress.com/

http://thefitnessgoddess.blogspot.com/

http://byanygreensnecessary.com/blog/

http://www.nattral.com/

Dear 15 Year Old Ayana

I recently stumbled across a blog post where the author wrote a letter to herself five years ago. I love the idea of being reflexive and thought this would be the perfect spot to do so. The only problem is that at 15 I never really enjoyed reading so my letter to my 15 year old self will be in list form.

Dear 15 Year Old Ayana,

1. Don’t freak out on the first day of high school! Everyone gets lost and trust me you will end up lost on the first day of classes for the remainder of your academic career.

2. You love writing! Don’t be scared to really dive into newspaper. That classroom, teacher, and those students will become a home away from home.

3. Keep more positive people around you. The negative energy will try to clog your vision and your school work will suffer!

4. Stop covering your teeth when you smile, and stop wearing clothing to deliberately hide your body. You are beautiful with all your imperfections, embrace them.

5. Study harder in your math classes and try to retain as much information as possible because the GRE is no joke and I’d like a decent score.

6. The first guy you kiss will become a lifelong friend, so tread lightly because both of your futures are intertwined.

7. Eat healthier food! It’ll cleanse your mind, body and soul… trust me there is nothing natural about Burger King

8. Be happy and don’t sweat the small stuff, it’ll all work out in the end.

Peace!

Another New Year

With January 1^st  rapidly approaching I began thinking about what the last year has meant for me academically, emotionally, romantically, spiritually and physically. The last year has been busy and I must admit that I’m tired. I’ve always had a sankofa mentality when it came to life, so for me the best way to plan for next year would be to reflect on last year for all its highs and lows.

Academically:

I have definitely grown within my academic sphere. I’ve fallen in love with anthropology and archaeology to the point where it is difficult for me to see me doing anything else. Next year seems just as promising. In addition to my completion of my African American Studies minor, I’m crossing my fingers and hopefully by the summer I’ll be writing blog post from Tanzania (the thought of it excites me! I’ll keep you posted).

I’ll be graduating next year!!!! It is so scary to write, but I guess we all have to move on at some point right? So in less than 365 days I should be a graduate…that is if everything goes according to plan…and let’s face it, plans have a funny way of changing. Needless to say I’m excited to start my graduate school applications. All the schools I’m applying too are up north and have harsh winters that I’m not sure I can deal with… me and thermal underwear were never friends.

Emotionally/ Romantically:

I have always been a rather emotionally unstable person, I’m happy (or am I unhappy) to admit that that still hasn’t changed much. I can’t help but have my heart speak before mind does. Romantically, no big changes have occurred. I have come to the realization that I do like to be in intimate relationships, but thankfully not enough to put myself second in my life journey.

Spiritually:

I’m dedicating this coming year to being more in tune with my spiritual self. I’m excited and will keep you posted!

Physically:

I’ve dedicated the most this year to my physical self and being more in tune with myself by simply showing my body some love by taking care of it. In turn this has really positively affected me emotionally and spiritually. At first the changes that I wanted to make were purely for physical fitness but it soon became this holistic pursuit for balance in my life. Next year the pursuit will continue!

So what will be in store for next year? I have no idea… does anyone ever really know? Nope! I can just plan and be prepared with the knowledge of my past to face the changes that are ahead.

Peace