2013 was an amazing year for my blog, Faith.Hope.Love. This is especially awesome for me since I didn’t do the majority of my writing until after my son was born in June. I guess he is my inspiration!

With that said, here is the best of the best in 2013:

Returning to the Hood – Growing up in Milwaukee in the 80s and 90s was rough. For the majority of my childhood, my family lived on 37th and Lisbon. Our house got shot up so many times I have lost count (by the grace of GOD we all survived). Hitting the floor became a custom that we were all too acquainted with. I learned to despise holidays like New Year’s, which in my neighborhood triggered more shooting. It was so bad that whenever my youth pastor would drop my sister and I at home after youth group on Wednesday nights, he wouldn’t wait for us to get into the house before he pulled off speeding. Read more >

Reflections After a Job Interview – (I wrote this post YEARS ago after a horrible interview, remains a favorite)  “So why is a person with a Master’s Degree such as yourself applying for an administrative assistant position?” Du Du Dun! I quickly recalibrate as I was not expecting to be asked this, or at least I hoped that I would not. I briefly ask myself whether or not I should give the right answer or the wrong answer. I opt for the wrong one. Read more >

Reflections on Purple Hibiscus: Religion Gone Awry – I finished reading Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie around 12am this morning. And I loved every piece of reading it. I was immediately lost in the plot and fell in love with this Kambali character – a 15 year old girl who is so much more than people often take her for. There is just so much that she does not say, so much that goes left unspoken as a result of living in fear of his father. I never knew that I could loathe someone so much. Read more >

Prayers for My Black Son – I can’t believe it’s already been three weeks since you came into this world and changed my life. You were ten days late, but right on time with a head full of curly black hair and big, beautiful brown eyes. I must admit, I loved you from the moment I laid eyes on you. Read more >

What Does Freedom Mean to You on Independence Day – It is odd and incredibly ironic that a nation that has fought so hard for its own freedom, does not easily offer freedom to its own citizens. In our nation, there are constituencies and communities that are so oppressed that they can barely recognize the principles of freedom that we fought so hard to attain. Read more >