25 Things You Didn’t Know About Me

I’m 37 years old. I know this number to be true mathematically but the BEING escapes me. I still feel 27, 17 even when it comes to my dating life. There are things I know for sure and things I’m still figuring out. I wonder if I will ever truly feel my age, should I even aspire to it? Maybe this is just what getting older is about, ruminating on who you are, where you’re going and where you’ve been. I embrace it though.

In an effort to be more transparent and let you guys in on who I am, as well as embracing the “where I’ve been” part of getting older, I thought my birthday would be the perfect opportunity to do a 25 things you didn’t know about me post. I want my readers to know that they can come to this space and get a fun easy recipe but they can also garner some wisdom and maybe a fun anecdote or two.

1. I believe some luxuries are necessities. My Starbucks Grande Blond Roast with steamed almond milk and 1 Splenda and my housekeeper are just 2 of them. My feeling is if it brings you true joy, it’s necessary.

2. From the time I was like 5 until I graduated high school I had an OBSESSION with Janet Jackson…no really! I had the earring with the key in it, I wore all black a la Rhythm Nation, my room was decorated from ceiling to floor with posters. I used to watch her videos and practice her dance moves and make my little cousin critique me on them. I feel the same way about Beyoncé today.

3. I’m addicted to anything pop culture! Show me a picture of anyone in entertainment and I can probably tell you their name, the movies they’ve been in the songs they’ve sung, how many kids they have, etc.

4. I’m never better than when I’m free to express how I feel. The man I will marry will need to give me the space I need to communicate my emotions on everything from how I feel about the latest Beyoncé song to cultural appropriation and the tragedy that is the public transportation system in Los Angeles.

5. I have a recurring nightmare that I’m the girl in the Thriller video and Michael Jackson is chasing me.

6. My brother and I are 20 years apart, and when my mom was pregnant with him, I went with her to the OBGYN to find out the sex of the baby and they said it was a boy I cried because I really wanted a little sister! Needless to say, I’m over it and I can’t even imagine what my life would be like with a little sister instead of a brother but I still feel guilty about my initial disappoint sometimes.

7. I honestly don’t want any children of my own. People can’t believe this when I tell them but honestly I have never had the desire. I’ve thought about it yes, but it fills me with anxiety and not the hope and excitement one should feel when contemplating the idea.

8. I once studied Scientology and had dinner with Tom Cruise.

9. I love to read, I love people who love to read, I give the side eye to anyone who says “reading is not my thing”. Reason being, it usually indicates how simple-minded the person relaying this is ultimately going to be. Sure I get not having enough time to read, or not finding anything you deem interesting enough to read. But not liking to read? The saying “if you want to keep someone stupid put it in a book” never rang truer.

10. I quote scenes from the movies Boomerang, Pretty Woman, and Friday ALL THE TIME and find that you can use a line from each movie in any situation for instance if someone says I’m gay!    “You’re not GAY my brothers GAY, him over there HE’S GAY!” or “We ain’t got no sugar”. “No sugar? Damn. Y’all ain’t never got two things that match. Either ya got Kool-Aid, no sugar. Peanut butter, no jelly. Ham, no burger. Daaamn.”

11. I’ve been on reality television.

12. I’m still friends with some of the same girls I was friends with in high school and the importance of good friendship’s has been one of the recurring themes in my life. I’m just NOT one of those girls who thinks other women are evil or who feels like guys are better friends than women. In fact, I make fun of those girls that think other girls are assholes when in fact they are usually the assholes.

13. My birthdays are always AWESOME and every year I try to outdo the year before.

14. I’ve been in a music video.

15. I asked Kobe Bryant to go to prom with me after a Laker game and he told me that it sounded like a lot of fun but that he might be in the playoffs at the time of my prom as he held my hand and looked seductively into my eyes! That last part may be a bit exaggerated depending upon who you ask.

16. I was bullied for most of my childhood. I believe it has made me a more compassionate person though, and while, when I was going through it, it was my own personal hell, I wouldn’t change it for the world.

17. I once had the opportunity to hang out with Jay Z and Beyoncé in an intimate setting but I was mad at a guy I was dating so I turned my phone off for the evening and when my friends called me to go hang with Bey and Jay I missed the call. It’s one of my only regrets in life. For this reason I NEVER turn my phone off.

18. At least 4! YES 4! People have told me that I act like/remind them of Tyra Banks! One of them being my own brother!

19. I’ve been cursing like a sailor since I was around 11 and I see nothing wrong with it as long as it’s a the right time and in the right setting!

20. I am happiest when I travel, I find myself in getting lost in experiencing things through the lens of another world.

21. Traveling to Africa was the best experience of my entire life. I distinctly remember checking out of my hotel and the bellboy asking me how I enjoyed my stay. When I replied “I feel so at home here”, he looked at me and said “well that’s because you are home”. I burst into tears right there!

22. I’m from Long Beach, my mom’s from Long Beach, my mom’s mom is from Long Beach, and My moms moms mom is from….YES LONG BEACH!

23. I have OCD when it comes to turning the dial on the radio in my car. I have to push every button in order of where the station is programmed on my radio with all stations in numerical order and I can’t skip a station. When I get to the last station I have to go back in reverse the exact same way before I can listen to a song on the radio station.

24. I believe that everyone’s experience shapes their belief system. In that vein, I am open to all beliefs, and am not tied to one universal truth. I believe in Jesus, Buddah, Allah, and Oprah.

25. I am a really good person.