Baby Blue: A Guide to Wellness for Po' Folk

Baby Blue: Veggies are toooooo GOOD!

Sun, 24 Sep 2023 04:00:44 GMT

Have you ever been invited to a vegetarian barbecue? If not, I suggest being open to the possibility. It might just surprise you! Brain Williams was the first person to extend that invitation to me, and the food was FIRE!!! In this episode, I chatted with Brian about being a vegetarian, gathering food, and building community with food.

Baby Blue: Motherhood

Sun, 27 Aug 2023 04:00:45 GMT

Here's some quick wisdom from a mom who's always ready to go! In this episode, I chat with Ms. Sand, my mom, about motherhood and aging.

Intellectual Wellness: Intention in Creation

Sun, 16 Jul 2023 05:10:09 GMT

You know what? You can do it simply because it brings you joy. You don't need a deep passion or purpose to express whatever you've been thinking of creating. If you've been waiting for a sign, here it is! If you've been looking for permission, you got it! If you've thinking about your intentions for creating, this episode is just for you.

Social Wellness: Solitude

Sun, 02 Jul 2023 17:56:19 GMT

Is your time alone really just that, or is it more meaningful?Alone time is where you rest but also where some deep thinking about life happens. Since the start of 2023, I felt this longing to travel in my own moments of solitude, so I jumped on a plane to Peru! Tune in to hear how solitude led to me to act!

Season 2 Intro

Mon, 26 Jun 2023 20:27:45 GMT

It's been a minute, but a good one. There's a well of wisdom to keep drawing from on my path to wellness, and I want to keep learning from folks. I hope y'all will latch on during Season 2, so we can grow together!

Offseason: Breast Cancer Awareness

Sun, 30 Oct 2022 05:00:47 GMT

October's closing out, but it's always time to raise awareness about women's health and wellness. In this episode, breast cancer survivor and my cousin Vanessa Meeks (a.k.a. Nitty Boo as we call her in the family) shares how she builds wellness in her life and why awareness matters.

To support awareness, education is available through the National Cancer Institute (https://www.cancer.gov/types/breast), and donations can be made to organizations, such as Breast Cancer Research Foundation (https://www.bcrf.org/) or African American Breast Cancer Alliance (https://aabcainc.org/).

Offseason: World Peace Day

Wed, 21 Sep 2022 05:46:12 GMT

It's World Peace Day! It's time to learn from people who are different from us but also can have more in common than we think. To celebrate, I talked with Bangladesh native Hasin Sadik Karim and Nigerian Kenny Alawode about how their countries understand wellness.

Emotional Wellness: Naming Emotions & Awareness

Sun, 31 Jul 2022 10:54:59 GMT

Once you're aware of what's happening in your body, confusion can come when you don't know how to name it, especially with emotions. For the last episode of the season, I talk with Sarah Rather, M. Ed., NCC, about putting vocabulary to emotions and awareness by using resources like Brené Brown's Atlas of the Heart.

Emotional Wellness: Emotional Regulation

Sun, 24 Jul 2022 05:00:19 GMT

"My knee is aching! A storm is coming." That was what some folks in the South use to say, and it was superstition. But, it also showed that they understood that the body was an indicator. Our body does the same thing when it comes to our emotions. Happiness, stress, or anger are felt physically, yet it can go further than that. In this episode, I talk about how the interconnectedness between the body, mind, and soul apply to emotional regulation, and I share self-led practices to help learn how to process emotions.

Emotional Wellness

Sun, 10 Jul 2022 05:00:18 GMT

The typical emotion is suppose to last about 90 seconds. But, there can be that one environment, person, or situation that can bring emotions back to the surface, whether it's happiness or anger. For wellness, the goal is not to suppress any emotion or label any negative, but to build awareness. Awareness will determine whether you respond or react. In this episode, I share a stepping stone in my own journey to build emotional regulation and awareness.

Social Wellness: Relationships That Are Anything But Platonic

Sun, 26 Jun 2022 05:00:18 GMT

Happy Pride Month! I wanted to highlight LGBTQ+ love this month while covering social wellness, and romantic relationships are some of the most meaningful connections people can have. In this episode, I talked with Texas-based couple and my friends Philliecia Mack and Jimmieria Chillis about their experience and their truth as a LGBTQ+ couple in the South.

Social Wellness: Friendship

Sun, 19 Jun 2022 05:00:18 GMT

Happy Juneteenth! In this episode, my good friends Antryll Campbell and Alexis Austin talked about friendship. Friendship is central to your well-being in the fact that it helps form who you are and who you desire to become.

Social Wellness

Sun, 05 Jun 2022 05:00:18 GMT

Happy Pride Month! For this month, I want to look at relationships. Family relationships. Friendships. And the ones that are anything but platonic.

Spiritual Wellness: Exploring African Spirituality

Sun, 29 May 2022 05:00:17 GMT

Wanting to know your roots is a part of wanting to know yourself. In your roots, you find the language, culture, and traditions that have shaped the identity of your ancestors. In this episode, I learn about African spirituality from organizer and healing practitioner Wakumi Douglas.

Spiritual Wellness: Understandings of Christ and Christianity

Sun, 15 May 2022 05:27:46 GMT

The name of Jesus was given to me as a child by my family, and the name was given to them through the generations before them and the chURch, emphasis on the UR-ch. However, my family and I carried different opinions on understanding what Jesus required and what tradition required. So did the Methodists, Baptists, the Jehovah Witness, United in Christ, Mormons, and every other denomination I've come across. This reality caused a mixture of confusion in my pursuit to look for what each denomination called "The Way". My solution to that confusion was and remains that no one really knows "The Way". However, the teachings of Yeshua (the Hebrew name for Jesus) have guided me through my life, and I want to continue to learn from others who have been guided by Yeshua's teachings. In this episode, I talked with pastor, husband, father, and wannabe comedian Brad Corban about spiritual wellness, Christ, and Christianity.

Financial Wellness: Self-Investment and Business Ownership

Sun, 01 May 2022 05:00:18 GMT

Regardless of how many times you hear it, the importance of self-investment cannot be downplayed when it comes to financial wellness. Business owner and photographer Hadonica Murphy shares how self investment served her business and growth. She went from being a full-time nurse working 12 hour shifts to owning her own photography studio in the heart of the Mississippi Delta.

Financial Wellness: Debt and Investing

Sun, 24 Apr 2022 05:00:17 GMT

If you're swamped in debt or wondering how to start investing, I wouldn't know what to tell. I'd suggest you talk to the person I go to whenever I want to learn something about money. Not my banker. Or Youtube University. I'd tell you to ask my guru Godmother Rosie for some suggestions. In this episode, I talked with my Godmother Rosie about her lifelong journey of learning about money, debt, and investing.

Reflection

Sun, 17 Apr 2022 05:00:19 GMT

On this journey toward wellness, I realized it's been four months already into Baby Blue, and I wanted to take an episode to reflect on the areas of wellness covered so far.

Financial Wellness: Budgeting

Sun, 10 Apr 2022 05:00:17 GMT

Regardless of whether you're in Mississippi or Las Vegas, you may have to learn how to strength a dime or live below your means. In this episode, I talk with Mississippi natives about budgeting in the state and their present cities.

Financial Wellness: Emergency Fund

Sun, 03 Apr 2022 05:00:17 GMT

"Toot, I done told you not to be completely broke!" was my mom's first lesson about money to me. Save. Save. Save. Among the other stresses of life, money emergencies will come. An emergency fund can offer you a sense of security.

Environmental Wellness: Community

Sun, 20 Mar 2022 05:00:19 GMT

If you've got your personal environments taken care of, the next step may be looking at how you can make your community a better place.

Environmental Wellness: Personal Spaces

Sun, 13 Mar 2022 06:00:17 GMT

What do you like your personal spaces to look like? How does it affect your mood? Do the rooms you spend most of your time in feel like home?

One of the first steps to growing environmental wellness in your life is looking at your personal spaces and asking yourself those questions. My good friend, Student Support Coach, and Alpha Kappa Alpha member Alexis Austin shares how personal spaces have an impact in her life and how others can make their environments more homely.

Environmental Wellness

Sun, 06 Mar 2022 09:58:49 GMT

Environmental wellness is a combination of awareness and habits that help support our personal spaces, communities, and the nature world.

Intellectual Wellness: Creativity

Sun, 27 Feb 2022 06:00:17 GMT

How do you share and express your thinking with the world?

I explored this question with one of my favorite people from my hometown Kilmichael, MS. Artist Talmieka Brice shares her knowledge on creativity plays a role in intellectual wellness.

Intellectual Wellness: Critical Thinking

Sun, 20 Feb 2022 06:00:16 GMT

Between life and being busy, you may not have the time to stop and ask why things are the way they are.

Intellectual Wellness: Openness

Sun, 13 Feb 2022 10:39:34 GMT

Being open is easier said than done, but not impossible. What are things that you've been interested in learning? And what may be some things that you're hestiant to learn about?

Intellectual Wellness

Sun, 06 Feb 2022 05:52:09 GMT

Experience is intellect. Intellectual wellness was never just about reading books. My experience and understanding how it influences my understanding of the world is far more important than any book I can ever read.

Trust your knowledge. Be open. Think critically. Express your knowing creatively.

Physical Wellnes: Activity

Sun, 30 Jan 2022 06:00:19 GMT

"That woman has abs. Let me go talk to her."

Those words led me to meeting my first trainer, Diana Okech (aka Dee). She was a fellow student at Delta State University, and she helped me get to where I am today physically. In this episode, Dee and I talk about physical wellness and getting started on working out.

Physical Wellness: The Diet

Sun, 23 Jan 2022 06:00:20 GMT

I define physical wellness as two things: the diet & activity. When I say diet, I'm not talking about meal prepping or being a vegeterian. I'm referring to the relationship a person has with food. In this episode, I share a bit of history around my relationship with food and why it had to change.

Introduction: Striving for Wellness

Thu, 13 Jan 2022 18:29:10 GMT

This episode is an introduction to the podcast and what to look forward to.

Baby Blue: World Peace Day

Wed, 21 Sep 2022 05:37:30 GMT

It's World Peace Day! It's time to show love and learn from folks outside of our cultures. Although, I hope people try to do that everyday. To celebrate, I talked with Bangladesh native Hasan Sadik Karim and Nigerian native Kenny Alawode about how wellness is understood in their countries.

Environmental Wellness: Mother Earth

Sun, 27 Mar 2022 05:00:18 GMT

The biggest environment we all share as humans is Mother Earth, Gaia, or the planet. How do you even go about developing habits that support the Earth?