January Favorites

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Hello beauties!

January is already over! Where has the time gone! It feels just like yesterday when I was ringing in the new year with my sister at her church! So much has happened in the world since New Years Day. With the presidential inauguration, executive orders, etc, the world has never been so separated. But hopefully as time goes on, we as a people who want to make the future more tolerable, we can put those differences aside and come to a common agreement. Enough of my own presidential speech, let's get started with my favorite things of January!

**(All products are not sponsored, and have been bought at my own expense and interest. All opinions are of my own.)**

• Music

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"Stranglehold" by Kevin Garrett

I know, I know, I'm a little bit obsessed with Kevin Garrett. How can you not be? In my last blog post, I talked about how I was so excited to hear what he would make in 2017.  Well he must have either read it, heard about it, because a week later he released "Stranglehold". This song is very different from the usual piano/acoustic feel of his music, but I love it! It still has a mellow feel that I feel he emulates in his music. It took me a while to get into this song, but I'm a fan. You should be one too!

"Little Bit of You" by Kevin Garrett

Yes Garrett is being featured twice in this favorites, "Little Bit of You" somehow reminds me of possible hustle song. I'm pretty sure you could make a hustle out of this song. I love it because I had a interview for a job and I listen to this song to calm my nerves. It's honestly something about his voice that makes me forget all about my worries. Once again, if you're looking for a new artist to listen to, *whispers* Kevin Garrett.

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"One Step At a Time" by Jordin Sparks

Do you ever have those days where you need to listen to throwback songs for some reason? For me it started off as me listening to old Chris Brown songs, then it shifted Jordin Sparks. But the more I listened to it, I could honestly relate the song to my life right now. In college sometimes you feel rushed. It seems that everywhere you turn, there is something that's due, you have a meeting to attend, or you feel like there isn't enough hours in the day to complete everything. This song helped me to remember take everything "One step at a time/there's no need to rush...it's gonna happen when it's/Suppose to happen and we/Find the reasons why/One step at a time". I listen to it when I feel like I'm sinking in school work or I'm having a bad day. It's such a classic song and I love it.

• Games

Disney Emoji Blitz

I downloaded this game out of just curiosity, and it's been such a thrill. It's a matching game like Bejeweled, but with Disney characters. What I love about it is that it places a keyboard in your settings. With each new emoji that you get, it unlocks series of character emojis. I have an example below. If you love Disney, emojis and games, I highly suggest this game!

(My own emoji!)

• Events

(Russell Harris, Principal of Jalen Rose Leadership Academy)

In honor of celebrating MLK day, CMU hosted a brunch open to everyone. I attended the brunch as a member of Christ Central Choir, who performed also. The brunch brought different parts of campus together. Whether it be hall councils, multicultural organizations, CMU faculty and staff, and so many other people. The speaker of the brunch was Russell Harris, principal of Jalen Rose Leadership Academy in Detroit, MI. My favorite quote from Harris was "Your struggle is real, your success is necessary, everything else is secondary." I'm slowly trying to implement this quote into my life. 

A couple of hours after the brunch, the march was held. We walked from the Bovee University Center, down by South campus, Towers, North campus, up Main St. all the way to downtown Mount Pleasant. Once we reached downtown, we heard spoken word, and a short speech from one of the original people who fought to have MLK Day off for CMU. This event was a great experience to be part of. It was really nice to see so many diverse people standing together, on one accord.

• Life

(Me, Sam, and Alli)

(Michala, Greg, Jobin, Ahsha, and Me)

Since coming to college, I've made so many new friends. Something that I found interesting was that I came CMU very introverted. I was very shy, really didn't know what I wanted to do in regards to being involved. But as time moved on, I've had the opportunity to meet so many wonderful people. During the hardest times of the school year, these people were there for me, even if they didn't know. Sometimes just seeing their presence/personality/energy/aurora, etc. helped me get through the day. Hanging out with them, helps lift my spirits. I'm so blessed and honored to have meet them and I pray that thy continue to be beacons of light within my life, or in the lives of others.

Well that's it for January! One month down, eleven more to go! Tell me some of your favorites that I should check out!

Until next time,

Raven