College Dropouts: Successful or Not?

So are you thinking about dropping out of college? Bill Gates of Microsoft and Steve Jobs of Apple were college dropouts. They were pretty successful. They changed the world without a college degree. Okay, if you are a White male, then being a college dropout may not hinder your success.

So your race is non-White or even just plain Black/African American? Wake up and smell the coffee!

Let me clarify. I am the professional Black woman that I am today because there were White people that God put in my life to give me an opportunity, and I delivered.

Let me also clarify that my parents brought my sisters and I up in a conservative, Christian home. For me, there was work, school, home, and church. That was about it. Church, home, school, and work. Education, advanced coursework, honors were driven into our brains. I was sent to college right after graduating from high school with Honors, but I really did not know what college was. It was advance high school???? So I started college, and it was just an interesting concept to me. Luckily, I had above average intelligence so with minimal studying - I passed my classes. Eventually, a chain of events happened to me - non-coursework related - but I decided to just work. So I became a college dropout. Hey! I can relate to taking a break from school. I needed to find some more inspiration. Well, one day, it came. I had gotten tired of being overworked and underpaid.

I had gotten tired of being turned down for corporate interviews because I only had a high school diploma. Then this White lady at a temporary agency told me that "I was only good enough for light secretarial work at that." What? me? My mom and dad always told me how smart that I was. I politely told this White woman "thank you for your time." I left out of that temporary agency very reserved with new inspiration. I knew at that point that I needed some paperwork(i.e. college degrees) behind my name if I was going to get anywhere in this world. So judging from the picture attached to this article, you can see that I finished my college degree and then some.

The interesting thing about college is you can earn your degree or you can cheat and still obtain your degree. I earned my degrees. I bought my first Mercedes Benz at age 25. I am very proud of my accomplishments. I will not name all of those here in this article, because I do not believe in flaunting my achievements until I need to.

You ask when do you need to flaunt your accomplishments? If you find yourself in the court of law or the justice system for some foolishness that you did not do, then you need to have a college degree and some corporate work history. You need to look like you "got some sense" on paper.

You also may need to flaunt your accomplishments in order to get a job promotion or to climb the corporate ladder.

If you think hard enough, there are probably other situations that may come up where you need to look like a "normal, law abiding, educated American."

Okay, so you want to be another Bill Gates and Steve Jobs? You need to be born with those gifts! If you have the capacity to change the world without a college education, then we need you assist in creating jobs for the rest of the Americans looking for work!

On a side note, any visible tattoos, neon colored hair, and excessive body piercing are going to negate all of your college degrees no matter how qualified you may be. So stay conservative and try to blend. College should teach you cultural balance and perseverance. Earning your degree gives you additional self-worth.

You do not have to be intelligent to have children. "Your equipment just has to work." Smile. Earning your college degree from a prestigious university like Harvard University carries a lot of weight with company recruiters.

If you want to help your community and be heard, then get some credentials behind your name and then speak.

PhenomenalhairCare: Sun Protection: Black wins over White

In this double sided poster, I discovered that all the colors in this poster image tried to fade to "white" except for the color "black." Of course, the "white" areas did not fade because they were already white.

According to nasa.gov, the sun gives off "white light" which is the presence of all colors. However, when it comes to paints and pigments, "black" is the presence of all colors. So black clothing should repel sunlight better than white clothing because sunlight and black clothing should have an opposing effect on each other.

When magnets with the same charge are placed near each other, they repel. Black clothing in the sunlight should deliver similar results as far repelling any damaging rays. However, the dark clothes will absorb heat.

Click here for PhenomenalhairCare: Sun Protection: Black wins over White: This was an accidental discovery, but quite profound. Please allow me to describe the scenario leading to the determination that the color...

DVD Review: Spanglish starring Adam Sandler

This movie was an awesome parenting movie! The gourmet "BLT" sandwich was inspiring too! There is even a bonus feature showing how to recreate the sandwich. But enough about food.

Why did I choose to highlight this movie? I was amazed that the two parents - one married and the other "not married" decided that being a role model for their children was more important than enjoying their own happiness.

Most parents these days, look out for themselves first. Precisely why we have so much molestation, assaults, and sexual abuse happening within society.

In the movie Spanglish, both parents wanted to maintain a stable home life for their children. The female lead did not want to break up Adam Sandler's marriage. What type of example would that be setting for her own daughter?

Adam Sandler had to make the same decision as well. Although, he realized that he was not entirely happy with his wife, she was the mother of the children for better and for worse.

I was just overjoyed that they overcame personal desires and hormones for the sake of their children. This movie represented maturity in parenthood. It showcased sacrifice in order to maintain family values.

I wished more parents could learn from this movie. Rent or buy "Spanglish" to pass along to a young parent.

What Women Want: Phlicia Rashad's words...

Click here What Women Want: Phlicia Rashad's words... for Words of Wisdom for the young and young at heart!

The Refined Way of Wearing a Scarf

Over the years, I have found that if I keep my neck warm, then I avoid catching a cold. So that is where scarves come in handy! Pictured are some scarves from the Lake Norman Currents Magazine, January 2012.

On the mannequin, I am demonstrating how to double fold the scarf around your neck, then pull the ends through the loop.

This is how the scarves are being held on the metal bar in the picture. The metal bar represents your neck. This refined method of tying the scarf gives your neck the best coverage against the winter weather!

Universal Healthcare: Is the USA too big?

One of my clients had to travel to London to study their healthcare system as a part of her graduate level study program. She felt that she paid more taxes on everything that she purchased while there. The extra taxes probably funded the cost of London's universal healthcare system.

Now, grab your world globe. Look at the size of the country of London. Look at the size of the country of France. These countries have universal healthcare coverage for their people; however, these countries are smaller than the United States of America. They service less people. They have less people to service compared to the United States of America.

Many countries are the size of one of our States in the United States of America (USA).

So the United States of America is the size of 50 countries or more. That is a lot of people.

Okay, I know that I sound a little redundant, but people really need to see the big picture: The United States of America would be first country of its size to make universal healthcare work if we can make it work.?

Now, don't misunderstand, I feel President Obama has the right "American spirit" with "ObamaCare", but the United States is already having problems affording its existing public/government assistance programs already in place. (i.e. the national debt)

I believe the US National debt is in part to the war costs (George W. Bush administration) and in part to raising costs in public assistance programs.

The way I see it is that the United States is overextended in "credit" and implementing universal healthcare in the United States is going to continue to overextend us.

In theory, I like the idea of universal healthcare within the United States, but can we afford it?

Balancing the Budget will end the America we know!

I recently interviewed a South African woman visiting America. Okay, she was a "walk-in" client at my hair salon, but the conversation that we had was so enlightening.

She described South Africa as not having Medicaid and Unemployment compensation. Government assistance was not available. Every man was for himself. Surviving day by day if you do not have a job.

What does that mean for those who "have something?" The freedom to walk down the street without getting mugged or killed gets taken away. You could lose your life over a cell phone, or the "sneakers" on your feet.

For some Americans living in the "hood" or "projects," they are constantly watching and anticipating being attacked. It is a way of life.

Luckily, there are areas of the city or state that you feel safer. You feel free. You can shop until 10 pm at night. You can walk your dog in the park. You can wear nice clothes without feeling like you become a target in the street.

Now, what if one day you woke up and there was no more government assistance to the poor, the sick, the helpless? Why? Because Congress needed to balance the budget.

You might wake up to rioting in the streets. Uncontrollable chaos.

London has had riots. I believe Australia has had rioting. If the government would have cheated Obama in the 2008 election like they cheated Al Gore in the 2004 election, I think that the USA would have had rioting in the streets.

If you have to choose between increasing the federal debt to continue assisting the "less fortunate" versus living in fear 24 hours of the day, which would you choose?

I think the politicians all know that taking away public assistance will be detrimental to America; so they are more focused on creating jobs.

The elders feel that the lower class must find a way to be become more self-sufficient. They must figure out how to hold their own weight.

In the meantime, companies must enforce fair employment practices and people must learn to live with less.

It does not make sense to me that $200 flat screen televisions were selling like "hotcakes" during Christmas and the neighbor next door was in the soup line trying to feed their family.

Everyone who bought a $200 flat screen television during Christmas that just wanted an upgrade to their existing working television really should be willing to give some needy family in the soup kitchen an equal donation.

Everyone is going to have to help turn this economy around. The wealthy 5% of the world can not provide for all 95% of the middle to lower class.

In closing, the South African woman described her "middle class subdivision" as a community surrounded by a 3 meter gate with barbed wire and security guards around the entrance to the community. She felt safe only within her community. She could not trust the police because there had been some corruption in its leadership. You have to travel in groups of six or more people with strong men in order to intimidate potential troublemakers. Stores close before dark to allow employees to get home safely. Visiting America was a vacation - she really helped me understand that the America that we know now with the trillion dollar national debt is the "home of the free." Enjoy it while you can.