Natural Hair vs. that Creamy Crack

Many young women today, who have for years used relaxers to straighten their hair are now suddenly making the quite challenging move to go all natural: No more chemicals. No more creamy crack!

For years, some girls have been conditioned to believe that their hair is prettier when it is relaxed and unfortunately that natural, "kinky" hair is not attractive. This impression has been imprinted upon many minds and gathered from all sorts of media. However, with all this positive movement for going au naturale, I believe that it is important to make some misconceptions absolutely clear.

1. First and foremost, (as I have seen in certain blogs and comment boards) the reason that some young women may have relaxers is not only because they have given into "European Conformity and idea of beauty", but some women actually feel as if their hair is more manageable with a relaxer.

2. Many women have had relaxers since they were young girls and may not even remember or truly know what their real hair is like, much less know how to manage it. Point blank, just because a women gets a relaxer, weave...or etc..judging should not be in order. Everybody can choose what they wish.

Now, going natural is not a bad thing. In fact, its a goal for me that I hope to achieve this summer. This is not a swift and easy move. It is something that has to be achieved with patience (hopefully I can do it). There are many positives to going natural, the most important one being how healthy your hair can and will become with the absence of chemicals.

But that's enough about hair. Be happy and do whatever pleases the soul.

and for those of you who are taking that brave journey of transitioning from relaxed hair to natural, Good luck! Im hopping on the bandwagon, and Im going to need all the luck that I can get!

Peace & Hair

Lolita

Pet Peeves Part 1

Ugh, don't you hate when people stare? It has to be one of the most annoying things....among some other things....

Ask me why I cut my hair again....

I dare you....

Black women and their hair...Is there a rule in the bible that says it is strictly forbidden for a woman to cut her hair?

Hair is no more, no less than a style of the times. A fashion statement. You can cut it. You can grow it. You can stop using the creamy crack and go all natural with it if you want! (Im trying to go natural this summer. Lets see how that goes).

Hair is hair. Get funky with it. And dont give me a shocked or a sad face when you say "why did you cut your hair?!?" because unlike you, I am not afraid of a short, bold cut.

Peace. Love & Hair

And Today is a Beautiful Day

"Today, nobody cares
But tomorrow they will, they will
Today, nobody cares
But, oh, tomorrow they will, they will

They said my future was dark
You see me now?
Just look around
I’m beamin’

I get my energy from my inner G
I be in outer space, but I got inner peace
So tell my enemies that they can’t injure me
I know that irritates, you have my sympathies
Well, you should protest, yeah, you should picket me
I’m on a losing strike, I’m on a winning streak
I’m out in left field, I’m speaking mentally
But that’s a better places than where the benches be
I’m feelin’ really good, me and different beat
Me and my different drummer, he play the timpanis
See, that’s what got me here, you hearin’ me
Me on my black man in the future shit, call me Billy Dee
See, I’m just forward-looking, that’s how I really see
See, while you Valentimes, I’m thinking Christmas trees
And that’s how this would be, even at Mickey D’s
Semicolon, close parentheses

They said my future was dark
You see me now?
Just look around
I’m beamin’

They used to talk
When I wasn’t around
You see me now
I’m beamin’"-Lupe Fiasco

Peace sign UP.

xoxo,

Lolita

Saying "Thank You"

Two. Simple. Words.

yet....so hard for some people to say apparently. Especially at good ole' Hampton University.

Ive always been raised to be respectful to my elders and whomever did an act of kindness, being as nobody on this planet owes you anything.....

But anywho....

what irks the crap out of me is when you hold the door for a person, and they cannot find the decency to say "THANK YOU". Like, did you just forget those words? Have they been erased from your vocabulary?

Well yesterday was my last straw..which is exactly why a young woman had a door slam on her hip as she was trying to bring her stuff in.

Sorry.

I would just like to remind people in general, that it is ok to say "Please" and "thank you". It is never wrong to say those things. There is such a thing as common courtesy. Let us not get so wrapped up and involved in our own hype, that we think we are ever too good to say "Please" or "Thank you". Once again, remember, nobody owes u anything.

That is all,

Lolita

(P.S. I'm getting back on my blogging grind. Between midterms and crazy work...AND being removed from my laptop, Ive truly missed this)

A Salute to Love

So, as an ode to valentines day...I just thought I had to do this...You know, this stuff is just too cute..

Isn't it? Come on now...don't be a sour patch.

But, now, time to get a little serious....

Just remember, with Valentines day coming up, that the celebration of LOVE is something that should be celebrated year round and not just on one day. Get out and celebrate LOVE with friends and family if you can. Valentines Day is not the day to sit around and mope about how you currently may not have a significant other. Love exists in so many different ways. Therefore, be kind and express your Love to the people that help you through thick and thin.

Let a little LOVE in your heart folks

Peace and xoxo,

Lolita

Rachel Lloyd "GEMS"

Who is Rachel Lloyd? This particular outstanding woman is somebody who I have been meaning to talk about. Without a doubt, she deserves to be more than mentioned on my blog. How did I find out about her? Well, one night I was flipping through the channels when I saw a young, fifteen year old girl flash on the screen saying in a very melancholy way "working the streets was something I felt I had to do. I felt there was no way out." My heart immediately went out to that girl, and I was compelled to watch more.....

Rachel Lloyd

Girls Educational Mentoring Services (GEMS) is a program that was founded in 1999 by Rachel Lloyd. Rachel, who was once a teenager that was sexually exploited, recognized the urgent need for educational services that were dedicated to young women at risk of being sexually exploited or who were already being exploited. GEMS has now grown into one of the largest organizations that provides services to commercially sexually exploited and domestically trafficked youth in the United States. GEMS educates and supports young women from the ages of twelve to twenty-one that have been caught in this cruel and vicious phenomena that lurks on the abandoned street corners and places that America turns a blind side to. While watching the documentary, several places were shown where prostitution was abundant. These places were areas that I knew of. Hunts Point (an area in the Bronx), Queens and Brooklyn. I noticed that a lot of the inner city areas seemed to be highly affected by this. But let me make this clear: sexual exploitation and human trafficking happens all throughout the United States and can be closer to your home than you may think...

And to think...here I am singing this song that has been planted into my brain "Its hard out here for a pimp...." and watching movies like Hustle n' Flow that in some ways praises pimps and prostitution, and here you are hit with the harsh reality of it. No Hollywood, no props, no script. This is an actual situation that can be handled and solved if everybody simply can take the initiative to realize that it exists. Girls are to be loved, empowered and cherished...not sold for their bodies.

I encourage everyone to visit the website: http://www.gems-girls.org/ganfs/home.html

Please, Please, Please keep yourself aware of the issues surrounding you, no matter how privileged you are.

xoxo,

Lolita

Today.....

During a disscussion on probability, one of my teachers made two statements (both of which I thought were two very outrageous statements). The first which was "I'm pure African-American" and the second which was "Its ashame, before you know it theres gonna be a whole bunch of mixed babies runnin around at the rate were going."

*cough*

Being a Political Science major and being quite fond of history...there are two important things I have learned. The first of which is that there is NO such thing as any person on this earth being "pure" (since that is what this particular teacher wanted to call it). The second which is that all throughout history, mankind and the governments that we have elected have continuously tried to label and categorize people: "Black", "white", "hispanic", "Native American" and uh oh "Other"...etc. Is it right? Not in the least. For centuries people of all different backgrounds and races have mixed, mingled and produced the beauty of which is the human race. I would love to see a day in which we stop classifying people and can stop checking boxes on our standardized exams that label us as a color.

One day...one day, maybe there will be a box that all of us can check that will be simply marked:

BROTHER or SISTER

And perhaps this was just one of those random rants that go through my mind daily.

xoxo,

Lolita

U know that feeling?

when your heart is kind of fluttering? and for that moment in time....everything seems to be right in the world...and you just want to smile?

xoxo,

Lolita

"I like a long hair, thick, redbone"

Readers, fellow bloggers, boys, girls, ladies and gentlemen....there was an issue that has been brought to my attention. To be quite frank, I have never felt this certain topic was still a serious issue in this day and age until I went to an HBC (Historical Black Community College). Apparently, this issue still plagues many black minds, an issue that I would like to call "slave mentality". This issue I am referring to is the idea of beauty within the black race. Repeatedly, I have heard, and read on sites like twitter ignorance such as "light skin is the best", "dark butts", "darkies", "whats better? light skin or dark skin?". Further more, you have hip-hop lyrics that promote an idea of beauty among black females that requires "light skin and long hair." WTF?!?! This video I encourage you readers to watch, although it is quite comical brings to your attention the issue that happened with hip hop artist Yung Berg in which he said "I dont like dark butts" and even developed a test for females. Although this event that happened with this artist may be old and outdated, the overall topic still lingers. So here I bring to you, the lovely B. Scott....

Beauty knows no color pigmentation. Im in love with brown skin, chocolate brown, honey brown, caramel brown...anything sweet! Because without a doubt black skin is sweet and beautiful. I believe that it is about time (nope , way past that time) that we have a major wake-up call when it comes to our perception of beauty. In this world and in this time, no longer can the black community still be haunted by the codes that slavery had implanted in our ancestors. This is the time to come together and embrace every color out there.

In black history during the time of segregation, do any of you recall a certain experiement that was done in which the NAACP requested a social psychologist by the name of Kenneth Clark to travel to Clarendon County in South Carolina and perform something called the "doll experiment"? This certain experiment was evaluating the psychological effects of segregation that young black children were being forced to face. Mr. Clark provided two dolls to each black student in the class. One was white and the other was black. What Mr. Clark discovered is that the students considered the white doll prettier and smarter than the black doll, indicating the feeling of racial inferiority. When Mr. Clark asked them to pick the doll most like themselves, "Many of the children became emotionally upset when they had to identify the doll they had rejected." Mr. Clark concluded that "segregation caused black children to reject themselves and their color and accept whites as desirable."

Now you guys tell me, is there any difference from then and now?

xoxo,

Lolita

Belonging...

"I knew I belonged to the public and to the world, not because I was talented or even beautiful, but because I had never belonged to anything or anyone else."-Marilyn Monroe

Smile

Because it makes no sense not to.......

(by the way, I will be updating soon. maybe even tonight. I have alot on my mind)

Peace and xoxo,

Lolita

Have you ever....

Ever wondered what it would be like if the enslavement of Africans had never happened? Would the world, just based off of human nature still be the same? Would Africa be more united? Ever wondered why insecurities exist? Ever wondered why, when you look in some people's eyes, you see nothingness? Have you ever wondered what life would be like if we all never died? Do you really want to live forever? Ever wondered why people are so afraid of death? Ever wondered if society just created and emphasized on religion for fear of death (or the unknown)? Ever wondered if love was something fictitious? Have you ever prayed for someone other than yourself so strong, that you cried? Have you ever wondered why we have emotions? Ever payed attention to the birds in the sky? Or the trees when the wind was blowing? Ever wondered what the world would be like if the sun was always shining? Ever wondered what it would be like if there was always darkness? Ever wondered what life would be like if gravity didn't exist? Ever wondered why when you were in "love" it felt like gravity didn't exist? Have you ever felt so high on life? Ever felt like there was a deeper meaning to this thing called "life"? Ever felt like society constantly lied to you in every way and form?

Have you ever?

XOXO,

Lolita

What has happened to this generation?

Classes have been in session for awhile now at Hampton U. However, the vibe of my classes felt a bit different. A tad bit off. I found myself growing increasingly more annoyed with alot of the students in my classes. Specifically two of my classes. Let me just get on with this story....

I'm sitting in Humanities and the teacher announces that we are to pick our own groups for presenting chapters in the class. Immediately, two young men sitting next to me (for all purposes, lets name them "Boy A" and "Boy B" shall we?) began to complain making comments such as:

Boy A: "I cant work with you man! If I work with you we will fail. I'm not that smart man."
Boy B: "Man, I cant work with you either! I'm trying to pass! Nigga u dumb."
Boy A: "You dumb too!"
Suddenly, Boy A turns to me and says "AYE...u smart?"...

(Now, by this point I was thoroughly annoyed with the conversation these boys were having. Not only were they calling eachother stupid but they were calling themselves stupid! Like....what!?!?)

Me: "Are you serious with that question? As if I'm going to answer no. Too late, I have a partner already."
Boy A: "oooooh."

Now why is any of this significant? I pose this simple question: What ever happened to the determination and willpower that our forefathers once had?
Here were these two young, African American men that were not only complaining about the classwork, but also belittling themselves. It is almost as if todays generation has forgotten the extreme measures that were taken to even make it possible for them to recieve an education. Where is the drive? Where is the motivation? The willpower? Has today's generation lost it all?

xoxo,

Lolita

I Remember When....

Life all just seemed really simple and childhood dreams and fascinations all was right in the palm of my hand. Is it possible that I have lost my power to dream?

P.S. God, please let all my dreams and goals come true. I will not fail myself.
xoxo,
Lolita

Beauty in the City

There is nothing like the city. Point blank. Instead of spending July 4th at a backyard cookout, my girl Ashleigh and I decided to go sightseeing in the city (and of course shopping was involved). Our favorite spots? 34th street, Soho and Union Square. Thistime in the city was much needed and long overdue! I had not seen this chick since we packed up and left our HU dorms for the summer (even though she lives in the next borough from me). There is absolutely nothing like growing up in the city. Many people have this stereotypic idea that everybody from the city is rude, angry and pissed all the time. This idea could not be more incorrect. The city has and will forever have a special place in my heart. It is my inspiration. Whether it may be because of all the different mixtures of people, or the random and unique sightings...the city is my home. The city is my life. The city is my creativity. There is this non-stop electric vibe that the city seems to pulsate (especially on this particular day). Everywhere you turn there was something going on, from crowds gathering for discussions on one side to b-boys and breakdancers on the right. And even the rockin skater boys are in the mix. Black, white, spanish, french, persian, italian, arab, yellow purple...New York has the most eclectic mixture without a doubt. The city life is fab. For real<3

Among all the chaos, the laughter, the crying, the cheers, the yelling, the dancing, the music, the jeers, the flashing lights, the constant action, the crowds and the occassional cop car sirens...there is this silent beauty that exists in the nature of the city. It can be seen in the architecture, the plentiful and vibrant colors displayed across storefront windows, and even the different pigments of skin that roam the city streets. There is a natural beauty to this world that I value and i find illuminated in the city. This place of diversity, love pain, joy, and heartache has given me many lessons in life. Its hard for me to not have some kind of passion for it (and in no way or form is this crapping on any other area. I just love mines the most. sorry). So on July 4th, I stepped back and captured the many glimpses of life in the city, that inspired me and made me think about life in general. And now the adventures of this Kung Fu Chick named Ashleigh and yours truly....Lolita<3>

I told you New York wasn't full of pissed off people. Wherelse can you find people walking around with boards saying "free hugs"? And hey, I love hugs.
xoxo, Lolita <3>

Dear Mr. Pazant

Sorry my fellow readers and bloggers...although this is a little late, it is still incredibly important that I do this. I would like to wish a Happy Fathers day to every single father out there who understands what it means to be a FATHER, including the awesome single mothers who play both roles. However, I would like to give a special tribute to my father, Mr. Alvin B. Pazant: an educator in every field of life.

(In the picture above, my father top left and Uncle Edward, bottom right.) This man in more ways than one has been an inspirational figure in my life. I believe I get my drive and determination from him in many ways. He has impacted my life profoundly. He will always be that one man in my life that I know I will always be able to depend on. Now why else would i blog about my father? I consider this man to be a visionary in music. Its because of him that I grew up around old time funk music. It is because of him that I learned to play the clarinet. Both my father and uncle, passionate about music started a band called "The Pazant Brothers and The Beaufort Express." They came out with songs such as "Cold Sweat", "Superfunk", "Loose and Juicy", "Skunk Juice". You can check out their discography and musch on The Pazant Brothers, google them.

From conducting orchestras to simply educating me on the simple values of life, this man, Alvin Pazant could never be replaced.

Peace & Funk,
Lolita

FYI

Hello =] If by any chance there is something you would like for me to write about or for me to advertise, I'd be more than happy to do so, Just email me at naja.pazant@gmail.com

Peace and Collard Greens<3 style="color: rgb(255, 255, 0);">Lolita

Beautiful Body Art

When it comes to body art, specifically tattoos, its important that the specific body art you are getting means something to you. I personally have a fetish for body art and what can be created. It is just beautiful. I'm currently planning out a few things now. So, in my one last Gaga post for now, I finally get to see what exactly was the tattoo on her hip. It is too beautiful. The Lines and everything is perfect.

xoxo,

Lolita

Jada Marie Theus<3

After what seemed like an eternity of schooling at Hampton University, spring semester, I was able to see how much my niece has grown! I love this little girl soo much. Jada Marie Theus<3