Conscious Capitalism: Buy a shoe, help a child

So today I saw an email from one of my line sisters... She enclosed a link to an interview by CNN Money with the founder and Chief shoe giver of TOM's shoes, Blake Mycoskie. She said it made her think of one of the blogposts that I did on TOM's shoes a month ago, check it out here.. Well below is the video, its only ~3 mins:



There is a lot I can say about this. First off, I love when I get feedback from people on my blogposts. It reminds me that people are actually reading my blog and semi-care about what I have to say. (That is one thing I want to thank my oldest sister for...she often comments on my posts when we talk on the phone.) It ALWAYS warms my heart. It is just weird, because I find it hard to believe that people actually read the randomness that I write/that flows out of my head. So feel free to leave me a comment on here, drop an email, or just check off the reaction thingy.. (Yes I do read/see every comment)

Secondly, the title of the video on CNN money was "Conscious Capitalism"...wow that is actually very powerful. How many people can say they are conscious consumers, let alone capitalists. Basically do you know where the goods come from that you buy? How they got there? Who manufactured them? Roughly how much they costs to make? Why they are marked up almost 500% before they are even sold to you in the store? Anyways...I think as consumers we are blind consumers...we should be more in control of what we buy and why.

It seems as though the media/fashion industry markets certain labels that will make us look and feel better about ourselves if we spend over a certain amount of money on a particular clothing item. Don't get me wrong, I like certain labels..but a lot of time things can get a little excessive especially if you can't afford it. Oh well...I got one of the first things off my list, I'll cross it off...woohoo.

1. Toms Shoes follow up
2. 1 year blogaversary (Recap)
3. First Year of Opt school (Looking Back)
4. Diversity/ Janelle Monae
5. St. Louis/Midwest

Until Next Time...

The Best Place to Start is from the Beginning

Hmm...where do I start? I have been home for about a week and a half now. I have wanted to write, but I think I've had a little writers block. I've seen a lot of articles/randonmness that I have wanted to post, but just haven't had the motivation to do it. So I figured if I just log into my blog and start writing it will all come back to me.

Well it sure does feel good to be home. The last 2-3 weeks of school was pure agony. I was tired of going to class, waking up early, studying and studying some more. And then finals just wiped out all of my energy I had. And then when I thought I had no more energy I had to pack and move in less than 24 hours.

These past couple of days I have just been chilling. Going to bed late, sleeping in late. All the good things in life. It has been nice catching up with friends and family. I have also been watching lots and lots of TV. Thanks to Comcast "OnDemand."  Gosh I have sooo many blog posts to write. Hopefully they will just start flowing..I'm going to make a minilist, because my memory has been failing me lately.

1. Toms Shoes follow up
2. 1 year blogaversary (Recap)
3. First Year of Opt school (Looking Back)
4. Diversity/ Janelle Monae
5. St. Louis/Midwest

Ok five is a good place to stop...we will see how much of those I get done. It's weird because one of the things I like is the flexibility. I have/used to have a bad habit, where I start things and then rarely finish them...I think the idea of starting a new project is exciting, but the actual follow through doesn't happen.. (eek) Yeah this update is pretty vague, but as the title suggests, "The Best Place to Start is from the Beginning"

Until Next Time...

Top 10 cities for New Grads

So immediately opening this article I was like hmm...i know that beautiful skyline...that I can't wait to see in 4 days. Anyways... Thanks again to CNN for another article.When I am a new grad again 3 years...I will definitely be moving back home. lol. Check out the whole article here! There is a lot of valuable info!


According to Apartments.com and CBcampus.com, the top 10 cities for new grads are:
1. Atlanta, Georgia
Average rent:* $723
Popular entry-level categories: sales, marketing, customer service
2. Phoenix, Arizona
Average rent: $669
Popular entry-level categories: sales, customer service, training
3. Denver, Colorado
Average rent: $779
Popular entry-level categories: sales, customer service, health care
4. Dallas, Texas
Average rent: $740
Popular entry-level categories: sales, customer service, health care
5. Boston, Massachusetts
Average rent: $1275
Popular entry-level categories: sales, marketing, training
6. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Average rent: $938
Popular entry-level categories: sales, marketing, health care
7. New York
Average rent: $1,366
Popular entry-level categories: sales, customer service, marketing
8. Cincinnati, Ohio
Average rent: $613
Popular entry-level categories: sales, customer service, management
9. Baltimore, Maryland
Average rent: $1,041
Popular entry-level categories: sales, customer service, management
10. Los Angeles, California
Average rent: $1319
Popular entry-level categories: sales, training, health care

Ok I am going to the library for real...before I mess around and fail a final..lol. Until Next Time...

Stressed? Study Says Calling Mom Helps

So I am currently taking an extended study break before I head to the library because the final I had this morning drained me. I decided to check out CNN and they had this interesting article about how calling your mom actually lowers your stress level and releases oxytocin,"the bonding hormone", (which I can go on and on about because I learned about it in A & P).... Anyways, just thought it was interesting. I generally call my mom a lot, lol..but since it is finals week, and I am stressed out of my mind. A whole lot of mom calling has been going on. lol. Well here is the link to the article...and some excerpts that I thought were particularly interesting...

It's a situation every mother has been through: Your child is stressed out or upset, but she's at school or summer camp--too far away for you to give her a hug.

That doesn't mean she can't be comforted, however. According to a new study, talking on the phone with Mom is nearly as good as getting a hug for helping stressed-out kids calm down.

At least for young girls, talking on the phone with their mothers reduces a key stress hormone and also releases oxytocin, a feel-good brain chemical that is believed to play a key role in forming bonds, the study found.

"Mothers know without being instructed how to soothe a child," Campbell says. "They know because they come from a long line of women whose genes remained in the gene pool because they kept their kids alive. The challenge is for scientists to illuminate how mothering works--and that's where oxytocin comes in."

Even though Pollak's study was conducted on young girls, the findings are relevant for older children and even adults, Dr. Strathearn says.

Oh and I love the fact that CNN decided to include a picture of a black female with a fro on the phone...lol. CUTE! Until Next Time...

That time of year....

So that time of the year has come around again...Finals! I already feel like I am going out of my mind and I have only taken 1 final (which I got an A on..woohoo), 4 more to go..
Tues- Ocular Optics
Wed- Anatomy and Physiology of Disease
Thurs- Physical Optics
Fri- Ocular Anatomy

Anyways...I was taking a quick study break to check out what time the library closes... I need to write a blogpost sometime about all the things I miss about Emory/took for granted. The first would be the 24 hour library. It is so baffling to me that the library is not 24 hours... In undergrad I did all my best work/studying between 11-3 am. lol. Now the library closes at 10/10:30pm, even during Finals time...ugh! So I'm beyond stressed, mostly because my grades are all borderline... A/B or B/C... so darn sad. Anyways... I just wanted to write a quick post, before I got caught up in everything (then again I am good at utilizing every hour of the day..FYI- Deltas make a 24 hour day, 25 hours..lol) ...Until Next Time...

Making Glasses for Haiti

So last week was just one of those weeks... it wasn't necessarily bad, but I wouldn't want to do it over again. Anyways yesterday turned out to be a good day after I volunteered with NOSA. So NOSA (National Optometric Students Association) is one of the organizations that I am a part of; actually I'll be President next year, which is kind of exciting.. (I'll make another blogpost sometime about NOSA, in the meantime check out the link) Anyways we volunteered with a local black optometrist in St. Louis and made glasses to send to Haiti.

So hmm...how do you make glasses? I didn't know until yesterday. Here is a rough outline, hope it isn't too confusing.

1. The lens were marked with the optical center (which was done with a lensometer) We had a lot of prescriptions lenses ranging from (-.50 to -6.00 D) that were all one large circular shape.

2. So we got trial lens frames, frames with lens without any prescription (that were donated from various optometrists)  and popped the lens out. This took some force, it took me a while at first with some coaching from the optometrists cause I was scared I was going to break the frames...lol.

2. Anyways once you pop the lens out. You put the frames in a machine that traces the shape of the glasses frame.

3. Set the interpupillary distance and mount the lens using the optical center marking that was done earlier. Then that machine sends the information it to the lens grinder. It literally cuts the lens with water and sand and this other stuff.

4.You pull the lens out, heat up the frame and then pop each prescription lens back into the original frame.

It was so crazy!! It was like man I just made some glasses. I know this might sound confusing, because at first it was, but once you got the hang of it, it was pretty easy. Between the five of us, we ended up having an pseudo-assembly line going... and ended up making about 20 glasses. we didn't finish all, but we had been there for a while.

Oh and the Doctor who had his own practice was pretty cool. He was an UMSL graduate and his practice was pretty afrocentric. I He had lots of black figurines, african print, an african drum, portraits of Malcom X, MLK, this Choices portrait that really stood out to me, it was a tiny bit cluttered but really different. like seeing people's practices so I can get more ideas for my own. I loved it!

After that we headed to the loop to get some "Mexican food" was pretty cool. It is nice volunteering and feeling like I am making a difference instead of studying for tests/exams all the time. Needless to say, this is one of those times that I am so happy that I am in optometry school. It helps me stay motivated and exciting about my career choice. In 2 weeks I will be 25% of an optometrist...lol. Just 3 more years..

Until Next Time...

What I'm Listening to...

Ok one last post before I go back to studying... So I created some new stations on Pandora and 3 of my fav people this week are as follows... (thanks to STL for playing the same 5 songs on the radio, forcing me to venture out musically)

1. Lina (Alternative/RnB/Soul)- My fav song is "I'm Not the Enemy." Here is a quick synopsis for Lina:

Singer /songwriter LINA boldly discards all artistic blueprints, with a musical fusion thriving on rich, jazz-era orchestration complemented by R&B. With a writing and singing background that spans the genres of soul, jazz, opera, hip hop, pop, and country, LINA is an original, bringing a fresh, arresting sound that is passionate, organic and timeless. In effect, a one woman Harlem Renaissance, reclaiming decades worth of musical heritage for a new generation.



2. Kate Earl (Soul/Pop/Lyrical)- My fav song from her are "Nobody" and "Melody." Here are the lyrics to "Melody":

No mat­ter what has ever come to me, I got my own brand of company, I got da da da inside my head
And I play songs back to back until I got to bed, Wake up by myself inside an empty room, Theres no body next to mine to oooh, But my skin is warm and my heart is full, Its the do do do do do do, Walk­ing wak­ing on a crowded street, With my head­phones loud, So my hips can swing, so my head can nod, To the rock and roll to the boom boom beat, and I find that I’m never alone, and I find that my heart is my home, and the music within makes me whole, A world that I built on my own, and I know that I’m never alone, and I know that my heart is my home, Every miss­ing piece of me, I can find in a melody, Theres a river in my mind thats never still, Swirling , sooth­ing all the time gives me a thrill, Swim­ming in the notes that go Oh oh oh oh, Wan­der­ing, wak­ing in an empty wood, It is quiet here, I am powerful


3. Estelle(HipHop/Soul/RnB) - ok I know I'm a little late on the Estelle bandwagon, but glad I finally started listening to her. I especially like "Come Over." Here are some accolades of Estelle:

She won a grammy for American Boy featuring Kanye West in the category best rap/sung collaboration. She also has received the MOBO for 'Best Newcomer'and received three consecutive 'Best Female Artist' trophies from the UK Hip-Hop Awards. Estelle's song "Star" was used for Crystal Light commercials. She also, in 2010, modeled at Naomi Campbell's Fashion For Relief runway show for The White Ribbon Alliance to raise funds for mothers in Haiti.


Oh and I just came across this on Fly's website .. So Adult Swim has featured several "African" hiphop artists from various countries on African Swim...check it out!

Until Next Time...