Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Cost Efficient.

Settling=convenient.

Quality=patience.

Convenience is usually cheap or (seemingly) affordable @ the time, while Quality is usually priceless.

Think about the above statements for a moment.

In a time when $$$ is more crucial than ever…let's not forget about our personal lives & well-being…they too have a price tag, that is self-determined.


So…when exactly is settling worth it???

I was thinking about that today. I was @ work, Banana, & I was talking w/a manager, Lisa, who commented on the pants I was wearing…"I like those pants, where'd you get em?" I said (b/c I clearly don't know how to take compliments that well) "I hate these pants, the color is awful!" She said, "well why'd you buy em?!" I said "b/c our pants are too expensive for me to have to order online, pay shipping & not be able to get my discount until they arrive…just impatient!" That made me think about how I do that so often…especially w/clothes…b/c I'm tall…I'm like really tall guys…& it kinda sucks sometimes…everyone thinks it's so gr8 b/c, well it kinda is + tall is really "in" right now…but it's not all cum & giggles. I have to search HIGH & low for pants that fit & are cute & not a fortune…same goes for shoes…just think for a minute how the possibilities for you are endless when buying shoes, like you don't even think about it really…if you like it & can buy it, you do so…well I know 9/10 I can never buy shit!!! SUCKS!

Anyways, back to the point, as a result of that misfortune, I sometimes settle for things, that don't really fit as well as they should, don't really compliment as well as I would like, not as cute as it could be, cost too much $ for what it is…but I settle anyhow, b/c I'd rather have something now as opposed to waiting for whatever I really want to come, for whatever reason. Thing is, is that really benefitting me…long-term? Or is it hurting me now? I know this is just clothes & shoes were talking, although both are like a super BIG deal to me, we can bring this to more real life situations.

Dating for instance, since that's a pretty common element of life.

Think about the times you've dated or even gone as far as committed to a relationship w/someone who was clearly not complimenting you. Let's be realistic, a relationship is supposed to be of benefit to both parties…where one lacks, the other sustains, vice versa, & where you both lack you both grown "together." I know that sounds idealistic, but it's the truth as to how you are supposed to think when dating someone. However, often times we found ourselves settling, for the right now as opposed to waiting for the "right one." Taking a moment to dissect the "right one," he/she is deemed right based on the individuals involved, it's not always about how a person looks…it's about the entire package, in & out. The "right one" is based on you, what you think is right for you & sometimes what you think is right, you'll find ain't always what it is…but it's good to learn what does & doesn't work before getting into more complicated situations, I think. Anyway, there are so many factors that play into the "right one" & timing, to me, is a BIG factor…let's take my own recent experience. "2nd chance" was seemingly perfect, but the timing was just off...I couldn't make it work & he couldn't make me...but I feel like if right is right, I wouldn't need to be forced I would want what was right...right?

You can pray for what you think is the "right one" & let's say you get him/her but not quite the way you had planned…it's like they're perfect except for one thing…one thing you can't seem to shake. Does that mean they are the one? Does that mean your prayer has been answered but just not the manner in which you'd hoped? Does that mean what you think you want is not what you need? Does that mean settle for what you can get b/c you're afraid of what else might come?

I'm not going to BS you; I really don't know…b/c sometimes settling ain't terrible, if it gets the job done, it just depends on whether or not the waiting would've been worth it. I'm really not in a complicated situation @ the moment. In fact mines is pretty simple (kinda) b/c I'm not emotionally involved, but it could get complicated if I allowed it to do such, but I won't. I know I'm settling & for now I deal…no I'm not really okay w/it, but hey that's life, sometimes we're involved in shit we don't wanna be involved in, but as long as you can get out, @ any moment, w/no love loss, then you're good. It's when you start to think that settling is your only option, that convenience becomes a problem. It's when you become deluded in thinking that your current situation is the best it can be, b/c it seems so right except for that one little (GIGANTIC) thing that you just can't seem to shake. Though my situation now is simple, the previous one w/"2nd Chance" was not so much. The lack of communication & the ambiguity w/parties was recipe for disaster. It wasn't really settling or waiting on either parts, but it seemed as such. Now guess what "2nd Chance" is engaged to be married…who's settling now…hmmm.

Have you settled for what looks/feels good right now, b/c for whatever reason, you're not willing to wait it out, for that "right one?"

Maybe you're just not ready…or you just aren't certain…or you can only do what you're doing, maybe it's just convenient to settle sometimes.

I know settling has such negative connotation, when we hear we automatically think well that person taking less than what they deserve, but maybe what they think they deserve isn't what they want…@ the moment.

Or.
Maybe I'm making excuses for the things we do…the things we do…as people…some strange shit sometimes.

Well do what you do, just make sure that what you do is nothing short of being you.

Never compromise who you are for someone else b/c I'm fairly certain they would NOT do the same for YOU!


~S. Parks

I don't settle b/c its fun I settle b/c it gets the job done. Real talk.

I blame Memphis.

Friday, September 19, 2008

System Overload!

I’m not loving you, way I wanted to.
What I had to do, had to run from you.
I’m in love w/you but the vibe is wrong & that haunted me all the way home.
So you never know, never never know, never know enough till it’s over love.
Till we lose control!
SYSTEM OVERLOAD!
Screaming NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!
I’m not loving you, way I wanted to.
See I wanna move, but can’t escape from you.
So I keep it low, keep a secret cold.
So everybody else don’t have to know.

So keep your love locked down.
Your love locked down.
Now keep your love locked down.


You lose.

I’m not loving you way, I wanted to.
I can’t keep my cool so I keep it true.
I got something to lose. So I gotta move.
I can’t keep myself & still keep you too.


How many times did I tell you before it finally got through!

YOU LOSE!
You lose.


I’m not loving you way I wanted to…
No more wasting time, you can’t wait for life.
We’re just wasting time.
Where’s the finish line?

So keep your love locked down.

I’m not loving you way I wanted to.
Where I wanna go, I don’t need you.
I’ve been down this road too many times before.
I’m not loving you way I wanted to.

KEEP YOUR LOVE LOCKED DOWN!

You lose.

~S. Parks
Courtesy of Mr. Kanye West, the GREAT & my fave!
I couldn’t have said it better if I tried & I did try & I came up kinda short & harsh.

So this MY Reply to “Who’s Gonna Save My Soul”


(MY real Reply: Save your own damn soul!)

Cross My Mind

Have I done this one already???
Well, you were just running cross my mind, again.
Too bad I don’t like you enough to call, text, nor e-mail…but if you only knew…you were just running cross my mind…
Ah.
I miss you.
What we were.
How you were…before...w/me, in me…
In my bed, indirectly in my head…you lived in my head.
In my thoughts you lie still & strong…present, yet so wrong…
…but if this is wrong I don’t want to be…
To be right, it felt.
So right, every time you came near.
Igniting my soul afire w/your presence right here.
If only I could find that same passion…outside of you.
In him.
Yeah…I was just thinking about you…wondering if I were near you again…what I would do?
Nah.
Not after all this time.
Could you?
Can you?
Still…ignite me?
You did know me so well…you really had me…w/just your presence…
W/just your touch.
W/just your kiss.
…your feel…
…your coming…back…to me???
Now that’s NUTZ!
Too bad I don’t like you enough to call, text, nor e-mail…
I do miss you though…the you before you.
I just remember what we used to do…
How amazing!

~S. Parks

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Feel Me?!

When a girl grows up…she realizes what she likes…what she wants…what she needs
To be honest...I really like affection.
I miss intimacy.
I like it when sweet things are said to me when I least suspect it.
I want to blush b/c of some lame compliment given to me.
I need to feel again.
I want to like someone enough to hold their hand in public.
I miss wanting to talk to someone all the time.
I want to fall asleep on his couch & wake up in his bed.
I like to go fast.
I want to go slow.
I need to feel again.
I like to be liked.
I want to miss someone even when they aren’t gone.
I need to be touched.
I like wanting more.
I want to feel needed again.
I need to feel again.
I’m not always cold.
I like being warm.
I just miss liking someone enough to let them melt that ice away.
I don’t want to think about it…I just like…I just want…I just need…a kiss.



~Shanette Renea

Thursday, September 11, 2008

What are YOU Sowing?

Hey guys & gals,

Sorry I’ve been away for so long…I don’t really have an excuse…I just haven’t really felt like writing (or typing so to speak).

I’m back now though & that’s all that matters is the present, right? Right.
So the other day I was reading this month’s Ebony magazine w/Tyler Perry on the cover, a mag which I rarely read-btw, was surprisingly quite good overall.

I really enjoyed this particular article, "What are you Sowing," about Ms. Tasha Smith, best known for her role in his (Tyler Perry) movie Why Did I Get Married? Amongst other movies, as well as appearances on TV shows like Tyra Banks’ ANTM, she’s the chick who kinda always seems to have a really fucked up attitude (in the characters she portrays).

Anyways, in this article she talks about how she was that girl who always had a bad attitude, that girl who’s always getting into it w/people & blaming them for the confrontations, that girl who always thinks she’s right & ain’t tryna hear shit nobody got to say…until she did some re-evaluating, some self-discovery & found that she was the problem. The energy she was putting out there was in turn manifesting itself in her life & how others treated her…how ironic huh?! I think that’s what they call karma.

Basically she was reaping what she was sowing? All that negative energy she was displacing was bouncing right back onto her w/o even realizing it…her unhappiness, her inability to forgive, to let go & let God was inhibiting her growth, her progression, her destiny. Not until she took responsibility for her own actions & moved beyond her hurt & forgave & forgot those who had wronged her in the past, did she move forward & become the success she is today. She found self-love…the key ingredient to being happy…it starts from within! The contentment she sought after & confusingly mistook for something she could find in things or other people, was within herself all along. She then began to spread that joy, just b/c it made her feel good to make others feel great & so the cycle continues…

That article was all too familiar to me b/c I was, still kinda am that girl.
I was once known to have a wretched attitude, it isn’t the best as of yet, but it has come a long way, but I can see myself reverting to my old habits, my old mentality, my old attitude b/c of situations or things that I seemingly can’t control?

It’s hard to see beyond the obvious sometimes, by that I mean, as human beings we waver in our faith, in our commitment to our promises, in our ability to remain steadfast in what we know to be the means for greatness. We like to shortcut, to blame, to forget who we are...in God...what we’re capable of & the power we possess! We sometimes let the world, society & even the company we keep, dictate how we view our lives, as it should/shouldn’t be. We falsely base our happiness on what we can see & touch vs. what we believe & how we feel.

I know I am a work in progress & as I rapidly approach the BIG 2 5, I’m reminding myself daily that just b/c I can’t see my success, I still have to see my success. I have to believe it to be so & live as such. Being unhappy until… Being bitter until… Being temperamental until… I’ll never make it past the until…I will always be waiting, allowing myself to get in the way of my destiny!

That can’t be my life, that’s not the life I had planned! That’s not the life I’ve worked hard for! Most importantly that’s not the life that God wants for me, that he has for me & that’s the only thing that keeps me focused!

If I’ve learned anything in my time in Memphis it’s that life doesn’t always work the way we would like it, but it’s better when we roll w/it & do it w/a smile, otherwise you’ll be miserable forever & I’m far too fly to be miserable, makes you age fast & die young & I’ve got too much to do w/my life, how about you?!

So my advice would be (if this @ all applies to you in some form or fashion), fake it till you make it…I’m not saying don’t be you b/c you know I’m a firm believer in the realness baby…like Plies says “I went to sleep real, woke up realer!” I’m just saying put out there what you want back, don’t be so judgmental, so critical, so arrogant, and so bitchy that you can’t recognize the next person’s swagger & how they can benefit you, that you can’t bless someone else that you can’t be pleasant, encourage others…recognizing greatness in others doesn’t negate your greatness, it makes you greater!

All I’m saying is the power is within…think it, feel it, speak it, do it!
…guess it’s about time I start taking my own advice…the hardest thing to do!
I can preach all day bay but can hardly follow the rules…I’m on it though…getting too old for the foolishness anyways!

Anywhoo…

Be Happy. Love you. Spread the love. & Give God the glory always & forever!

~Shanette R. Parks