It was summer 2019 and my colleagues and I were visiting Washington D.C. for our annual staff retreat. Personal and professional development is one of my favorite things in life, but what I enjoyed most during the days and nights spent in DC were opportunities to connect with employees that I don’t see or work with regularly. To my surprise, Bumble was a commonality among many, and I started to feel some serious FOMO, also known as “Fear of Missing Out.” Many of the employees who were in a relationship met their partners on Bumble and those who weren’t already taken were searching on the app. I didn’t give in immediately, but I stayed in town longer to catch up with one of my college friends who was living in the area for her doctoral program at Howard University. Before the weekend was over I had downloaded the app and began swiping.
It wasn’t my first experience with Bumble; I had used Bumble BFF before, but I was skeptical about the dating side of the app, specifically that I had to make the first move. Also part of me wanted to meet someone offline, “the normal way,” at an event or grocery store or something. The more I swiped the more comfortable I was because only guys that had my permission could even message me. I was in control, and I like to be in control :) or at least have a sense of it. I continued swiping every day until there were no more matches in my “beehive,” and although I didn’t find love at first BOOM… or the second or third and eventually lost track of the count, I did gain some interesting stories, experiences and a little validation along the way. It’s one year later; our 2020 staff retreat has come and gone and I’m still very single. As I reflect on life in the land of bees I’m sharing my strategy, what I learned about digital dating and more.
Read MoreI can’t tell you how many times I’ve read articles, listened to podcasts or watched successful professionals ensure audiences of the need to wake up early. If you research the world’s most successful people, you’ll find that most, if not all, of them are early risers. In many networking settings and casual conversation the question often comes out… ‘Are you a morning person or a night owl?’
I had to train myself to become a “morning person” and my success is only because of my routine.
Read MoreLiving through a pandemic in 2020 has been everything but simple. No one expected or planned to spend a quarter of the year social distancing and wearing masks in public spaces, but we’re here and we’re surviving. Although that, for many, is a win in itself, for others the pandemic has been a period of rest, reimagination of possibilities and a resurgence of energy to be reallocated to projects that continued to get pushed down growing to-do lists, hobbies we’ve always wanted to pursue or never thought we would, opportunities we couldn’t imagine and much more.
Outside of Work Life, I too have picked up some new hobbies and added some boxes to my personal to-do list. Keep reading to learn more.
Read MoreIf you’ve ever sang along to a song written or performed by a black artist
If you’ve ever celebrated a touchdown, putt, shot, home run or score from a black athlete
If you’ve ever quoted words from a black poet, speaker or author
If you’ve ever felt feelings for a member of the black community you know that
Black Lives Matter.
Say it, write it, post it or don’t, but know that it is true.
You saying it doesn’t make it more true.
You not saying it doesn’t make it less true.
It is the truth and although the words coming from your mouth or being displayed on your page or story or paper doesn’t make it more or less true here’s what it does…
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