He Is Not Your Best Girlfriend. He Is Your Man.

By Briana Booker

In recent months, my thoughts on men have changed for the better. I have always been taught to be suspicious of every man. I have been told from men and women alike, that men “ain’t shit.” Although some men “ain’t shit” others, even with imperfections, are worth lowering the steel walls we, as women, build to protect ourselves.

Those steel walls can prevent us from finding a good man. I would know. I use to keep any intimate partner at a distance to keep “control” of the situation and protect my emotions.

Caring about someone can make you vulnerable if you have no idea where you stand with the person. You learn where you stand by communicating with your intimate partner.

Men and women communicate very differently from each other. The man in my life has taught me that we are different but also the same. Both are looking for the right one. We are also working on personal growth and our careers. Previously, that threaten me in relationships but to see this man grow as an individual is honestly beautiful to me. I want to look out for him. He goes out his way to protect me, even from myself.

An example of this was when I was mad at him not doing something when I wanted him to do it. He instantly asked me why I was mad. I honestly did not have a good reason to be mad besides not getting my way about something petty.

That is when I remembered a few weeks ago we promised each other we would not go to sleep angry at each other as an action  to build the strength of our relationship. I was the one who requested this action be done in our relationship and here I was trying to make an argument over something petty.

This is when I realized my actions matter to someone beyond myself. It was a scary thought but at the same time I felt my soul smile. I kissed him good night and he opened the door. I thought once I got to my car he would have just forgotten about me and went back to what he was doing in his home. Instead I saw him watching me from the window at the front door. I texted him “Why are  you looking out the window?”  He replies back while still looking through the window: “Ha. Just Checking to see if you were ok since you didn’t move.” I told him I could take care of myself. Again, I was falling into old habits from bad relationships with my “I don’t need you” persona I mastered in unhealthy relationships.

But then I realize, he is not my past but my present. So I just smiled and he checked up on me when I got home as well.  It felt good to not only be wanted but that I am cared for by someone who chose me.

I realized the best thing to do is live in the now. Do not linger in the past. And do not think too far in the future. If we are meant to be, then we will be.  We just can not jump to conclusions and keep communicating, even if we fear the unknown.

I was bruised but I was never broken. He shows me it is still okay to bring out the best in me.

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To Find Love: Learn How To Manage Your Weaknesses

By Briana Booker

Weaknesses. We all have them. If we did not, we would be perfect, but I have not met any perfect person. Shoot, I am not perfect.

With that said, weakness is nothing to be ashamed about. You can find love even with having weaknesses. You just have to learn how to manage your weaknesses the proper way so that you have control of your destiny and  can live a prosperous professional and personal life.

Acknowledging your weaknesses instead of hiding them is important. For example, I am stubborn and have a bad temper when I feel I have been wronged in a romantic relationship. My temper is the worse when I  question why I was mistreated because most of the time I try to give my all to the one I am committed to having a happy and healthy relationship.What can I say? I am a loyal and stubborn Taurus.

No relationship is perfect but if you are given bread crumbs constantly in a relationship while you are offering a luxurious feast, you should find real love. No man or woman that truly loves you would treat you bad constantly…that is not love. That is controlling and abusive.

Living life, I realized losing my temper was not the way to be happy or resolve romantic dilemmas. I realized I needed to learn to work around the flaws of my partner and promote him to do the best for our relationship.

I can not change the past. I can not erase the males I gave a chance to build a healthy and worthy relationship. It is in the past. All I can do is live in the present.

I must live for the now and treat my new partner the right way. I need to work as much as he does to make things grow into something beyond my assumption that all men cheat or lie.

Not every man is a cheater or liar. Not every  woman is a cheater or liar.

Once I stopped making assumptions and predictions about how my relationship would go with a man, that is when things started to look up. I took time to forgive the mistreat of my past to open my soul to someone I like to think is working to be worthy of me.

I can not predict the future. I can only live in the now. And right now, I am taking a leap of faith with the man present in my life. Even if he may or may not be the one, he is teaching me a great deal about myself and him. I am thankful to God for putting a man in my life driving me to grow into better not worse.

My best advice is take your time. Ask questions. Do not be quick tempered when you are confused or uncertain. Most guys, if mature, will try to resolve things with you when they have made mistakes in the relationship. Know your worth. Give him space sometimes to be himself. He will return, if he truly cares for you. You can never keep a man away from a woman he truly loves as much as he loves his life.

And if you need help, here are  a few tips from my relationshipExaminer Column  http://www.examiner.com/dc-in-washington-dc/how-to-make-your-girl-smile ! Print it out for your partner or subscribe. Suggest the tips to him or her. Use it as a guide to build a better relationship with your partner.

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Breaking the Chains of Poverty: 2011 GIRL EFFECT BLOGGING CAMPAIGN

 

 

By Briana Booker

If you are sick and tired of being sick and tired, there is a way to break from the chains of misery poverty forces on billions of people in the world. Yes, we often blame corporate world policy and conduct for why we can not put bread on the table. We often blame corrupt governments for our lack of good quality of life. But why have not we turned our fingers to point at ourselves?

When we give ourselves power, we control our own destiny. What are we waiting for? Although many of us are living in poverty, we are at a cross-road where we can change the course of our future for the better. How?

The answer is in the Girl Effect. When we educate our girls we give them, our boys, moms, dads, and entire communities the chance to escape the injustices of poverty for good. When women are educated,they obtain higher paying jobs. They obtain better health care. They obtain the ability to give their families and themselves the ability to live out dreams.

Here are some cool facts, just in case you are skeptical of the power of the Girl Effect, via a book, published by Cambridge Press, called Mothers at Work: Effects on Children’s Well-being by Lois Hoffman and Lise Youngblade, with Rebekah Coley, Allison Fuligni, and Donna Kovacs:

-Daughters of employed mothers have been found to have higher academic achievement, greater career success, more nontraditional career choices, and greater occupational commitment.

– Daughters of employed mothers have been found to be more independent, particularly in interaction with their peers in a school setting, and to score higher on socioemotional adjustment measures. This gives girls the ability to become outstanding leaders in the community.

-Daughters with employed mothers, across the different groups, show more positive assertiveness as rated by teachers (that is, they participate in class discussions, they ask questions when instructions are unclear, they are comfortable in leadership positions), and they show less acting-out behavior. They are less shy, more independent and have a higher sense of efficacy.

-Working-class boys also show more positive social adjustment when their mothers are employed, and true for both one-parent and two-parent families.

-Research results suggest that most families accommodate to the mother’s employment and in doing so provide a family environment that works well.

Read details on the study : http://parenthood.library.wisc.edu/Hoffman/Hoffman.html .

Join the campaign! Write about The Girl Effect at your blog this week, October 4-11, 2011! Link up your post http://www.taramohr.com/girleffectposts/ .

If you support Fromgirltogirl, you support Girl Effect as well.Learn about the big picture here: http://www.girleffect.org/learn/the-big-picture .

Get Ripe. Get Bold. Get Excellence. Check out the video below. Change the course of all our futures for the better, one girl at a time!

 

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