:::haute caribe:::

::sparkle:::

it's the most wonderful time of the year. it just seems like everything softens a bit and slows down. i am looking forward to a few days of breathing room, away from the books and deadlines. i'm hoping to find time to inspire myself, create and dance. i look forward to spending time with family and friends and hugging til my arms fatigue :) i am so grateful for another year of life.

i hope that this coming year will be fabulous. i will be halfway done with my journey to become a physician. i hope to continue my health journey and to start a fund for a fabulous international trip. why not? anything can happen :)

here is my list of things i would like to see happen this year in my life:

1. excel in my 2nd year of medical school
2. do well on the Step 1 of my medical boards
3. become more involved in helping those who are disenfranchised
4. plant a  vegetable garden and a vertical
5. get a new chicken and 2 bunnies and a goat
6. finish my next album
7. reach my goal weight and build some muscle :)
8. go to new york
9. take a trip to a tropical island
10. teach my goddaughter zoe to sew, and connect with my other godchildren
11. buy a couch
12. get completely out of debt
13. begin to craft a career that will allow me to travel, heal, be artistic, help tons of people and essentially pay me for being myself
14. go to zanzibar via london or france
15. have some fabulous parties, and spread love

thinking of a master plan, cause ain't nothin but sweat inside my hand- Rakim
do you ever look around and think that perhaps your are off track with where you should be in life? well, don't! lol! (as if it were that easy). many of my friends have established careers, 1.5 kids, own a home and are probably building some type of investment portfolio. me, i'm a student (again), married, renting, no kids and broke. but let me clarify these statements. i am a student again because i decided to follow my childhood dream of becoming a physician although it is something that i have always been terrified of doing. i am happily married to the love of my life, my soul mate, who was put on this planet, in part, to make me smile, laugh, think and become a better person. i have no kids and i am not sure if i ever will have any, but i do have a sassy pet chicken named Solea who makes me smile when she trots towards me in the mornings. i am renting, but i live in a beautiful house on a quiet tree-lined street. my backyard is filled with lemon, fig, persimmon, peach, orange and grapefruit trees. not to mention, my next door neighbor has an avocado tree and i love avocados. i am broke, there is no way around that, but i will not be broke forever. i often think of the life that i want to live and although i am not sure how to make it all happen, it is within reach. but in the meantime, i want to learn the art of gratitude. step 1 starts today :)

another year has come and gone. i find that the older i get, the faster time moves. i am so grateful and feel so blessed to have been granted another year of life. i do not take it lightly. this week, while shadowing a physician, i had to watch him tell a patient that her chemotherapy was not working and was causing more harm to her than good. she was a very frail looking woman who was clearly exhausted. in essence, he was telling her not to fight any longer, but to spend her remaining time living and loving.

i know that none of us know how much time we have left, i simply pray that i am able to do all that i was put on this planet to do before my time is done. i pray that i am able to touch people all over the world, make people smile, think, dance, sing and heal. i pray that i am able to use all of the gifts that God has given me to make a difference in this world. in essence, i am grateful that i have been given another year of life to try and make this happen :)

Leymah Gbowee: Unlock the intelligence, passion, greatness of girls

:::Russian Winter:::

:::Make a Difference:::

:::Zakee:::stop motion inspiration:::

:::Watch::: Restless City::: Andrew Dosunmu:::

i cannot tell you how long I have been waiting for a feature length movie from Andrew Dosumnu! i have love his work since his video days and I cannot wait for this film! Santa Monica 4/27 or Noho 5/4! RESTLESS CITY!

:::octo-gangsta:::

:::Age Ain't Nothing But A Number:::

:::Gregory Porter::Be Good:::

Gregory Porter - Be Good (Lion's Song) Official Video from pierre bennu on Vimeo.

:::Aishwarya Rai::: Boom!

Top Ten Aishwarya Rai Dance Numbers | #8 Salaam, Umrao Jaan

via The WOC Survival Kit

:::Josephine dances forever:::

viva la dance!

:::Aaaah-mazing:::

Hero from Miguel Endara on Vimeo.