When bashfulness is no longer cute...

I can recall being a shy kid that rarely spoke unless spoken to. My teachers loved me for this attribute so I was always the child selected to win prizes and whenever we had a substitute, I was labeled as "well-behaved." But I've recently come to realize that I wasn't as well-behaved as I was quiet. I wasn't quiet because I was a quiet person, I was quiet because I was too shy to speak. To others, it was cute that I wasn't adamant about getting my point across as a child. I was content just sitting in class and doing my work. I'd prefer to save my questions to ask the teacher in private. They never seemed to mind. My shyness helped me get away with a lot of things, but it also prohibited me from getting as involved in many interesting school activities. With this as the case, I attempted to alter my shy trait during my last couple years of high school. I did this because I began to realize that closed mouths didn't get fed. If I wanted to "be somebody" others had to know my intentions. I had improved so much by the time I entered college that I was able to persuade people to vote for me and I became Freshman Class President of Texas Southern University. I've since gotten involved in many other activities that show that I am no longer that shy, quiet girl that I once was. Unfortunately, my new found confidence hasn't made it's way to my social life. I still find myself being quiet in public settings that don't involve my education or employment. Don't dare ask me how this affects my dating life. It's ridiculous how difficult it is for me to approach my crush. At my age, should I still be crushing? I mean, one should get to a point where they're comfortable letting another know that they have taken interest in them and would like to pursue a relationship or whatever. However, I can't see myself doing this anytime soon...

The purpose of this post is to get your thoughts on the issue at hand. Is it cute for a person to be shy? Or is it a turnoff? When you reach a certain age, it's crucial to be able to express your thoughts. But at what point does being mouthy become too much? Is there a difference when considering bashfulness between males and females? Is there a fine line between being meek and downright insecure? Being shy can be classified as a "cute" trait for a young child, but when is it no longer cute?

Thanks for reading,

Alexandria B.

What You Know About Sammie?

Hey there,

It's been a while since I had a real post. What better a topic to come back with than one of my favorite male R&B artists, Sammie. I swear I've been in like with this guy since the sixth grade when he came to sing at my school. It was at that moment that I started calling myself Alexandria Bush. I've grown up since then and my infatuation with Sammie and B2K has died down. I must admit, I don't follow him on twitter simply because I don't tweet enough to actually stay informed anyway. However, I decided to do a YouTube search on Sammie yesterday after I couldn't stop singing lyrics from "Crazy Things I Do" and I found more than just old videos. Not only does he have current videos on YouTube, but Sammie has an up-to-date webpage and a mixtape out. Of course, I had to download it and I gave it a listen before I decided to write/blog about this man. Although It's Just A Mixtape is a mixtape, it's totally worth downloading and songs like "B Word" and "Phone" are among my favorites. Sammie has writing credits on each song on the mixtape which is pretty impressive especially considering the fact that he does a bit of rapping this go round. This is my first time hearing from him since his 2006 album, Sammie, which featured the hit single "You Should Be My Girl".

Sammie has come a long way from liking the way a pre-teen girl looks at him. He's an adult now and I'm hoping that this mixtape gets him the recognition that he deserves. It's sad that artists like Chris Brown and Sammie (among others) are providing music to fans via free mixtapes as opposed to selling albums that eventually go platinum. I wonder if the music industry will ever be the same. If I knew how to sing, I lowkey wouldn't even want a deal because it seems so hard to make it. Moving on, do me a favor and visit Sammie's website in order to find out the latest news. Also, be sure to download the mixtape by clicking here. You can also follow him on twitter to get your daily dose of this R&B superstar.

Thanks for reading,

Alexandria B.

All I want for my birthday is...

My birthday is in two days and I know I won't be receiving this from anyone, but it doesn't hurt to dream, right? In my mind, a MacBook Pro is the answer to all my problems. For one, it would enable me to illegally download music without the fear of a computer-killing virus. Secondly, I would be able to get photoshop (for free hopefully) and edit images and all that good stuff. I would also be able to record videos, have the cool camera features, a lightened keyboard for when I'm typing at night, etc. Lowkey, the garage band will enable me to record songs even though I can't sing. Lastly, I would just feel cool. So if you or anybody you know is thinking about getting me a gift, make it monetary so it can go to the GetAlexTheMacBook Foundation.

Thanks,

Alexandria B.

UPDATES COMING SOON...

Hey Now!!!!

It's been a while since I last posted. I currently have loads of work to do so this won't be long, but I just wanted to check in briefly. My 23rd birthday is in five days and I still have no dress to wear. My "All Black Everything" dinner party has been planned and I'm stoked. I've had the desire to write about numerous things including the BP oil spill and Slim Thug's recent controversial comments about dating black women. However, I have not had the time. You can trust and believe that when I return I will do so with a bang. I'd love for this blog to provoke debate and/or dialogue about important issues. You may notice that the site looks a bit different. I called myself "updating" things all by myself, but I may have to phone-a-friend for further assistance because I'd like for the site to look way better. I took pictures with a photographer named Michael Santana to celebrate my upcoming birthday and I got a few really great shots. I'm sure my future site will include his photos. In the meantime, feast your eyes on one of them (below)!


Until next time...

Smooches,

Alexandria B.

Eighteen Days Til My Bday...

I can't believe that it's already June. This year is flying right on by and in a little more than two weeks, I'll be 23 years old. Where have the years gone? I used to sit back and complain about how I was not yet where I wanted to be in life on my birthdays, but this birthday will be different. If you look to the left, you'll see a photo of me from my birthday celebration at a lounge in Downtown Los Angeles. It was a small celebration with no more than like 8 people and I enjoyed myself. I'm hoping that this year is different though. It would be nice to celebrate with a few more people and do something cool. It was ridicuous how many people said they'd attend, but didn't. It was also a shame how people thought it was ok to show up extremely late to the dinner portion of my birthday celebration. I don't have many friends, this is true. But the ones I do have are cherished. I hope to have an exciting 23rd birthday with them.

Now that the birthday is near, I have to figure out what to do. Should I keep it simple and have a dinner party? I thought it would be cool to suggest that the attendees wear white & black to the fiesta. Good idea huh? Or should I do something else? I'm open to ideas. Holler back at a player as soon as you can! Oh yeah, getting one year older encourages me to work a little bit harder to reach my goals, but I'm finding that the more I work the less I know what I want in life. I'll be praying for clarity and overall happiness. I know that I am not meant to wake up every morning to come perform the work that I am responsible for. There's gotta be more out there. Woo woo woo. Back to the birthday, I want invitations to go out asap. Do you think I should take cool professional photos for my birthday? It'll be solely for my entertainment and a facebook album maybe. Nothing too fancy.

Thanks for reading,

Alex