In a few days, I will be taking on my fourth career opportunity, and I cannot explain how super, wicked excited I am. I even started lining up my outfits for the first week. (I’m totally in my new kid on the first day of school mode!). While most of the feedback I have gotten…
Author: Leah Lakins
Finding Your Own Kool-Aid
Thanks to Jim Jones and the Jonestown Massacre in the late 1970s, the term “drinking the Kool-Aid” most often has a very negative connotation for most people in this country. While I don’t want any of my dear readers getting caught up in no crazy cults with animal sacrifices or groups where you have to…
Running Down a Dream with Tom Petty
In a normal world, good Apostolic-raised girls like me and Tom Petty don’t mix. But that all changed for me in the Summer of 2002. I was a freshly minted, Morgan State University graduate, and I was cutting my editing teeth at a six-month internship in at the National Education Association. I was enjoying the…
Sanctuary 3B at 1703
As a lifelong church girl, most of spiritual experiences have taken place within the confines of a traditional sanctuary. As I became older and began to see God in different ways, I learned that I could create a space for God to dwell whenever and with whomever I choose. I discovered the power and the…
7 Adventurous Things Every Black Person Should Do
Last week I decided to treat myself to a trip to a local mecca of pleasure in the DC Metro area called Spa World. This little slice of heaven features seven different poultice room, several dry and wet saunas, various body and spa treatments, and the piece de resistance—wide-open bathing pools that all patrons must…
Before Livvy and Fitz, My Thursday Nights Belonged to Cosby
I know everybody is sad that “Scandal” won’t be on for another three weeks. (Damn you, Shonda Rhimes, for leaving us strung out on these streets like crack fiends!) But way before Olivia and Fitz were heating up our Thursday nights, there was another groundbreaking, black television show that reshaped how we saw ourselves and…
Year 34: Allow Me to Re-Introduce Myself
If I didn’t define myself for myself, I would be crushed into other people’s fantasies for me and eaten alive. –Audre Lorde A few weeks ago, I was putting together a small sampling of some of my best editorial work for a presentation. As I was sifting through piles of magazines, books, and articles, I…
YOU. ARE. A.WRITER.
About three years ago, I was at the end of the end of my rope at my former job. I had been battling with my former boss for three days about 250 words (!!!!) for the back cover of a book. I was now on my third draft of this cover copy and I didn’t…
The HBCU Choice: One of the Best Decisions of My Life
I recently had a conversation where I was asked if I regretted attending a historically black college (HBCU). I told my inquisitor that I was fairly confident that I could have done exceptionally well at an elite, liberal arts school like Smith, Wellesley, or Bryn Mawr, but the confidence, cultural pride, and life-changing development that…
Creating New Rules for Dating
Friends, I have to confess. The fount of my saltiness for my Valentine’s Haterade post was due to a boy. Yes, the queen of butterflies and rainbows momentarily took off her crown and became a Terry McMillan character for the day. It wasn’t a necessarily pretty journey but getting to the other side of my…
Giving Up the Need to Give Up for Lent
Growing up as a member of the Apostolic faith, the idea of honoring Lent is a fairly new tradition in my life. Members of my denomination tend to focus more on the Resurrection and Pentecost and spend less time focusing on the period leading up to Easter Sunday. As I was exposed to friends from…
FORGIVENESS: It’s the New Black
I tend to be super reflective during my birthday month. I think about what went well the previous year, what didn’t, victories I’ve gained, mistakes to never make again, friends I’m grateful for, and enemies who’ve made me stronger. As I’ve gone down memory lane for Year 33, I’ve discovered that the most powerful lesson…
The Ink Well 