Soundbite 1
Trent talks about maintaining his balance while still being heavily involved on campus!
Soundbite 2
Soundbite 3
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Hello everyone! Today, I had the pleasure and great opportunity to interview Makayla Dotson about her special trip to New Orleans for the super bowl! Makayla got a front row seat to every sports fan's dream and got to see the amazing half time performance as well. Click here for the full interview with Makayla!
Click here to listen to the audio of this blog :)
Greetings Classmates, Friends, or Stranger who found my blog! My name is Shamari Blanding (a.k.a Mari the Mystic or commonly known as Shamari-La’Tiana) and this is my Outlook on this beautiful new year that we’re heading into!
I have A LOT of resolutions for this new year. The most important one is upgrading my spiritual lifestyle which includes my habits, daily routine, and what us mystics call "spiritual hygiene. With being a mystic, we believe that the spiritual body is way more important than the physical body. Did you know that we interact with others' spirits EVERY SINGLE DAY? We unintentionally take on others' emotions, problems, and thoughts every day. To cleanse and rid ourselves of this energy, we must practice spiritual hygiene which involves herbal and cultural tools of your choice. These tools can be (sage, incense, palo santo, crystals, protection beads, prayer (above all), and spiritual bath salts/showers.) However, you must know that certain tools are only dedicated to those pertaining to that culture. For example, sage is strictly for those of Indigenous/Native American cultures. You must be of Indigenous/Native American descent or have sage gifted to you from someone that is, if you do not descend from the culture.
Next, my physical health and eating habits are second on the list. I would like to incorporate more mindful/intuitive eating. Finding a balanced diet that is healthy for my body and overall spirit is a MUST. I have brought into my awareness that for generations, my family including myself, have had terrible eating habits and diets for so many years. I believe that I am the one in my family who will surely change that for all of us. Incorporating more nuts and berries, which are natural antioxidants for our bodies. Adding more salmon and/or overall fish into my diet for healthy protein, lean, and fats. I have learned that a lot of foods in America are highly processed foods with dyes and chemicals that are banned in other countries. Let's not forget that we now have genetically modified food, but the nickname we gave that was "GMO". Genetically Modified Foods aka (GMO) actually does more harm than good to our bodies and is making us sicker than anything else.
Lastly, I would like to be more open to opportunities that
are presented to me. Believe it or not, I am a very shy and introverted person.
However, once you get to know me, I am a party animal who just doesn’t stop
until I drop, LITERALLY. I would like to step out of my comfort zone and to
fully embrace the challenges of life. We often fear the unknown because it’s
unpredictable, we never know what to expect when going into the unknown. As
human beings with a great deal of emotion, we tend to be obsessed with control
at times, when we need to vastly learn that not everything will be in our
control, and that is exactly what makes life so enjoyable. We won’t know
everything that could occur in life, you can either worry/fear it, or you can
embrace it in love. As a Mystic, I believe that our thoughts help create our
realities, so conditioning your brain to think positively about embracing the
unknown will continue to create positive outcomes. We cannot control everything
that happens in life, but we can control our thoughts which will surely influence
the future of certain events.
I have very high hopes for this new year. I mean, we’re only
three months in, and it does seem like a sh*t show already, but remember, we
cannot control worldly events around us, but we can control how we respond to
them. I am learning to adapt to the changes happening around me instead of
resisting the change. I will continue to fight for a positive attitude, as well
as my positive outlook on this year. In numerology this is the year of nine
(9). We found this information out by adding up the numbers of the year as is.
2+0+2+5=9. Last year’s number was 8, 2+0+2+4= 8. You get the idea? The number 9
for this year represents the ending of certain cycles. In Yoruba, Nigerian, and
Ghanian cultures, the number 9 represents the Orisha Goddess Oya. Oya is the
goddess of rapid change, death, chaos, powerful winds, and known for ruling
over the lungs in our bodies. Think about how the number 9 could resonate
within your life. What changes are being made? What needs to “die” off in your
life so that new things can grow? Are you taking great care of your lung
health? Are all great questions of self-reflection currently.
For more of little ole me, click here to subscribe to my YouTube channel!
For a more mature audience, click here to check out my Substack blog where I post short stories, deeper occult knowledge, and more!
Click here to listen to the audio for this blog :)
A bit of back pain when you bend
down, terrified about starting credit, and some midnight margaritas ;). Ladies
and Gentlemen-folk, I present to you… *drum roll* The crisp age of twenty. Almost
two months ago, on January 25th, 2025, I turned twenty years young; and
I surely brought twenty in with a BANG! How do I feel, you may ask? Honestly, a bit everywhere,
quite wild I would say.
I like to think of my birthday as another personal new year, another year of reflection and beautiful growth. I love to tell people all the time that “I’m extra”. I was surely indeed “extra” on my twentieth birthday. No, I didn’t have any friends to spend my birthday with, nor did I have my family with me at the time or let alone a man. So, what better way to spend your birthday than by yourself? Some may say “Oh Shamari, that’s pretty sad, you must feel lonely.” Well, not exactly, sweetheart. I am the QUEEN of being alone. I have an amazing time whilst being alone on various occasions. I have dedicated the past two or three years in getting to know myself on a deeper level. Learning to accept all parts of me, whether it’s the beautiful, good, bad, or ugly. I truly accept all parts of myself just the way the Most High God has made me. I have learned on this journey of self-love, that it is okay to be alone for a period. It gives you a moment to truly hear yourself. You get to hear your own voice of advice, guidance, wisdom, love, etc. We constantly soak up what others’ perception of us are, and that is no way to live life (take It from me, I’ve been listening to others’ opinions for quite some time now).
My birthday began with me waking up at 4 a.m. and thanking God, the Divine, the Mother and the Father for the improvement I have made. I was crying, praying, and journaling about how far I have come from pretending to be something that I am not, to fully embracing my authentic self, no matter how others’ may perceive me. What has helped me with this is learning that “other people’s perception of me, is none of my business.” If I know that I am being my full authentic self and treating others with the upmost kindness and respect, that is absolutely enough for me. I then decided to do what every girl, young lady, and woman loves to do… SHOPPING! I went to Wal-Mart first to pick up some necessities, you know, the average joe of grocery shopping. Then, I went and did a bit of window shopping at Cato and TJ-Maxx. There were some highly unique finds in there, but I had to save the damage that I was going to do to my bank account for later at the store I have been waiting to go to! That store was “Boujee Spirit” in Orangeburg, South Carolina. Guessing by the name of the store, you knew exactly what was going down here. Boujee Spirit is a metaphysical store which supplies all your spiritual, mystical, and curious needs. I was like a kid in a candy store! Crystals, dream catchers, spell books, candles, and the fresh smell of incense with a hint of Florida water. I spend almost one-hundred dollars in the store! The owner showed me around, and told me everything about her products, and was excited about everything I was interested in. She even gave me two free incenses since it was my birthday! How amazing was that?! After greatly damaging my bank account and almost going bankrupt, I decided to head back to my dorm to pamper myself more and prepare to take myself out to dinner. I did my own nails, hair, and toes. I even made my own jewelry that I wore for that night. Well, I made my own anklets, should I say. I got all dolled up and took a peaceful walk to Rosalie’s, a Mexican restaurant with amazing fajitas and the sweetest tea that’ll make you look at your southern mom’s tea with a side eye. Before I ordered my food, I took fabulous pictures as the by passers stared and some giving amazing compliments. A table of a close-nit family seen me all dressed up and eating alone, they thought someone had stood me up on a date, but I kindly told them that it was my birthday, and that it was impossible for anyone to stand up such a beautiful lady such as myself. We all had a great laugh, and one of the women insisted on buying me a margarita of my choice. I happily obliged and took the offer of getting a free margarita. I mean, it was free! Wouldn’t you have did the same? Trust me, if it was a Ted Bundy move, I would have known.
Overall, my twentieth birthday was a magical night filled with love. I got messages from so many kind people who wished me well. My goal was to have a peaceful birthday without any interruptions, agitations, and an overall perfect day. Which is exactly what I received. When I say that this birthday was one of the best ones I have ever had in a very long time. It may not have been everyone else’s “ideal birthday” (whatever that may mean), but it was perfect and hella ideal for me! What was your big day to remember? Because my twentieth birthday is going down in the history books.
Good Day classmate, friends, or daily stalker??? Today in my TV Production class we were assigned the task of delivering a PSA/Commercial f...
