Below are the 17 most recent journal entries recorded in sylvonna's LiveJournal:

Sunday, December 10th, 2006
1:27 am	A Diamond is Forever I just saw the movie Blood Diamond (which I highly reccommend everyone to go see) and I cried. I cried in the theater when the movie was done, I came home and cried, and I am crying now. I can't begin to say what I fell...I feel like Americans are filthy selfish pigs (me included, obivously), I feel like this world is full of greed, I feel like people should care more, I feel like people should try to help... I saw this and thought I would share: Ten Reasons Not to Buy Diamonds 1. You've Been Psychologically Conditioned To Want a Diamond The diamond engagement ring is a 63-year-old invention of N.W.Ayer advertising agency. The De Beers diamond cartel contracted N.W.Ayer to create a demand for what are, essentially, useless hunks of rock. 2. Diamonds are Priced Well Above Their Value The De Beers cartel has systematically held diamond prices at levels far greater than their abundance would generate under anything even remotely resembling perfect competition. All diamonds not already under its control are bought by the cartel, and then the De Beers cartel carefully managed world diamond supply in order to keep prices steadily high. 3. Diamonds Have No Resale or Investment Value Any diamond that you buy or receive will indeed be yours forever: De Beers.. advertising deliberately brain-washed women not to sell; the steady price is a tool to prevent speculation in diamonds; and no dealer will buy a diamond from you. You can only sell it at a diamond purchasing center or a pawn shop where you will receive a tiny fraction of its original "value." 4. Diamond Miners are Disproportionately Exposed to HIV/AIDS Many diamond mining camps enforce all-male, no-family rules. Men contract HIV/AIDS from camp sex-workers, while women married to miners have no access to employment, no income outside of their husbands and no bargaining power for negotiating safe sex, and thus are at extremely high risk of contracting HIV. 5. Open-Pit Diamond Mines Pose Environmental Threats Diamond mines are open pits where salts, heavy minerals, organisms, oil, and chemicals from mining equipment freely leach into ground-water, endangering people in nearby mining camps and villages, as well as downstream plants and animals. 6. Diamond Mine-Owners Violate Indigenous People's Rights Diamond mines in Australia, Canada, India and many countries in Africa are situated on lands traditionally associated with indigenous peoples. Many of these communities have been displaced, while others remain, often at great cost to their health, livelihoods and traditional cultures. 7. Slave Laborers Cut and Polish Diamonds More than one-half of the world's diamonds are processed in India where many of the cutters and polishers are bonded child laborers. Bonded children work to pay off the debts of their relatives, often unsuccessfully. When they reach adulthood their debt is passed on to their younger siblings or to their own children. 8. Conflict Diamonds Fund Civil Wars in Africa There is no reliable way to insure that your diamond was not mined or stolen by government or rebel military forces in order to finance civil conflict. Conflict diamonds are traded either for guns or for cash to pay and feed soldiers. 9. Diamond Wars are Fought Using Child Warriors Many diamond producing governments and rebel forces use children as soldiers, laborers in military camps, and sex slaves. Child soldiers are given drugs to overcome their fear and reluctance to participate in atrocities. 10. Small Arms Trade is Intimately Related to Diamond Smuggling Illicit diamonds inflame the clandestine trade of small arms. There are 500 million small arms in the world today which are used to kill 500,000 people annually, the vast majority of whom are non-combatants. Current Mood: enraged (Comment on this)
Wednesday, November 8th, 2006
11:56 am	A New Generation of Leadership It’s all done and over! Election Day was yesterday and all my hard work and efforts are needed no longer. I'll start on a positive note that the Democrats have power in the House AND the Senate! (And Governorship in Michigan and Tennessee!) Now that the campaign is over I guess I am free to at least talk about some small details. For those who don’t know I had been working as an intern on a US Senate Campaign. What an experience. Daily I was able to be engaged in something I LOVE! POLITICS! I stood behind a candidate I thoroughly supported and wanted to win SO badly. Not only was he a great candidate but the race was truly historic. Never before has an African American been voted senator out of the American South. Right now only one US Senator (of 100) is African American…does that truly depict the demographics of our nation? That is why I wanted Harold Ford, Jr. to win the seat of US Senate. Unfortunately around midnight we got the results that we had lost the race with a 48% to 51% difference. It was close so at least I worked hard and people showed their support. Tennessee is a highly conservative republican state still battling the woes of the racial divide (though it shouldn’t still be a problem). It was big enough that a moderate African America democrat made it that close of a race. I am PROUD to have been a part of this and PROUD to say I supported this man. National news has said this is “the best-run Senate campaign in America.” I have been a part of that! I’ve worked for that campaign! I’ve worked on a historic political campaign! How blessed am I to have had this opportunity? After our “victory party” last night and standing in heels for over 12 hours yesterday I feel like today is a turning point. I’ve had this internship since I moved down here and I don’t know what I am going to do not waking up every day and going into that office answering “Harold Ford, Jr. for US Senate Campaign Headquarters how can I help you?” Not handing out more yard signs, not making flyers and tickets, not going to rallies and parties! I feel like this internship became so much a part of me and now I have to go back to being the self I once was. Yesterday was a very bittersweet and disappointing day…what an understatement. I still stand with Harold Ford, Jr. and I hope this isn’t the end of his nor my political journey! ------------------------------------------------------------------ Edit: Proposal 2 passed in Michigan...NOT GOOD! Obviously people didn't realize that Affirmative Action helps A LOT of people: yes, even white people! Women are "minorities" too! Current Mood: numb (Comment on this)
Wednesday, November 1st, 2006
2:41 pm	cry a little... I had a bad day today…a very VERY bad day. I can’t begin to express my hatred toward this day. I can’t think of a day where my emotions have been so active as they have been today. And the worst part is that when I came home I opened the door to an empty apartment. There was no one there to comfort me, which made the tears flow even faster. I called home just for my parents to tell me to call back later. So I cried some more, I am still alone, and still feeling the same crappy way I felt earlier. I just wish I had someone here to confide in, to turn to, to rely on. Just ONE person, that’s all. One person to cry to, to ask for advice. But this request isn’t so foreign to me. I’ve been hoping someone like that would come along for some years now… I should be used to being alone. It’s the story of my life. Current Mood: sad (Comment on this)
Friday, October 27th, 2006
8:24 pm	I'm missing you Feeling lonely in a city where I haven’t had the time or luxury to create a vast social life is inevitable. Missing home is also inescapable. I just wish it didn’t hurt so bad; so bad and so often. Everyday I count how long until I am back home, even just for the shortest visit. This land of the Delta Blues is just a smidge too far away from mom and dad for my heart to bear. “Maybe surrounded by a million people I still feel all alone; just want to go home.” Current Mood: lonely (Comment on this)
Wednesday, October 11th, 2006
11:39 pm	Every once in a while it’s nice to hear those three little words “I love you.” It’s even nicer when it’s from someone who doesn’t say it often enough. Today I feel loved and I realize that I DO have amazing people in my life, though now they are all so far away. I had hoped that moving would help me find “a new life” with “new friends,” you know, people better than the vast majority of my friends at home who don’t deserve to be called my friends in the first place. All I’ve found here is that I left behind a lot of love from some of the best people in the world. Oh how I miss them… Current Mood: loved (Comment on this)
Saturday, October 7th, 2006
9:08 pm	There's No Place Like Home Do you ever feel underappreciated? Why on earth am I working so hard and exhausting myself for no one to say “Thanks Sylvonna, that was some really good work you did today!” I just pray that all this work adds up to one great resume by the time I am done with all of this! Anyways, now I sit here in my apartment still not feeling fully recovered from my bout with a sinus infection. I have discarded all my rules and I am sitting on the couch with a container of cake frosting (which is quite delicious) watching the Michigan football game…I call that a LOVELY Saturday afternoon! By the end of this week (which I am hoping FLIES by) I will be back at home for an all too short visit. I cannot wait, I could just jump out of my skin with excitement…home never seemed so good as it does now. That is all, really. I hope you all are doing well! P.s. I will be participating in the Alzheimer’s Association Memory Walk on Nov. 4, 2006. If you feel so inclined please visit my site and maybe leave a donation…even $5 makes a difference! http://memorywalkmemphis.kintera.org/faf/r.asp?t=4&i=156560&u=156560-150211875&e=776020742 (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, September 29th, 2006
12:13 pm	Silenced Just stand still look pretty... Current Mood: blah (Comment on this)
Thursday, August 10th, 2006
8:21 pm	I can see clearly now the rain is gone... Today has been a somewhat rainy day with spurts of sunshine. Nonetheless I've spent the whole day couped up in my apartment once again. But today something was produced...my first piece of artwork. It really isn't too introspective. I don't even know what it means or represents yet, but I know there's something there. It just looks like paint now, but soon I'll figure out what it means to me...even if it's just companionship...knowing I made it. I was also thinking today about art in general. How people look at DaVinci, Monet, Van Gogh, etc. as the artistic geniuses; to me abstract art seems so much more expressional. I know their art meant something to them too, but generally each piece is seen so literally. Abstract allows people to look into the piece and try to find an emotion. This allowed me to open up, get over the fact that I lack any artistic ability, and create something abstract. It doesn't have to be literal, it doesn't have to be scenic...it's just expression! Current Mood: excited, yet...lonely (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, August 9th, 2006
12:04 am	I wish you were a stranger I could disengage... I sit here quietly...a faint mixture of many sounds: the loud southern cockraoches in the trees outside my window, the hum of the air conditioner, the ever so frequent sirens passing by, the tv I keep on all night to "feel safer." One week I've been here and I am already homesick. Maybe it's just that sitting alone in your apartment for hours on end being able to watch nothing but old re-runs on tv isn't the best of company. Everything here is so new to me...I just need something to be familiar; less overwhelming. Once I get into the groove ("boy you've got to prove your love to me....") things will be much smoother, but this chilling alone all day stuff is getting to me! And the damn cockroaches need to shush so I can sleep at night! I guess there's a reason I always loved the Wizard of Oz: No matter where you are "There's no place like home..." ------------------------------------------------- "18 years have come and gone For momma they flew by... Both tryin' not to cry Momma kept on talking Putting off good-bye... This downtown apartment sure makes me miss home And those bills there on the counter Keep telling me I'm on my own... And just like every Sunday I called momma up last night And even when it's not, I tell her everything's alright... And make sure you tell Daddy that I'm still his little girl Yeah, I still feel like I'm where I'm supposed to be..." Current Mood: lonely (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, July 12th, 2006
3:06 pm	Chicagoland! Picture post: Me, Nat and Grace at the Marc Broussard concert! The beautiful beach by Loyola Chicago campus. Home, sweet home! Driving up Lake Shore Drive Grace and myself at the AWESOME Pine Leaf Boy show! ?????I don't even know?????? I guess I was a little thirsty???? Current Mood: excited (Comment on this)
Tuesday, July 4th, 2006
8:22 pm	Happy Birthday... ...to our country... but most of all my Grandpa. He was a good man and life was taken from him too early! Here's to another year he's missed and been missed! And in honor of this day, one we use to celebrate our country and it's independence how about we try to keep it, and the rest of the world, around a little longer: http://climatecrisis.org/ (Comment on this)
Sunday, June 25th, 2006
6:45 pm	Come on and we'll sing.... ...like we were free! Good things can only last so long and in life the only person you can fully trust is yourself. The story of my life remains...I'm forgotten, walked on, looked over... I hate that I have such unreliable people in my life!!!!!!!! It hurts to give and never be given to, it hurts to care and hardly be cared about. Mostly it hurts when people reject you and completely screw you over! That is all...I live on the hope that one day I will find someone as giving and caring as myself and we can give to and care about eachother! Current Mood: crushed (Comment on this)
Saturday, June 17th, 2006
7:58 pm	It hurts some fierce Bittersweet... My brother, who in all actuality is only my half-brother, and I have a very interesting relationship. We grew up 600 miles apart and never really had the ability to form a silbing bond. His personality is one of tremendous proportions. He has a rather large ego and LOVES to argue...he's NEVER wrong. So today, naturally, we were arguing. This went on for a while, at a graduation party, until finally I gave up. On the way home my brother decides to tell me I shouldn't aruge if I don't have valid points and that he hates how I always argue without and evidence. On top of this he is downgrading what I've accomplished. When we were arguing earlier I was saying how large of an ego he has. He shot back "well at least I have stuff to prove it." I said "I have plenty of things to brag about too but you don't hear me talking." "What do you have to brag about? How much you shop and how prissy you are?" No...what I have to brag about is the fact that I graduated from suma cum laude from high school with an accounting certificate at the end of my junior year. Now at the end of what would be my senior year of high school I have 96 college credits and a cumulative gpa of 3.7! It hurts so bad because I just want his approval; I just want to have a good relationship with my brother... The two people I want approval from are the two people who can make me feel the most useless. My father and my brother. I look up to them and respect them so much that when they say something hurtful it is multiplied ten fold. I just want to feel like I've earned their respect and admiration. I just wish he cared a little. Current Mood: crushed (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, June 16th, 2006
11:53 am	AHHH...sweet summer! I've been busy, but in a TERRIBLY good way. My brother and my niece are here which makes me so happy because I hadn't seen my little snuggle bug since last July...you can only imagine how she's changed! We went to the zoo yesterday and it is so much fun to look at life through the eyes of a child. She was amazed by the smallest things. Funny part about it is we pay all this money to get in the zoo and she is most fascinated by ducks, squirrels and birds! This was her last time I saw her: And this is her now: Needless to say I am having a good time! I hope you all are enjoying this GLORIOUS weather as well! Current Mood: excited (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, June 5th, 2006
2:57 pm	My Hips Don't Lie... I am LOVING life right now! It's the first time in a long while that I've been able to say that...and it feels GOOD! I am content, taking everyday for what it's worth, enjoying every moment if only for the fact that it's passed. I feel confident! I'm having fun! I'm being productive!!! The reason for all of this...I've let go of my worries and stress! I used to worry so much about school, work, sorority, etc. But this summer I'm taking it easy and living life like a normal 18 year old instead of living like someone in her mid 30s! Acting like a normal 18 year old constitues, well...this: This weekend was amazing. I spent time with the people I love the most, and caught up with some OLD friends I hadn't seen in a while...which is ALWAYS nice! I even got to dance with a really cute guy I've been crushing on for a while! So let's just hope this is the way life is going to be for a while...fun, productive, and happy!!! Current Mood: content (Comment on this)
Friday, June 2nd, 2006
12:33 am	Tonight was VERY interesting, and came with quite a few interesting emotions! I went to the Lincoln High School class of 2006 graduation... Doesn't sound odd, but it is because I was a member of the Lincoln High School class of 2006! Crazy to think just tonight I would have been walking across that stage to recieve my high school diploma when instead I have already accumulated 90 some college credits! It was a reminder of HOW much I've accomplished and how far I've come! I feel more than blessed to have been able to recieve all the opporutnity God laid out for me! I feel amazed that I had the chance to achieve so much. At the same time I feel like I missed out on so much. I went from a school of 1,500 to a school of 300 and I graduated with only 3 or 4 people that I actually knew! I didn't have a class song, class flower, class moto...we didn't even get to throw our caps. I didn't have senior skip day, no senior prank and I didn't "run through the halls of the high school," or "scream from the top of my lungs." All in all I didn't even have a senior year! I do think the educational path that I took has made me a better person and has taken me to a palce I never could have imagined being otherwise! Now it's time for me, along with the rest of the class of 2006, to finally move on. I think I'm ready, but it's going to take some getting used to. Memphis is what I want, and I cannot wait to finally be living out my hopes and dreams! CONGRATULATIONS to the class of 2006...we finally did it...we made it through! GO BLUE!!! Current Mood: pleased (Comment on this)
Wednesday, May 31st, 2006
1:02 pm	Let's Give 'Em Something to Talk About New Livejournal: The other one was acting weird...and it's old...and it's time to streamline! That is all ...oh, and: GO PISTONS!!! They better win tonight! (2 Comments |Comment on this)