Did you catch me on WBHM today discussing my everyday fitness challenge?
If not, hear an excerpt of the interview here. 

This morning on WBHM 90.3 FM, Birmingham's NPR affiliate, discussing my 365 days of fitness challenge. As I announced at the start of the year, in 2014 I plan to exercise every single day. I am a guest blogger for WBHM's website and for my latest post -- Strong Is the New Skinny -- I explained why I'm embarking on this challenge and had a chat with fitness professional Kelly Creel for some guidance. Creel, who is the co-owner of Inspire Fitness Birmingham, actually doesn't think I'm crazy for planning to work out daily. 

"The human body was engineered for movement, so moving it every day in some form, even if that’s at a light intensity, is a wonderful goal,” Creel said. She did, however, give me some tips on how to prevent injury during my challenge. She recommended light workouts such as restorative yoga or a leisurely walk outside once or twice a week. She also said I should let myself off the hook and take a break if I’m sick.

At this point I've been exercising daily for a month and I'm loving it! If the idea of working out every day sounds absolutely miserable, you probably need to change your idea of exercise. If I were on the treadmill (or dreadmill, as I call) every day or the boring elliptical 7 days a week I would absolutely hate this and probably wouldn't have lasted one week. But for the past month exercise has meant going for a run on my favorite trail, going for a walk with a friend, and grooving and moving with the Wii game Just Dance. It's meant Spinning classes and yoga. It's meant building strength with Jillian Michaels DVDs.  

When I was in college I taught group fitness classes and each time I laced up my sneakers and put on that microphone headset I was in a zone. There was no care or concern that my Funk Aerobics class couldn't dance away. 

But somewhere along the way I started viewing exercise as something that I had to do to shed the extra weight I picked up over the years and tone up muscles that were no longer as firm as they were in college. 

This month, however, I have rediscovered the joy of exercise. Exercise is a privilege. It's a privilege to have a body that, for the most part, moves when and how I want it to. It's a privilege to be able to afford Spinning and yoga classes, running shoes and even $10 Jillian Michaels DVDs. It's privilege to have free time that I may use to do things I love to make my body feel good. Working out isn't something I have to do; it's something I get to do. 

If you missed my interview this morning, I believe it will air again this evening around 5:30 p.m. Tune in! 

Yesterday my sweet home Alabama was hit with an unexpected snow storm around 10 a.m. This resulted in possibly hundreds of people stranded at work or on roadways as many highways and streets became impassable due to ice and abandoned cars. I was one of the lucky ones and managed to make it home in about three hours. (My commute is normally less than 15 minutes.) My younger brother, who was living a doctor's appointment when the snowfall started didn't make it home until about six hours later. 

Things got bad. Really bad. I think Birmingham columnist John Archibald described it best:  

Snowpocalypse. Car-mageddon. Our day of wreckoning. Children separated from their families, pregnant women trapped in SUVs, infants stranded without formula, traffic snarled beyond belief, icy cold misery from the Shoals to the shore.

In a state that always over-reacts, that sells out bread and milk days in advance of "a dusting" and calls off schools at the threat of wind chill, we were caught with our snow pants down.

Some Northerners may scoff at our panic over a few inches of accumulation and deem us as country bumpkins, but those people can suck it! (Oh, I'm sorry. That wasn't very Southern or ladylike of me, was it?) Just as people in some Northern states consider 85 degrees a heat wave because they don't have central air, the South is crippled by snow because we don't have the equipment or resources to handle it. And while I'm lucky enough to have had much experience driving in snow and ice due to my years living in the Midwest, most of my fellow Alabamians don't have such knowledge and thus have every right to freak out when white stuff starts falling from the sky. 

But in the midst of this mess Southerners stuck together. 

Image via The Daily South

Erin Shaw Street of Southern Living and Julie McKinney of Alabama Media Group both compiled examples of heartwarming southern hospitality. 

People were helping complete strangers push cars that were stuck. Businesses and churches opened their doors to stranded motorists who were hungry and cold. People even opened their homes to those who needed a place to sleep overnight. And teachers across the state stayed at school to take care of kids who couldn't make it home. 

Alabama School of Fine Arts kids spending the night at school

We Southerners even used the Internet as a way to help, tweeting out traffic information and details about shelters.  A Facebook page was created to help stranded motorists. 

So, no, we may not have the equipment to deal with snowfall and ice, but we have hearts of kindness that can weather any storm. 

In honor of last night's 2014 Grammy Awards I thought I'd pretend to be a music blogger and write about some of the female musicians who rocked my world last year. 

First, however, I must digress for the dudes, because my favorite performances last night were all by men in music. Metallica's set made me miss the days when I (believe it or not) was really, really into rock. And didn't you just love the performance of the hit song "Get Lucky"by Daft Punk, Pharrell Williams, Niles Rodgers and Stevie Wonder? They hit the stage and suddenly the Grammys turned into a big party with all the audience members on their feet dancing and having a good time. With songs like "Get Lucky" and the Oscar-nominated "Happy," Pharrell is making music fun again. (And considering how many awards he won last night, it seems the Grammy folks agree with me.) 

But that Kendrick Lamar/Imagine Dragons collaboration was the best thing I've seen on television in a long time. That performance gave me chills and had my heart racing like I was running a half marathon. In fact, I felt like I could've run a half marathon in that moment.

 


Now back to the ladies. 

When last night's 2014 Grammy Awards opened with a performance by Beyonce and Jay-Z my hips and shoulders just started shaking and swaying on their own. That's what happens whenever I hear "Drunk In Love" or just about any other song from Bey's latest album, the album that I'm still listening to at least twice a week even though it was released a month and a half ago. 

Although Beyonce's performance was a bit lackluster compared to what we've come to expect from the Queen, I will continue to rock out to her unapologetically feminist album. (And no, I don't think Beyonce's sexually explicit songs or last night's sensual performance makes her less of a feminist. Women are sexual beings just as men are and, guess what, that's OK.) Also, I must admit that the way Mr. and Mrs. Carter were gushing over each other throughout last night's show had me gushing too. Remember, y'all, feminism is for lovers. 

Later in the night Sara Bareilles had the chance to perform her song "Brave" with her idol Carole King. Bareilles has been wowing me with her songwriting and her vocal prowess since her debut album Little Voice with ballads like "Gravity" and feminist tracks like "Fairytale."  

I've seen Bareilles perform live twice and she's one of those few artists who actually sound better sans studio help. I stood in line for hours before the show so I could be front and center for the performance and for hours after the show so I could get a snapshot with her. 

She signed my CD too. 

New and edgy pop singer Lorde took home the Grammys for best pop solo performance and song of the year. She also performed her hit song "Royals" which was my anthem this summer. You can find Lorde's debut release Pure Heroine in heavy rotation in my Mazda. This 17-year-old won me over with her interview last year with Rookie Mag when she stated: 

I’m speaking for a bunch of girls when I say that the idea that feminism is completely natural and shouldn’t even be something that people find mildly surprising, it’s just a part of being a girl in 2013. 

Yes. Feminism is natural. That's music to my ears.

So…during my 30th birthday celebration this happened.

For the first time in my life I am not looking forward to my birthday.

If you know me well, you know I love birthdays -- not just my birthday but everybody's! I consider a birthday a perfect reason to have a party. But in about two weeks I'll be turning 33 and this year I don't feel like celebrating.

It's like I'm having the blues most folks get when they're turning 30, but three years later.

As my 33rd birthday approaches I've been sitting around thinking of all the things I had hoped to accomplish by now that I haven't.

I realize this makes me an ungrateful brat.

I realize that instead of dwelling on dreams that haven't come to fruition I should be thanking God for the ones that have. Instead of focusing on the things I don't have in my life, I should be counting my blessings.

I have lived all over the country and traveled to Puerto Rico, Nicaragua and Canada.

I have a master's degree from one of the best public institutions in the country -- UC Berkeley.

I have interviewed celebrities like Jamie Foxx and Ani DiFranco.

I have seen my byline in the Chicago Sun Times, The Seattle Times, USA Today and a number of national magazines.

I married my best friend.

I have the privilege of teaching smart, funny, kind, and unbelievably talented teens every single day.

I am thankful for parents who hugged me every day and told me they loved me every night.

I am grateful for my love for the written word.

I am thankful for the people who read this little blog of mine.

I am grateful for my body and its ability to walk, run, and dance.

I am thankful for the wonderful women I've met through See Jane Write.

I am grateful that I live in a country and in an era that afford me the opportunity to look at my life and reshape into exactly what I want it to be.

Image by the USDA via Flickr/Creative Commons

Last Friday Michelle Obama celebrated her 50th birthday. Many people -- from journalists to politicians to everyday citizens -- sent the First Lady well wishes via social media. 

Alabama-based writer Cassie Fambro, however, felt that many of these good intentions missed the mark. Most people seemed more focused on Mrs. Obama's sculpted triceps and trendy frocks than on the work she's done over the past several years, Fambro laments in her article "Twitter wishes Michelle Obama a happy birthday, but makes it about style over substance."

Fambro writes:

Instead of linking to the efforts Michelle Obama has made to promote healthy eating and exercise with "Let's Move," mainstream media was guilty of linking to which dresses they liked best that the first lady wore.

Boston.com, for example, shared 15 style lessons from the First Lady.  CNN focused on "How Michelle Obama used style to move a nation." 

Fambro says at least Bill Clinton got it right. He tweeted: 

Happy 50th to @FLOTUS Michelle Obama. Thanks for the great work you do with @LetsMove to help our kids get healthy.

Fambro's article, made an excellent point but also made me wonder if it will ever be possible for a woman to be celebrated for both style and substance. I certainly admire the FLOTUS for both. I applaud her efforts to end childhood obesity, the successful career she had before becoming First Lady, and the moving speeches she has given while on the campaign trail for her husband. But I also love that she bucks the typical First Lady attire and rocks a style all her own. And, yes, when I'm working out in my living room to Jillian Michaels DVDs I am usually thinking about how I really want some Michelle Obama guns. 

But, again, is it possible for women to be generally recognized for both substance and style? 

I'm a girl who loves fashion. Though I don't claim to be a style maven yet, I do put thought and careful consideration into what I wear - striving to assemble outfits that are both fashionable and functional. So, yes, I walk a little taller when someone compliments what I'm wearing. But to be clear, I don't wear what I wear simply because I'm fishing for compliments. I wear what I wear simply because I want to. Wearing cute clothes is fun and makes me happy. The compliments are just an added perk. And I love Mrs. Obama's style because she seems to be the kind of lady who wears what she wants, also.

And while compliments on my clothes are great, I want even more accolades for my writing and my teaching. My point is I want to be sharp in every sense of the word -- a sharply dressed lady with a sharp mind.

But women who take pride in their appearance are often considered self-centered or vain or less intelligent. 

Even some of my fellow feminists claim that women who bother to paint their nails or pick out pretty pencil skirts are wasting precious time that should be used on writing, organizing and smashing the patriarchy.

So often women are told that we must avoid trendy attire, clothes that accentuate our femininity and colors like pink in order to be taken seriously. 

In her TED talk on feminism, that's now famous after being featured on Beyonce's new album, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie admits that even she has struggled with this: 

The first time I taught a writing class in graduate school, I was worried. I wasn't worried about the material I would teach because I was well prepared and I was going to teach what I enjoyed teaching. Instead I was worried about what to wear. I wanted to be taken seriously. I knew that because I was female I would automatically have to prove my worth and I was worried that if I looked too feminine I would not be taken seriously. I really wanted to wear my shiny lip gloss and my girly skirt, but I decided not to. Instead I wore a very serious, very manly, and very ugly suit because the sad truth is when it comes to appearance we start off with men as the standard, as the norm.

Adichie goes on to point out the fact that when a man is getting ready for a business meeting he never has to worry about looking "too masculine." 

If Adichie could go back in time, she'd wear her shiny lip gloss and girly skirt. 

She says:

I wish I had not worn that ugly suit that day. Had I then had the confidence I have now to be myself my students would have benefited even more from my teaching because I would have been more comfortable and more fully and more truly myself. I have chosen to no longer be apologetic for my femaleness and for my femininity. I want to be respected in all of my femaleness because I deserve to be. 

And so I want my writing and my wardrobe to look good. I don't think I should have to choose between one or the other. 

Mrs. Bowser in her classroom

I came to a frightening revelation the other day -- I am a role model.

I never set out to be, but if you are a teacher you are a role model, whether you like it or not.

Chances are, you're a role model too -- whether it's to your colleagues, your children, or even your neighbors.

Instead of shirking this responsibility as so many celebrities attempt to do, I have decided to embrace it -- even though the thought of doing so is terrifying.

This weekend I spent some time thinking about how to be a better role model to my students in hopes of offering suggestions of how you can be a better role model to the people in your sphere of influence too.

Don't pretend to be perfect. I am vulnerable with my students and while some may consider this a weakness, I do not. I admit when I mess up. I ask my students for help (especially when some piece of technology in the classroom is, once again, not working). And I don't pretend to have all the answers. If I don't know something, I say so. Being a role model doesn't mean having it all figured it out. No one has it all figured out. My students need to see that it's possible to be confident and successful without being perfect. The people you're influencing need to see that too.

Listen. In my class I do not stand up and lecture every day or even most days. Instead, my English classes involve a lot of discussion of the literature that we study. I sit down with my students and we talk about the literature -- the symbolism, the implied stories, the historical context, and the relevance to current culture. I listen to what my students think about the works we're studying and I respect their opinions even if they have some really wacky theories about what really happened at the end of The Turn of the Screw. Listen to the ideas of others. You'll help them feel empowered and you'll probably learn something too.

Listening and being vulnerable are two things I believe I do well. But there is always room for improvement. There are some things at which I need to be better.

Keep reaching out. It's natural for a teacher to be closer to some students than others. Some students only talk to me about literature and essay writing while others cry on my shoulder after breaking up with a boyfriend or having a fight with their parents. I never let such relationships influence my grading, but I do need to get better about striving to build meaningful relationships with the students who are all business too. I need to have more conversations with them between classes about the books they love to read, their favorite subjects in school, and their plans for college. I need to make sure they know they're important to me. Likewise, keep reaching out to the people around you -- even the people with whom you don't feel you have much in common. Make sure everyone around you knows you respect and honor them for who they are. I believe that will encourage them to respect and honor others too.

End negative self talk. The student population at my school is predominantly female, so I am a especially mindful of the kind of example I'm setting for the girls in my classes. I need to be sure that I never say negative things about my weight or my looks in front of them. I would never want the young women in my classes to take negative things I say about myself and repeat those phrases to the mirror. So please make sure you're promoting positive self talk around the girls in your life too.

What tips do you have to offer on being a positive role model? 

When I wrote about five things that made me a happy feminist last week, I didn't intend to make this a regular feature of the blog. But things keep bringing joy to my feminist heart. So here we go…

1. Gabby gets the  last laugh. 

When some Twitter trolls had some not-so-nice things to say about Gabourey Sidibe as she walked the red carpet at the Golden Globes on Sunday, Gabby's response via Twitter was perfect: 

"To people making mean comments about my GG pics, I mos def cried about it on that private jet on my way to my dream job last night. #JK," 

Love it!

Haters gon' hate. 

2. Beyonce wrote an essay. And since I too write essays I decided this must mean I am Beyonce. (Just let me roll with this.) 




3. A colleague of mine asked me to come to his class give a guest lecture… on Beyonce! 

4. On the same day I wrote a post on why I believe Christian men should want a feminist wife, Sarah Bessey, a.k.a. Jesus Feminist, wrote an acute post in response to Candace Cameron's comments on submission and "biblical marriage." Bessey and I both believe marriage is about mutual submission. As Bessey states in her post: 

My husband and I submit to one another as we both submit to Christ. We learned that from our Bibles.

5. An acquaintance of mine sent me a Facebook message that read: 

"I did not know I was a feminist until I met you…you have rocked my world."

And with that she most certainly made my week. 


What made you happy this week?