Schoolspiration by Kamina Fitzgerald Ed.D.

I have been going to Starbucks since it became “A Thing” in the early 2000s. I know it started in 1971, but it didn’t become huge until then. I remember seeing people walk around toting their cup with a feeling of importance and caffeine-induced gratification. It created Starbuck Snobs, who felt better than the person holding their Mum & Pop, or Dunkin Donuts cups.

(Sorry New York, I know Dunkin is the “Starbucks of the North”)

I remember sitting in my auditorium-style business class in undergrad, coffee in hand as we listened to our professor drone on. Back then, it was mostly coffee from a local spot next to the Uni, called The Java Cafe. (Whom offered free refills from the house coffee choices, which were delicious)

As the years have gone by and the amount of sugar, caffeine and prices have gone up, I began to question my consistent support of buying from Starbucks in the past year or so.

I began to research what the company has been doing financially, nutritionally and politically, and have finally concluded that the time has come for us to part ways. So, no Starbucks cards for Christmas please.

I will continue to make my own lattes, which I have been doing more often, thanks to Natural Bliss coming up with this delicious Coconut Milk Creamer that I love!

I will also continue to frequent the Mum & Pop Coffee Shops which has been cheaper and tastier, in my opinion. I cannot began to tell you all of the things I had to add and take away just to make my drink from Starbucks taste decent. Not to mention, my caffeine intake has drastically decreased, since most homemade coffee typically have less than their counterparts. I am a firm believer that people should dig into research themselves so that they can make their own “informed” decisions.

So if you choose to continue to drink Starbucks, go for it! I personally wanted to share that I no longer would be frequenting their stores and felt it warranted it’s own blog post because of the amount of years I have supported it. Below are a few articles that may or may not be of interest.

Have a Stupendous Saturday! Coffee Cheers!

Check out this article from Living Well Spending Less https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYgjbYzCHSU

return from hiatus

The Hiatus on Double-Minded Island

November 12, 2018November 14, 2018 schoolspiration

Good day mate!

I am back from my hiatus on Double-Minded Island. Double-Minded Island, is an Island shaped like a hand and is a place people end up who are in the valley of decisions.

On the island, as I was reflecting about life and where I wanted to go from this point, a memory of a time come to mind. It was 11 years ago and I had been applying to different alternative teaching programs around the U.S. and internationally. It was a very confusing time. I had been praying for clarification because every opportunity that came appeared to be a good idea, but as we know, not everything that is “good” is of “God.”

So one day, I was in an old building I used to rent for a business we owned. The new owners had made the building into a used book store that I frequented from time to time. As I stood in line to purchase a book, a man came behind me that looked like a character from a Canterbury Tales novel.

As I was standing in line, taking my wallet out for payment, the gentleman behind me asked about a picture in my wallet of a family member. After providing some insight about that person, he went on to ask me had I been trying to make a decision lately about moving? I was surprised because I had been trying to decide on whether or not to move.

He told me to hold out my hand, he wanted to use it as an analogy. He held up my pointer finger and said, “This is your who, the middle finger is your what, the ring finger is your when, the pinky finger is your where and your thumb finger is your why.” He went on to say, “Never make a decision to do anything, unless the why makes sense. The why functions like your thumb and without it, you won’t grip very well, or hold on to anything for long.” He told me praying about it will help me make sound decisions.” Afterwards, I thanked him and he mentioned he had to go walk to the store up the road to get medicine for his wife. It was super cold outside that day, as it was circa October 2007, so I was surprised he was walking. After I paid, I went outside to make sure he was ok and there was no sign of him anywhere.

I got into my car and sat there thinking at how much God must really care to send a man to tell me something like that when I really needed hear it. As I prayed and reflected on the positions I vacillated between; I thought about my hands, my fingers and my why. As I did this, things became much more clear. I began to ask myself, “Self why do I really want to go to these places?” I began to realize a lot of the why was not for me per say, but for the opinions of others.

We end up on Double-Minded Island because of discontentment. Discontentment usually comes from comparing ourselves to others. It can start small, walking by someone and noticing their designer watch or bag. Trolling through Instagram, FB, or Twitter, and seeing smiling faces on vacations in nice restaurants, water skying and such. It could even come from chatting with a friend and hearing about a really great experience they’ve recently had. All of these happenings could lead to discontentment and unhappiness.

I am so glad I had that memory after my hiatus to Double-Minded Island because it reminded me the importance of knowing my why behind each decision I make. If you are trying to decide between a decision, and end up on Double-Minded Island and remember:

Pointer Finger – Who

Middle Finger – What

Ring Finger – When

Pinky Finger – Where

Thumb Finger – WHY

This will get you back on the Boat of Contentment, which is a much joyful and peaceful place.

I leave you with these last word of encouragement.

Rejoicing in Trials

James 1: 6-8

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6 But he must ask in faith, without doubting, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That man should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

Have a peep of my Schoolspiration book! It is FREE on Kindle and only $2.99 on other tablets:

https://www.amazon.com/SchoolSpiration-Sprinkle-Wellness-Creating-Inspire-ebook/dp/B076DHB5HB

Life is too precious to remain stuck in an unpleasant story, so go ahead and close that story book and began a new one. ~Kamina Fitzgerald

story time

Two Sets of Joneses

October 7, 2018October 7, 2018 schoolspiration

Seventeen years ago….

I was in college on my way back with friends from performing. We were in the “singing assemble group” for our college that consisted of 6 girls and 12 guys. We went around singing to churches and organizations that donated money to our university.

Anyhoot, I was in the car and this music group came on the radio. I was immediately transported back in time to the 1960s, as the sound of a guitar blared and the lead singer’s voice droned on, it actually made me feel like I was at Wood Stock. *chuckle*

Well, minus the “not so good” parts of Wood Stock. Sorry, I digressed from the main point.

As I listened to the words of the song, it really had a deep impact on me. After the song ended, I asked my friends the title of the song. They replied, “Two Sets of Joneses.” So I decided to share the story with you all but if you choose to skip it, I have attached the video below for your viewing pleasure.

STORY TIME

The story begins with the two couples named, Rothchild and Evelyn Jones, and Reuben and Sue Jones.

(Sorry, this was the best generalized image I could find of two couples, just use your imagination!)

Now, back to the story

Evelyn had a lot of money and Rothchild Jones was so excited because after he married her, she bought them a house on the beach.

Reuben and Sue Jones did not have earthly wealth but they were followers of Jesus and felt that having Him was plenty because they trusted in Him to provide for them.

The hook of the song described “hard times” as rain coming down and blowing the four walls down, and when the clouds rolled away; only one set of Joneses would be standing. So, essentially whenever hard times came, only one couple would be able to handle it.

As time passed, eventually Evelyn Jones and Sue Jones were pregnant.

In Evelyn’s case, Rothchild worked late hours so that he could remain on top of the business, and her father was very proud and happy to have such a son-in-law. Rothchild worked so hard, that while Evelyn was having their first child, he was on an airplane flying to Dallas on business.

In Sue’s case, when she was having their first child, the entire hospital heard Reuben exclaim, “It’s a boy!” He was right by her side and even stayed home with Sue to help her take care of the baby for a few days. While he was out of work, some of his co-workers took up a collection for Reuben and it ended up being enough for the bills that month.

Needless to say, Evelyn Jones ended up leaving Rothchild and sued him for everything he had.

The moral of the story: Is your life built on the Rock of Christ Jesus or Sandy foundations that YOU have managed to lay?

Why is this important? Because when the rain comes down, and blows the four walls down, when the clouds roll away, will you be still standing or blown away?

Just a thought. The video is below, enjoy 🙂

Have a peep of my Schoolspiration book!

It is FREE on Kindle and only $2.99 on other tablets:

https://www.amazon.com/SchoolSpiration-Sprinkle-Wellness-Creating-Inspire-ebook/dp/B076DHB5HB

transgenders, procreation

Question for Transgenders on “Being the Future” without Procreation, what is the plan?

October 5, 2018October 5, 2018 schoolspiration

I have a former student that has made a decision after a couple of years of dressing like a female, to have the full surgery to become a female. I asked him if he was sure because once he had it done, it would be hard to transition back. After talking with his boyfriend and friends, he decided he was sure.

Currently, there is a Senior in High School who made a statement that puzzled some people on Social Media and the local News Paper, so I wanted to put it on here. The student is a male in a high school located in North Carolina, who now identifies as a female, and is running for Homecoming Queen. He received some backlash on Social Media, and his response was essentially, “get over it because Transgenders are the future.”

The question of the hour for Transgenders are, “If you are the future, what is the plan to continue in that direction without procreation?”

This question is on many peoples’ hearts, what do you think?

Feel free to leave cordial comments below, ciao!

Life is too precious to remain stuck in an unpleasant story, so go ahead and close that story book and began a new one. ~Kamina Fitzgerald

Have a peep of my Schoolspiration book!

It is FREE on Kindle and only $2.99 on other tablets:

https://www.amazon.com/SchoolSpiration-Sprinkle-Wellness-Creating-Inspire-ebook/dp/B076DHB5HB

Preparing for College, AP vs Dual Enrollment

AP Courses versus Dual Enrollment Courses: Decide for Yourself

October 3, 2018October 3, 2018 schoolspiration

I am in an Advanced Placement Workshop in Chapel Hill, NC and boy have I been enlightened. Being a proponent of Dual Enrollment for years, after this workshop, I have changed my mind. FYI: Dual enrollment students are students enrolled in high school while also taking a few community college courses at the same time. AP students are enrolled in advanced high school courses where they could earn a college credit by scoring 3 or higher on their exams.

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So I felt it was my duty to share with parents and students of Middle and High school the advantage of AP courses. I mentioned middle school so that they could start thinking ahead because the GPA from 8th grade could help qualify or disqualify students for an AP course in 9th grade.

AP Information

Advance Placement courses provides greater educational outcomes for student. Did you know that when students apply to college, having AP courses listed on their transcripts makes them more competitive?
Ap students who score 3 or higher on exams, are more likely than dual enrollment students to earn a college degree within four years, which could save students/families time and money in the long run. Did you know that when students have a choice between going to a community college to take a basic “core” classes or a high school AP core course, the AP course will provide more rigor? This is huge because AP courses was made to prepare students to think more critically, and complete challenging assignments.
AP students have higher college GPAs than dual enrollment students. Did you know that if an admission team is looking at a dual enrollment student versus an AP students’ transcript, the AP student will look more appealing because of the level of rigor in AP courses?

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What the critics say!

Why should my child take an AP course when they can go ahead and take a core class at the community college and have it count as a college credit automatically? My answer: You should have your child take the AP course because it is more rigorous, it will look better to college admission teams, and statistically AP students will finish college on time due to being able to handle more challenging material.
Wouldn’t a college be more likely to take a dual enrollment student over an AP student, since the dual enrollment student has already taken basic community college courses? My answer: No! There are a lot of admission teams (who wouldn’t admit it in public 😉 and research that shows that most dual enrollment students still has to be remediated once they enter college where as, AP students do not. (This even includes the ones who score under 3 on their exams) because of their rigorous curriculum.

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AP Student Takeaways

AP Students who score a 3 or higher on the exam will get to count that credit as a college credit.
AP Students who score under a 3 on the exam will get to have it on their transcript which will still help with college admissions.
AP students have a higher success rate to complete college on time.
AP students are more likely to out-perform dual enrollment students their first year in college.

2_Feb_2016_AP-2

AP Exam and Curriculum Takeaways

Courses and exams are developed by representatives from colleges and universities across the nation and align with standards set by well respected liberal arts and research institutions.
AP teachers’ syllabi go a review by college faculty ensuring consistency in quality and expectations across AP courses.
AP exams provides a standard means of comparison between AP courses nationwide.
AP exams provide external validation of teaching and learning in the classroom. The exams are scores by college professors and expert teachers, not the students’ personal teacher.

Why Take AP.png

AP vs Dual Enrollment Programs

Dual enrollment programs do not have any external measures, such as a standardized assessment to measure and ensure consistency in quality. It is for this reason it is difficult for admission officers and college faculty to gauge the quality of any given dual enrollment course. http://www.ncappartnership.org/ap-research.html

Access to challenging work is essential for college and career readiness. So parents and students, consider AP classes, you will not regret it, it will only benefit you!

AP-Concurrent

It is the belief that students should challenge themselves and take courses for which they are academically prepared and motivated. ~College Board

emotional vampires, life hacks, sound advice

Identify the Emotional Vampires in your Life

September 21, 2018September 21, 2018 schoolspiration

When you hear the word “vampire” the images that may come to mind is Barnabas Collins from “Dark Shadows”

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or Edward Cullen from “Twilight”.

New Moon

But I have come to inform you that vampires are quite real, maybe not in the sense of these characters, but when it comes to certain individuals we have in our lives, they could very well be Emotional Vampires and if they are, you need to run the other way, fast!

1049-How-to-Recognize-and-Escape-Emotional-Vampires

Now in order to run from the Emotional Vampires, you will need to be able to recognize them. So I will list six ways to identify these horrible creatures.

Emotionally Draining – The first thing you will noticed about this type of individual is how emotionally and physically drained you feel after being in their company. I am not talking about the occasional time when a particular family member or friend share their issues with you and you feel slightly tired after listening to them. I am talking about the individual who does it the emotional vampire way. Instead of sharing a small problem, they bombard you a plethora of them while sucking you dry of advice and emotional responses ALL THE TIME, barely stopping to allow you a word in edge-wise. You may ask, “What is wrong with doing this? Plenty of people do this, even I do this!” But that is not what I am referring to. I am talking about feeling like your head is literally spinning after you finish a conversation with them. #abnormalfeeling

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2. Negativity Overload – After the conversation is long over with the emotional vampire in your life, you still experience this nagging negativity hangover. It is like taking a Benadryl too late before bed and waking up feeling the groggy brain-fog, after-affect.

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You probably did not realize until now, but that cloud of negativity was not coming from you; it actually came from the words of that emotional vampire you have been surrounding yourself with.

breaking-bad-habites-support

3. You feel better when they are not around – Picture yourself listening to the individual; while listening to them you feel bad, after listening to them you still feel gloomy. It isn’t until you have gone a few days, weeks or months, without talking/listening to this individual that you start to feel somewhat normal again. This is because while conversing with them, they not only unload a lot of negativity on you; they also tend to not actively listen to anything you have to say, hardly ever. So going on a detox from this individual may show you just how good life could be without them. So go ahead and press the “Reset” button, for lighter and happier times ahead. #letitgo

happy

4. Simplicity goes out the Window – Another sign of an emotional vampire is when having, what you believe to be, a simple conversation with them, ends up leaving you in a ball of confusion.

ball-of-confusion

What starts out as a simple statement, ends with the emotional vampire taking things completely out of context; leaving you disoriented and wondering what in the sam hill went wrong. Communication gaps happen, yes, but in the case of the emotional vampire, they are inevitable because the vampire is usually busy being negative, playing mind games, refusing to give straight answers or being overly defensive of their “uncalled for” behavior. This is definitely a trait that you should be on the look out for because simplicity is certainly a thing of the past with them. #byebyesimplicity

5. They make you feel deflated – These emotional vampires tend to deflate everyone around them. They cannot stand to see anyone thriving in anything because they are debbie-downers, and want to make others feel that way too. #downerslovecompany

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A true friend would like for you to be happy and celebrate with you when things are good, and comfort you when things are bad. An emotional vampire does the complete opposite covertly, they do not bring comfort; nor do they celebrate you. They only do it if it serves themselves in some form or fashion. Most of the time they appear to only “tolerate” you being in their lives. They are really not into you or what you have going on but keep you around for their own purposes. So ask yourself again, why do you entertain such a person? Inquiring minds would like to know.

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6. You have a sneaky suspicion the friendship isn’t quite real – With emotional vampires, they only put up with you because a) they need a sounding-board b) they need someone to put down so that they can feel better about themselves c) they need emotional responses to what they are saying [in these cases they will have multiple people they run to for this because your response alone will not be enough] d) they need your energy to empower themselves.

Notice how all of these reasons are about them and not the friendship? This is normally the case with these creatures, I mean, emotional vampires. Once they get the energy and attention they crave, you will be out of sight and out of their narrow minds, until they need another energy fix again.

funny-coffee-scream-yawn

What to do if you have been bitten by an emotional vampire:

Establish the no contact rule, this is important because they are sly creatures and can usually lure you back into the friendship before you have time to think about it. Cutting ties will allow you to get back to emotional freedom sooner than later.
Do not try to reason with emotional vampires, it will not work. You will just become tangled up again in their web of deceit.
If you work with the person in a common organization, separate yourself and only deal with them professionally. Do not meet up for dinner, or talk on the phone. Keep everything strictly work related, and AT WORK ONLY.
Develop a support system of people who care about you, and who are willing to talk and actively listen. This marks a healthy relationship.

Well Wishes!

Have a peep of my Schoolspiration book!

It is FREE on Kindle and only $2.99 on other tablets:

https://www.amazon.com/SchoolSpiration-Sprinkle-Wellness-Creating-Inspire-ebook/dp/B076DHB5HB

Journey, Blogging, Be Inspired, story time

SOS, Abandon the Flaky-Ship!

September 16, 2018September 16, 2018 schoolspiration

I randomly decided to look up what “SOS” stood for and was surprised to find that it did not stand for anything at all. It simply was chosen as a signal because it could be easily transmitted in Morse Code during distress. So that’s what it is, a signal.

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Some of us right now are knowingly or unknowingly sending out distress signals. We could do this by having a short temper, crying a lot, not eating or eating too much, losing interest in a thing called “life” and becoming reclusive to name a few. We may be distressed about our jobs, distressed about our families, distressed about relationships, distressed about organizations we belong to or volunteer for, distressed about friends or frenemies, distressed, distressed, DiSTRESSED! So in the event of this happening, what should one do?

They should asked for help and communicate with someone but what we tend to do is keep everything bottled up until we one day go bonkers!

Im_going_to_go_CRAZY

So instead of going bananas, go ahead and send out an SOS; reflect on what has been distressing you and plan to abandon the flaky-ship altogether. By Flaky-Ship, I mean Flaky-Shaky-Relationships with family, friends, jobs, and organizations. Do like the guy below and leave the Flaky-Ship behind you. Yes, it looks sturdy, and seems solid, but it is not. It is full of distress, so off you go!

2593963-Mljet--Nathan-jumping-off-the-boat-0

Definition of Distress

dis·tress

dəˈstres/noun

1. extreme anxiety, sorrow, or pain.

“to his distress he saw that she was trembling”

synonyms: Anguish, suffering, pain, agony, torment, heartache, heartbreak

2. give (furniture, leather, or clothing) simulated marks of age and wear.

“the manner in which leather jackets are industrially distressed”

Just reading over this definition lets you know that being in “distress” is no cake walk.

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So if you are in a situation that is causing you anguish, torment, pain, anxiety, heartache and sorrow; it may be time to abandon that particular thing FOR GOOD.

Do you ever wonder why it is so hard to exit a bad situation? I mean, you would think it would be quite easy to walk away considering how unpleasant it is for you, but it does not always work that way, does it?

The reason it is hard to exit bad situations is because we become used to them. We become comfortable feeling the pain, anguish, anxiety and sorrow in our lives; and began to wear them like an old hat. They become our norm. So we walk around knowingly or unknowingly sending out SOS signals, while doing absolutely nothing to address them.

This has got to stop, I wrote this blog as a reminder to you that it is time to break out the composition notebooks and take inventory of your lives. Are you going to continue on in a distressed state of mind (unhealthy well-being) or a joyful state of mind (healthy well-being)? The choice is yours.

Family

When it comes to your family, you cannot necessarily “abandon the Flaky-Ship” per say, but you can abandon negative patterns that may occur between you all.

For example, if you tend to argue a lot with a particular family member(s), choose to react in a different manner than you would normally would. Once the argument starts, do not retort with the normal sarcasm.

Instead, allow the person to say their piece and simply say you respect their opinion but have nothing further to say (even if you do).

This way, you are choosing not to argue with them on that day and will leave them perplexed and wondering what in the sam hill just happened.

**This is a great way to throw off the argument pattern.

After a few times of choosing not to engage the family member(s), you will eventually change the argument pattern completely for the better. This method truly works because I have read about it in real-life case studies and it has drastically improved peoples’ relationships with one another.

Please do not get me wrong, I am not saying avoid the pink elephant in the room; I am simply saying, the middle of a heated argument is not the right time to point out the pink elephant. It is best to discuss issues when both parties are not upset, and are ready to listen, offense will be less likely occur at this time.

It takes two or more people to argue, so if you remove yourself from the equation, the argument cannot occur.

Friends

When dealing with friends, it can be tricky. There is not a one size fits all method when deciding to abandon a flaky-friendship. This will have to be done on a case by case basis but if you have people in your company that produce constant feelings of pain, sorrow, anguish, anxiety and distress in your life, you may want to consider abandoning that flaky-ship.

Why? Because it is not healthy, and will cause yourself heartache in the long run. Some of you have been losing sleep, not looking your best, overeating, carry bags under your eyes and nursing constant headaches, all because you have the wrong associations/attachments. Is it really worth it?

*Remember, the reason behind this blog post is to identify, decrease and eliminate “distress” in your lives.

Organizations

Some of us are linked to organizations that does nothing but bring anxiety, drama, sorrow and pain into our lives. Initially you may of joined for a good cause but “the cause” seemed to have left the building a long time ago.

When you want to leave, you may be bombarded with these thoughts:

“I may as well stay because it is like this everywhere” or

“I have been in it forever so I can’t leave” or

“my family was in it, if I leave, I will break tradition” or

“I have an important position in this place, I can’t leave my position.”

You get the picture, there will always be something or someone trying to convince you to stay in something, but again, if it is causing you constant “distress”, and your body is sending out SOS signals all over the place, its time to unapologetically, abandon the flaky-ship.

I hope you all were taking notes in your composition notebooks and are planning to truly reflect on all of these areas in your life after you finish reading, because it is amazing how your body will began to heal itself once you start eliminating rubbish from different areas in your life.

Life is too precious to remain stuck in an unpleasant story, so go ahead and close that story book and began a new one. ~Kamina Fitzgerald

Have a peep of my Schoolspiration book!

It is FREE on Kindle and only $2.99 on other tablets:

https://www.amazon.com/SchoolSpiration-Sprinkle-Wellness-Creating-Inspire-ebook/dp/B076DHB5HB