Check Please, Jocelyn
The San Francisco Bay Area has a local show called Check Please, Bay Area. I made an appearance and got the opportunity to talk about one of the best Thai restaurants around: Siam Bay in Oakland. Because of the show, I discovered a Liberian restaurant called Kendejah. If you’re in the Bay, visit these places.…
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You Might Be Depressed If…
It was January when I decided I needed to leave Los Angeles and move back to the Bay Area to be closer to my dad. That March, my boyfriend, who also lived in Northern California, proposed to me. I moved in May. My entire life changed in a matter of months but I felt ready…
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Hello Infertility, I’m Depressed
My dream for a child of my own started when I was 11 years old. I wasn’t even aware at the time that it was a dream. I thought I was just helping my mother see a dream of hers fulfilled. My mom told me that she and my dad couldn’t have any other kids.…
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Depression Series, Part 2: Hello Black History Month – Let’s Talk About Depression
My grandfather was my favorite person on the face of the earth. I was such a big fan of his. When I was a child, I absolutely adored him. Just to name a few reasons: he was kind, he hummed songs to himself, and he drove a pristine, always-looked-&-smelled-like-it-just-came-straight-off-the-lot Cadillac, with white leather interior. As…
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Depression Series, Part 1: What If You Told The Truth About How You Really Feel?
Note about this series: Society does not give us space to talk about how we really feel. And even when that space becomes available, the last thing that’s talked about is depression. And even when we talk about depression, we don’t talk about who it affects beyond the person who walks around with an ever-present…
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Why Are You Still Single?
This question can go in two completely different ways, can’t it? I used to appreciate it from well-meaning people who just wanted to communicate that they thought I was a catch. And I used to tell myself to give future side eye to people who turned this question into some sort of indictment of my…
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Do You Have Oreo Trauma, Too?
I just finished reading a book on entrepreneurship. I was reading about communication, marketing, business plans, and the like. So I was caught by surprise when I got to the “What Not to Do” section and Oreos were the topic of conversation. The idea was that Oreos are not innovative and hence a poor example…
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If Only
When I was single, I had an almost two-decade long regret hanging over my head. I was in my mid 20’s and waiting tables (at a Creole restaurant.) A mother, father, and son came in to eat. They seemed like such a happy family. Every time I came to the table they were giggling about…
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If You Can’t Say Anything Nice…..
Yesterday was one of those rough ones. You know the kind. The one where you pile on ten more problems for every one thing you accomplish. Yeah, that kind of day. On days like these, I tend take deeper breaths, pray, think too much, and cry. I also like to find quick little spirit lifters:…
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