Darlene Brock

Disney Princesses have become a much-discussed and polarizing subject in today’s culture. There is the pro-princess group that still believes in Prince Charming and dancing at the ball. Then there are those who want to throw the princess loving ladies to the dragons, believing they have been lied to about real life. Fortunately for all of us, realism has not been a part of the Disney brand for decades. If it had, cars couldn’t talk, magical nannies wouldn’t appear with umbrella in hand, children would never fly, mops couldn’t dance and toys would be left on their shelf…never leaving the house for their own adventure. We don’t usually go to the movies for realism, there’s enough of that outside the theater walls, so

I recently helped my mother move from a three bedroom home into a one bedroom apartment. Shortly after that my husband and I also spent several days sorting through his father’s life’s possessions. After returning home from these exhausting endeavors I looked at the things that filled my closets, drawers, and cabinets and realized that as we live life, we accumulate clutter. It’s inevitable. It took about 13 seconds for me to have a complete mental freak out over the future workload I’ve created! This mess would be mine to deal with during the next move we make. Suddenly a new resolution—I will spend the rest of this year tackling this weighty job before it becomes necessary. Here are the 5 things I resolved: 1. If I haven’t used it in two

Named after the city she was born in—Florence, Italy—Florence Nightingale lived her life in England. Her inspiration crossed oceans and ignited change within the community of nursing throughout the entire world. She was reared in enormous affluence and wealth, an extremely educated young woman.1 Florence’s mother was so enamored with social life that when launching her daughters into society she added six bedrooms to their home to accommodate the entertaining she desired. Maids, footmen, and valets, often traveling between two mansions in England, cared for the two Nightingale daughters. There was nothing Florence either needed or desired that was not provided for her easily, elaborately, and with no consideration of the cost. However, though Florence traveled with all economic opportunity, she found herself fascinated

If you have not yet seen the film Hidden Figures, I’m telling you that you really should! This story of three brave females who rose to excellence in a world that both their gender and their race told them they didn’t belong. Their very lives were the epitome of redefining a woman’s strength. As I pondered on the amazing courage and resilience these ladies displayed I did a little more reading and discovered another lady of that era who entered the same world they did NACA (a precursor to NASA) whose reflections on the time period offered great insights into what it took to excel when others believed they couldn’t. Annie J. Easley, was the first African American computer scientist in her