Nathonia Smith
Bio
I am a wife, mother, grandmother, inventor and online published writer who recently completed studies at Ashford University earning a Bachelors Degree in Human Resource Management. Writing has always given me such joy and fulfillment.
Stories (29/0)
Friendships Are Not Always Lifelong!
As much as we would like to believe it, friendship doesn’t always last a lifetime. There are times when we lose someone that we feel a connection to through ways other than death. Losing a family member or friend through death is a tragedy that one must accept as a part of life since it’s so final. Sadly, death is a part of life that will eventually affect everyone. Once it happens, there is no chance of going back to resolve any issues with the one whose life is lost. Parents, as well as elders of the family, often tell their youths that true friendship lasts a lifetime if it can stand the tests of time.
By Nathonia Smith5 years ago in Humans
Life's Challenges
It’s not easy to face the many different challenges life has in store for us. As children, the term challenge is almost a foreign term that’s hard to understand. Each day individuals wake up to a fresh new day to do and be better than the day before. Those individuals who are goal-oriented view each new day as a fresh start, a time to improve on the previous day’s attempt to get closer to reaching goals. Depending on what that goal is, and the complexity of reaching it, it can be quite challenging when unexpected issues arise, such as time and money. This is when determination must take center stage on getting to where one wants to be.
By Nathonia Smith5 years ago in Motivation
The King of Pop
Sometimes it’s necessary to find ways of relaxing when feeling the ordinary stresses that life brings upon us. Although a new year has only just begun, there are those moments when I must turn to the only thing that helps me to relax, almost instantly… music. Those moments occur most often when there’s no visible progress of something that I’ve been attempting to do for a while. Instead of crying and pulling my hair out, I turn to music. Something about the sound and beat of music that just resonate through me, relaxing my nerves and allowing me to release unwanted tension and stress.
By Nathonia Smith5 years ago in Beat
Give That Turkey Some Flavor
Approaching the end of the year involves celebrating two major holidays that involve a lot of eating; Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. I have always considered Thanksgiving the holiday that focuses more on families coming together to celebrate through feasting. Throughout many centuries, it has become the norm for families to celebrate Thanksgiving Day by feasting on a baked or roasted turkey, served with dressing and all the fixings. No one really knows when or how turkey became the traditional meat for Thanksgiving holiday. But there is speculation that years ago many believed that serving the biggest bird, turkey, meant that that person was wealthy. I find it interesting to have learned that turkeys are called “turkey” because they are supplied to England from America, through a country called Turkey.
By Nathonia Smith5 years ago in Feast
Never Mind the Name, What About DNA?
It’s a fact that children are born into either a single family or two parent home. Unfortunately, some children, born to single parents, never get a chance to meet their noncustodial parent because he or she decides parenthood is not a responsibility worth taking. This is a common situation experienced by children of different races and ethnicities, not just one specific race. Under the circumstances, this is sad and disappointing since it can prevent siblings from meeting each other and establishing a connection.
By Nathonia Smith5 years ago in Families
Coming Together as Friends
They come into our lives when we least expect them and yet, at the right time. Friends are those people who we meet and make an important part of our lives. Some friendships last a lifetime, and some don’t. Prior to my first day of school, my parents would often prepare me for that life-changing event by telling me that I would meet other children and make friends. The word friend stuck in my mind until my first day of school began. As a child, I would wonder what or who are friends. Is this a group of people that would help me adapt to being away from my mother? Is this the name people would soon use to refer to me, instead of student? To say that I was curious to learn about friends is an understatement. I was, more, or less, eager to see if I would make friends!
By Nathonia Smith6 years ago in Humans
The Phenomenal Aretha Franklin
ARETHA FRANKLIN—QUEEN OF SOUL! Throughout my life, I have always heard that music soothes the savage beast. This concept came from different people. Some I know or knew, some I don’t know. Perhaps, that’s why I have always been a person who can appreciate different genres of music. From each song that I listen to, despite its genre, I listen closely to the lyrics to hear if the words are positive or negative. When I think back to the different music that I was exposed to coming up as a child, I am truly grateful and thankful to all those people in my life who taught me to value the different styles of musical artists. It’s because of them that I am, musically, a well-rounded woman.
By Nathonia Smith6 years ago in Beat
The Sounds of Solange Knowles
I must admit that music has always been a very interesting topic for me. Growing up listening to different styles of music taught me to appreciate the different genres used by the solo singers and groups. There are few singing groups of the 1970s through 1990s, who were blessed to have recorded at least one album, that I haven’t heard of. At one point in my life, I listened to different genres of music daily. From the Jacksons to Jefferson Starship to Destiny’s Child and many more, I enjoy and appreciate the difference in their style of singing and music. There is an instant connection between music and me because I appreciate differences.
By Nathonia Smith6 years ago in Beat
Principle of Education
Education is an important internal resource that some see as not for them without realizing its great potential for opening many doors of opportunities. The term "Education" is described through a variety of different definitions. One specific definition, the act or process of general knowledge and developing the powers of reasoning and judgement, closely identifies with my idea of education and how I perceive it. Still, it’s so much more to defining the term education, besides the books. I see it as expanding one’s knowledge through perception and understanding of the things around you. I believe education begins the moment our parents begin teaching us how to talk and walk and everything else that is taught to us before we reached school age.
By Nathonia Smith6 years ago in Education
Becoming a Single Parent
Single parenting is often the result of engaging in unprotected sex in the heat of a moment. For some women, this may be a welcoming life-altering experience although it involves raising a child alone. There are also those women who view this experience as unwelcoming because of the obvious changes and priorities must be reevaluated. I have often heard from my elders that the best way to avoid becoming a single parent is complete abstinence until marriage. Overall, I knew this belief was true because I had attended junior high school and high school with pregnant teenagers, most of whom had boyfriends who had abandoned them once they realized a baby was on the way.
By Nathonia Smith6 years ago in Families
How I Define Family
Family. That group we are born into once we are removed from our mother’s womb. Individually, we are related by blood and along with others who share that same bloodline, we are considered family whether we reside in the same household or not. Traditionally, families consist of mothers, fathers, and children sharing the same home. But that dynamic has changed throughout the decades for various reasons. The first 10 years of my life I lived in a single parent home that was shared with my mom’s aunt, uncle and family friend. I never questioned the relation to the family friend because he treated us with love and compassion like family did during that era. And I knew that whenever he told me to do something, like go to bed on time, I should respect him and do it. When our living arrangement changed to my mom, my sister, and I moving into our own apartment, the family love and compassion grew even more stronger and included more members of our family. We moved into an apartment complex that was in one of Chicago’s rough areas, though not as bad as I later found out. The good thing about the apartment was that our building was directly across the street from our new school so mom was able to watch us from the kitchen window while we walked across the street onto the school ground.
By Nathonia Smith6 years ago in Families
Why Choose Healthy Foods?
Food is one of three essential needs (food, clothing, shelter) humans need for survival. But exactly which specific foods should humans consume? How much should humans eat and how often should humans consume food? For children raised in homes where meals are served on a regular basis, there is the belief that breakfast is the most important meal of the day because it provides your body with the energy needed to begin your day. Yet, recent reports from physicians and nutritionists published online provide details that some foods that humans consume are not healthy and should be avoided because of the effect it has on the body.
By Nathonia Smith6 years ago in Longevity