The Elegant Slave

It's 8:30 am!!

Honk! Honk!

You're trying to beat the traffic to arrive early for your 9-5. But stop! You don't even like this job!


A century and eight decades ago there was a great demand for workers within the Caribbean to work on the sugar plantations and that my friend was the beginning of slavery within the Caribbean.

  Slavery is referred to as the condition in which individuals are owned by others, who control where they live and where they work. Slavery, was primarily beneficial to the owners and the individuals in bondage were treated like properties instead of humans.

 It was all celebration and joy when the curtains came down on slavery in 1834 in Jamaica. But did it? Yes! The physical shackles came off. Yes! The lashes stopped, but did slavery end? To this I loudly scream NO!! We are free physically but are still enslaved by the system. I will borrow the coined term "Elegant Slave" and use it to describe the phenomena I am about to discuss.

Elegant slaves because instead of ragged cloths and barefoot out in the sun, we are now clothed in three piece suits. We get dressed daily to clock in at a jobs we are dissatisfied with to generate more income for someone else. We sacrifice so much to keep our employers happy and meet their impossible deadlines. We sacrifice quality time with family, we sacrifice our own dreams, we often tend to sacrifice even our health.

We're bond to these jobs by several shackles. Shackles of self doubt. We believe that there's nothing else we can do, we're not good enough and our dreams are not worth while. We're in shackles of debts; student loans, car loans, mortgage, etc. We are in shackles of greed; we are unable to satisfy we desire the latest gadgets and fashion and must be in the 'now' so we slave on these jobs to keep up with trends. We're in shackles of the opinion of others. We're in shackles of promiscuity. We entertain the practice of having more that one partners no t realizing the implications. It cost more to maintain several relationships. It would be more beneficial to settle with one partner and build and plan for your future generations.

We're elegant slaves to a system that keeps getting richer while our financing are hitting ice bergs like the Titanic.

Fight of the Century

Ding !! Ding!! Ding!

Round one!

The most anticipated fight of the year. The undefeated champion, the social stalwart, the energizer bunny is up against the intellectual, the decisive, the spiritual and the critical thinker.

Elvy Soltau vs. Elvy Soltau!!!

Yes! Elvy vs Elvy. How can this be a competition? A competition is between two entities and cannot be between the same person.

Well, in this battle of the Elvy's the two entities are my personality/reputation vs my character. See, I have spent years being fun, energetic, loud and just all out for anything fun. Which is not a bad thing, because at one point in time that was my goal.

But recently, I have had several encounters where it was brought to my attention that  because of my personality; I am not taken seriously or considered for serious roles. I joke often, and will let loose in any social setting. Due to this practice over the years persons have form their own opinion of me and put me in a box . In Hollywood, this is referred to as type casting, example Kevin Hart and Melissa Mccarthy they play the same roles in different movies.

Now, that I have recognized this occurrence I need to get myself out of this box and let the world know my full potential. I can be of no use  while playing small.
I know others have been typecast and placed in a box; so I have drafted a list of how we can over come:
- Read more (so, you'll be well informed and can contribute to meaningful discussions)

- Speak up more

- Know when to listen

-Accept a challenge (could be something that you have been avoiding for years)

- Don't totally rebel against being typecast sometimes it is as result of great work you've done before. Therefore, learn how to strike a balance. Keep track of your own progress by paying keen attention to the work you have done, work you're currently doing and where you want to go from here.

-Let people know you are diverse and flexible.

- Be resilient.

- Have a goal in mind.

Thank you for stopping by. Go out in faith and be the #Champion you are. 

Elvy G. Soltau - Be Yourself For Others

It is a new school year, but same old pressures.

Will I fit in?

Will others like me?

Will my clothes be cool?

I'll try not to act weird.

These are the thoughts running through our heads if we are honest enough to admit. Our desire to fit in robs of us of peace of mind and the gift of individuality. We are so concerned about being in the 'In' crowd that we lose what makes us special.

I write from the comfort of my bed with joy in my heart to encourage you to today to be yourself for the sake of others! Yes! be yourself for others. Embracing your own individuality and style requires an enormous amount of  courage, plus when you are brave enough to be yourself it gives others the permission to do the same.

People feed from the energy of others; so be bold be positive and be yourself!
I have three things to share with you that I realized this morning. They are as follows:

- Others are relying on you to be positive, enthusiastic and passionate so they'll  be inspired.
- People expect great things from you; even those you think don't know your name.
- If you don't have a ticket it you don't have a chance .

While walking home from school i has having a conversation

Dear Future Husband by Danielle Falconer

Dear future husband good morning to you. Have you started working on you yet? Because I am 

working on me! I'm working on myself to be the best wife and mother there is, I am a princess now and 

would very much like to graduate from being one; I wanna be a queen and my dear future hubby, my 

king and no doubt our children will be royalty. My husband, my current king(daddy) has set a high 

standard can u follow? Or better yet prove that u are worthy to take his princess. I ask this because I 

know I can prove that I an worthy to do the same.


‪
Dear future husband, are you out there? If you are, hey its been a while. Hope you're doing okay and

 life is treating you well.....love you until we meet


Hi future hubby!!!!! ! Hope church was wonderful over the weekend! !! Are u kindhearted? What about 

loving? But most importantly are you God fearing and genuine? P.s life is short live good n be kind.......


Dear future husband good morning whoever you are. ....if you're one of those men who still lives in the

 cave man era or back then when men and some women believed that a women's place is in the home

 especially the kitchen! !!!! ! Then sweetie I'm not your Mrs. right, equality or nothing  at all...... but do enjoy your day. ...

‬

Soaring to Greater Heights; Seven things that will propel your flight - by Elvy. G Soltau

“The sky is the limit only for those who aren't afraid to fly!”  Bob Bello.  We’re all on a journey to success; in this case we’re not walking we’re flying; because walking is just too main stream. On the idea of flying one must take into consideration one special bird; the eagle. There are several lessons that we could learn from the eagle but today I would like to draw your attention to its behavior during a storm. Eagles love the storm. When clouds gather, the eagles get excited. The eagle uses the storm’s wind to lift it higher. Once it finds the wind of the storm, the eagles uses the raging storm to lift him above the clouds. This gives the eagle an opportunity to glide and rest its wings. In the meantime, all the other birds hide in the leaves and branches of the trees. It is inevitable that we face storms in our lives, especially the moment we enroll in University. Storms of financial difficulties, spiritual setbacks, low self-esteem, lack of resources but we can use the storms of life to rise to greater heights. Achievers relish challenges and use them profitably.  

There are several things that are pre-requites to taking off on the flight to success. These things are of vital importance as they fuel the flight. They are as follows:

1.  Need – You must first identify a need and aim to fill it. Ask yourself some questions like why do I need to succeed? Am I happy with the quality of life I am experiencing now? What positive contributions can I make to society. When you’ve discovered the need you will like to fulfill, hold it close to you and don’t ever forget it. When the times get rough remember why you need to succeed. Like the eagle his need is to escape the storm and reach safety to secure his life; so the need in his case is survival, with that in mind he soars like his life depended on it (literally). You should work like your life, your parent’s life and your siblings lives depended on it.

2.       , Vision: - Bearing the need in mind, create images in your mind of you making it to the grand finale.

3.      Passion: Upon identifying a need, creating a vision then being passionate is the next step. Passion is defined as boundless enthusiasm. Be zealous about achieving.  Develop this strong desire to win because you will need it when faced with failures.

4.     .  Determination: Decide from the beginning that comes what may I will press on. When the problems arise, maintain a positive outlook and seek other alternatives when faced with failure. In most case practice, practice, practice. Taking into consideration Thomas Edison, the man who invented light bulbs. Edison, before he was successful he had some major setbacks. When asked in an interview how does it feel to fail ninety-nine (99) times? His response was simply amazing. He said “I didn’t fail ninety-nine times; I found ninety-nine ways it couldn’t work”. We, like Edison should develop a spirit of resilience and persistence. The ability to bounce back and press on after a downfall.

5.        Attitude: It is not my aptitude, but my attitude which determines my altitude in life. Did you know that airplanes have attitude? Yes, they do! When the plane is flying too low the pilot quickly adjusts the attitude of the airplane thus raising its altitude. Like the airplane we must possess positive work attitudes. It attracts others to us, allowing us to work better with a variety of individuals; thus establishing links.

6.      Honesty: In all our doings we must be honest, it enhances your integrity and it also makes you trust worthy. On the Facebook page, Humans of New York the admin went to India where an old man asked, “If you could give one piece of advice to a large group of people, what would it be? His response was, “If you feed your children with food earned from corruption, they will become corrupt. If you feed your children with food earned from honesty, they will become honesty”. Honesty is still the best policy.

7.      . Faith: I deliberately left this one for last. Faith is defined by the bible in Hebrews 11 vs 1 as the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. It is the belief that all things will fall into place. You should have faith in your abilities. Believe in yourself and power that you have to achieve. Believe in the fact that you’re deserving of success, but most importantly believe in the fact that God wants you to prosper and be in good health.

Like the eagle step out in faith; prepared to fly high above the storm of life.

Suit is Woman what Lingerie is to Men

Suits is to women what lingerie is to Men

Women are pressured by society, the media and fashion designers to dress to impress, to keep up with

the fashion changes   and yet they slack of on men.  Men get away with wearing  almost anything; 

Men’s fashion is equally important as women’s.  I strongly believe that individuals should look their 

best whether   they are male, female or child.

I don’t know for anyone else but  I am tired of seeing the under of young men ( some a dem not even 

tan good, dis bag a holey holey sumpn up inna people face). I am tired of seeing them in tights ( you 

know wah me talk dem tight so till dem can hardly walk).  Man must look like man!  Dem must smell good too.

Men enjoy seeing women all dolled up and sexy especially in lingerie, well its full time y’all get dolled

up and sexy for us too. Buy a suit or two!


I LOVE A MAN IN A SUIT!

The Truth About Yourself

Good evening everyone, I must hasten to apologize for my  absence. I have very bad habits of quitting the projects that I attempt. I quit Brownies (girls club) in primary school, Drama club, Science Club, 4-H club and Environmental Club in high school; now i'm enrolled in the College of Education and Leadership at the Northern Caribbean and yes you're correct  all my extra curricular activities have been dropped. Blogging was about to join the trash can too but I decided to give it another shot. So, I'm here on my second attempt at blogging. No promises, but let's see if my second time is worthwhile and not short lived.

The truth about yourself hmmmmm..That's my topic tonight. You maybe wondering the what? The truth about myself? Yes! We are so quick to disclose the deepest darkest secrets of our brothers and sisters that we often forget that we are just as flawed as them. We move as fast as lightening to call people hypocrites, fakes, liars, the enemy, bad mind just to name a few. 

My question though is, if everyone calls everyone  hypocrite, liar, fake, enemy etc , It means we are all at fault. But  in our eyes we're always the victim  and not the assailant. But I believe that we have been assailants a few times in our lives and its full time we face the truth about ourselves.

Let us be honest with ourselves ... Try to be the friends we're looking for. The partner we are searching for. Let us eradicate all negativity before we aim our fingers at others.

There's more i'd like to say but this link says it covered it:  http://tinybuddha.com/blog/4-tips-to-tell-the-truth-about-yourself-and-to-yourself/