RPLS: It's not a brand, it's a LIFESTYLE

**Before I start, I want to say that I AM NOT being reimbursed in any way for this!**

I bet the first thing you thought when you read the title was, "Wait....what IS RPLS?"

RPLS stands for Red Panda Life Style. Red Panda Life Style is a clothing/life brand established in 2009 by Akaeli Anthony, who wanted something special in a clothing brand; he wanted to create a lifestyle for the rebellious people who go against the norm. He then discovered the endangered red panda, a small panda the size of a cat with red accents rather than black.

"One of the characteristics is it stands on two feet which is a rebel action for a four legged animal, hence the tag line, 'Leaders of the rebellion,'" Anthony said.

According to Anthony, the brand "encourages everyone to embrace the rebel spirit, stand on your own two feet and pursue your dreams."

Anthony started RPLS by himself, and has evolved the brand into a brand worn by many musical artists and models alike.

Anthony has said that he will be having a launch party in the near future, and invites all of the public---artists and rebels alike---to attend.

For more information and updates on Red Panda Life Style, please visit RPLS' Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @Redpandalife.

Celebrities and Privacy: is there such thing?

It's been a while, right? I just want to say quickly for all of my readers, HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope you all had a productive 2011 and are ready for a productive 2012. It is a new year with new possibilities.

I wanted to start this year off with a blog on privacy and celebrities. As you know, throughout 2011 we've seen "inside scoops" with the Kardashian marriage scandal, and divorcing couples. Today, Beyonce and Jay-Z celebrated the birth of their daughter, along with a song featuring her.

It seems as though celebrities have become our best friends, simply because we're always deep in their businesses and checking out their closet skeletons. Is there a privacy for celebrities?

The Marriam-Webster Dictionary defines "celebrity" as The state of being celebrated. We are all guilty of celebrating these people, even though they are men and women just like us. They simply have a public career in some form of entertainment business. We get our trends from celebrities, as well as topics of interest, music, movies and other things. No wonder these people are celebrated; they constantly provide entertainment into our lives...both positively and negatively.

We've all been guilty of following at least one celebrity scandal. The truth is, these scandals are interesting to read about; celebrities get into some shit. However, regular people like you and I go through shit all the time, but we're not in the tabloids and constantly stalked by TMZ. So why are they?

I hear a lot of talk from people who want to be in the limelight like the celebrities; everybody's trying to sing, dance, and rap and act their way into stardom. I always have to say this: Are you ready to deal with everyone in the world being in your business 25/8? I don't know about you all, but I get stressed out by just my mother in my business sometimes. I can't imagine dealing with the whole of the United States, let alone the world.

Becoming a celebrity can mean the sacrifice of your privacy, and maybe even your insanity. Are you ready to make that sacrifice?

If you are, be ready for one helluva ride!

GSU Signal and "Reverse Racism"

After reading the article in The Signal, I must say I am deeply saddened by her allegations.

First of all, she targeted only African-American organizations. There are also Latino and Asian organizations, therefore if you're going to speak of one, speak of ALL. Secondly, as a Journalism major, your article is filled with AP errors and plenty of grammatical errors as well. The editor shouldn't have let this article/opinion piece fly just for that. Third, PLEASE---and I stress this to everyone---PLEASE do your research before making a close-minded opinion about ANYTHING. It makes you look horrible. Fourth, I am an ECUADORIAN woman and I am a PROUD MEMBER of the National Council of Negro Women. My mother is a woman of Ecuadorian/Middle Eastern/African/French decent and she is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. A PER-DOMINANTLY BLACK SORORITY.

I know many members of these African-American organizations that are NOT of African decent. As a matter of fact, some of the first members and executive board members of NCNW were WHITE women and WHITE men. YES, these organizations were created to uplift the African American community, BUT....the human race as a whole!

We welcome anyone into membership in NCNW and are more than happy to call ANYONE our N-Sisters/N-Brothers. Before you make such allegations, I recommend you come to a program to see what NCNW is truly about.

As an Ecuadorian member of NCNW, I can't even express the pain in my heart when people assume that these organizations are strictly geared/strictly accept African-Americans, and it hurts my spirit when people question my NCNW membership because I am NOT an African-American woman. I hope you open your mind and see the greatness of UNITY amongst ALL organizations, knowing that they are not geared towards one race.

*throws my N up in pride* I HAVE SO MUCH LOVE FOR MY NCN-DUB!!

To read the opinion piece in question, please visit:

This Page

R.I.P. Storytellers

To recover from the depressing blog entry from earlier this week (I had what some would call a mental breakdown...I'm fine guys! Calm down, calm down....) I would love to speak on something that I think is going to effect the Hip Hop Community.

On November 8, 2011 at 1:00pm, Rap artist Heavy D passed away at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. He was only 44 years old.
Heavy D was born on May 24,1967 in Mandeville, Jamaica. He moved to New York for a better living, like many do. He was the lead of the rap group Heavy D and the Boyz and they were the first group signed by Uptown Records. Their debut album, Living Large, launched in 1987. He was last seen on the 2011 movie, Tower Heist and on the 2011 BET Hip Hop Awards, he did first (and last) performance in 15 years,

Now, I'm not going to flex and say I knew Heavy D personally. But I will say that his death saddens me. Heavy D is a inspiration to many rappers and aspiring rappers and he is also one of the few HipHop artists who didn't constantly have degrading lyrics, or lyrics about doing/selling drugs. He didn't rap about "swag" all the time, nor did he make a dance. (Though we all have enjoyed his dancing very much!) He was one of the few rappers who told stories. Sad stories, happy stories, crazy stories. He told stories through his music, and I feel this is missing in today's Hip Hop.

Nowadays, we listen to "Ho this" and "Bitch that" and "Loud this" and "Ass that". Don't get me wrong; I listen to these songs, and when they come on, I will hit the dance floor like it's no problem. But the point I'm making is the fact that this is all that Hip Hop is right now.

We've lost storytellers like Tupac and Biggie, and soul singers like Aaliyah and Teena Marie, and now we've lost another. I believe artists should re-examine their music. Tell more stories instead of trying to create the next biggest twerk song. Tell more stories instead of speaking about how much loud you smoke, how high you are, or how many women you've slept with. There's nothing wrong with these songs, but we constantly hear the same thing, and we hear the same voices.

I appreciate artists like B.O.B., Eminem, T.I., Kanye West, and the like. They have their club bangers, but they also have their inspirational songs, (i.e. "Airplanes", B.O.B.) and storytelling. I feel these types of artists are trying to save Hip Hop. Without them, the genre would continue to go downhill.

Heavy D will live on as one of the great storytellers that were gone too soon. And with that being said, I would like to end this with one of my favorite lines from one of my favorite Heavy D songs:

You've got to forgive and forget

Let hate, let hate be your enemy

Aah, through the love

And only love will set your spirit free

R.I.P. Heavy D

1967-2011

 

Shinrai

Shinrai is Japanese for "Trust".
Trust is a metaphysical dilemma I haven't conquered at all, especially in men.
Perhaps it's all the bad apples I had in my life; perhaps it's my father, dealing with what he did to the family.Perhaps it stems from a deeper source that I haven't discovered...Self-esteem?

Think about it: Is there truly someone out there you can trust, besides God or one of your parents?
The only people I trust to a higher level are very few of my female friends. Though it isn't completely, it's significantly more than I trust my brothers, or any male in my life. This is an issue that has constantly plagued me, but I truly feel as though I just can't put my complete trust in anyone other than God and my mother. Honestly, everyone else can kick rocks.

Is it because I don't believe they deserve it? Betrayal is the ultimate breaker for me. In forms of backstabbing, cheating, etc. I feel everyone is capable of hurting me. If I'm with someone, I feel they're cheating, and sooner or later I will find out. Is the truth that everyone's going to hurt you at some point in your life? I've heard of sayings, "The person that makes you smile the most, is the person that makes you cry the most." And all I can say to that is, what kind of bullshit?? If the person makes you smile so much, what the hell could they possibly do to make you cry?

Though it is bad to say, I don't think it's a really bad problem that I don't trust anyone else completely. Hell, I don't even think I will be able to trust my husband when I'm married. And unfortunately, that may be my ultimate downfall in the thing called a relationship, and it may be what makes or breaks that relationship. Honestly, that's fine. Jemiella Ayala has trust issues. She will always accuse you of cheating, she will always accuse you of something. Are you willing to deal? No?

Then hit the road, bub.

Ephesians 6:2

Ephesians 6:2 reads:

"Honor Thy Father And Mother."

My father has been a bit inactive in my life since 2008, and even more so since 2010. However, my mother has been there for me for thick and thin.

Let's be honest; there are many times where we want to go off on the Moms, throw stuff at them, and make their lives a living hell---even more so than some of us might do. We sneak out, we disobey, we blatantly disrespect. But in the end, no matter how much you bash her, Mom will always be there.

I can honestly say I feel for those who don't have their mothers in their lives, for whatever reasons. There is nothing like a mother's love. It's one of the hardest things to do to lose a mother, or never had one. Yes, a person's character is built upon their own conquests, but I feel it's even harder. I always think, Mom what if I never had you? What would become of me?

I appreciate our [my mother and I] relationship. I feel it has come a long way since I entered my 20's. She is everything to me; my best friend, my sister, and of course my MOMMY! Whenever I just needed to vent, or someone to talk to, or just the truth, I know I can come to my mommy.
Teresa Ann Fennell-Ayala is the most important thing to me, right behind God. As a matter of fact, she is the image of God to me: Forgiving no matter what.

Born a Scorpio on November 10, my mother was born and raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina. A southern belle who grew to attend Winston-Salem State University and take it by storm. She pledged Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., she won Miss Freshman, and Miss Senior. She played volleyball, and she was one of the most people on campus. Now she has a Master's in Accounting and is taking her company by storm (In my opinion) Every time I tell someone I'm "Teresa's daughter" it makes me so proud to hear them say, "We love Teresa." or "Teresa is an amazing person." I swell with pride as I say, "That's my mommy."

She is also a single mother. I know she's going to look at this post thinking, "Why is this little girl telling all my business?!" but I feel her and my father's divorce has made her a better person, and may have helped her find herself. She as forgiven and forgotten and is trying to lead me down the right path of forgiving my father. Only a good person empowered by God such as herself would actively encourage forgiveness. When she and my father divorced, I know it was hard for her to deal with my attitude and my temper, which went from 0 to 9000 during the divorce. But I feel her patience, and hard-loving is what taught me humility. And for her love and teachings, I am forever grateful.

I end this post with a wise-saying: Honor Thy Mother. If your father was in your life longer than your mother. Honor Thy Father. If you were one of the lucky ones who stll has both parents in their lives, Honor Thy Father and Mother.
Appreciate them, and show them how much you love them and how much of an impact they have on you and your character today. And PLEASE, keep in touch. I call and text my mother everyday, and sometimes it's just to tell her I LOVE YOU. Don't forget to let them know this every single day.

And with that, I dedicate this post to my mommy, Madame Teresa Ann Fennell-Ayala.

I LOVE YOU MOMMY!

#PrayforDanielleRowe: Sad truth of Clubbing

So I log onto Facebook/Twitter this morning, and I see a hashtag called #PrayforDanielleRowe. In my curiosity, I did some research.

Last Saturday, October 22nd, a 23-year-old young lady, and a fellow GSU student, named Danielle Rowe went to Club Obsessions on Glenwood Road in Atlanta, GA. After a night of fun, she realized she lost her car keys in the club after leaving. The bouncers WOULD NOT let her back in. She could not get in her car, and is now missing/kidnapped. She is presumed dead.
A body was found not too far from Obsessions and her parents are on their way to identify the body.

This is a truly sad story that has left me momentarily speechless. Now, if you've been to Obsessions, it's in the hood. And that's being completely honest. Not a good place for a young lady to be by herself. And the fact that this is true, and none of the bouncers let her in to retrieve her keys, is unbelievable. If that was the case, you should have sent someone in to get them and waited with her at her car. Instead, you were so concerned with the monetary that you blatantly disregarded her. And now she is missing.

I've been to Obsessions once. After this incident, I will never go back again. This story has not made news yet, but I'm pretty sure I'll see it soon. Her parents are not going to allow this to go unpublicized; Obsessions needs to be re-evaluated, if not shut down.

Please PLEASE PLEASE!!! If you are going to the club, yes, please have fun and enjoy your night. But DO NOT go alone. After this incident, it's clear that some club owners are not truly worried about the safety of their patrons. Whenever you go out into the night, have someone with you. There is safety in numbers.

I am #prayingforDanielleRowe this is an unfortunate incident. I'm not sure if she was an alumnus or a current student, but either way....she was 23 years old. I pray for her safe return. And whoever's body was found, wether it is Danielle's or someone else's, I pray their family's and friends seek God to overcome their grief....

Pleas everyone send out a prayer Don't just #prayforDanielleRowe but #prayforwhoeverwasfound

EDIT: The body in question was indeed Miss Danielle Rowe. This is a sad time indeed. Though I didn't know her personally, I know that her family and friends are grieving with the utmost hurt....I am #praying forDanielleRowe.