Comedian Jay Pharoah definitely kills it with his impressions, effortlessly being able to imitate A-list stars like Denzel Washington, Kevin Hart, and Eddie Murphy!
This clip of his impressions is a throwback, but it still makes me laugh! And I don’t know about y’all, but I need a laugh this morning. Mondays are rough!
Happy Monday everybody….yeah I’m tired too. But here’s a #MondayMotivation quote to keep us pushing towards our goals!
I’ll be honest. I have all of these ideas that I’m constantly cranking out, right? But I get lazy and fail to execute them like I should sometimes. Case in point, this weekend. Outside of take my little cousin to SkyZone for her birthday and go to the gym once, I didn’t do much of anything on my to-do list. I told myself the BS excuse that jumping around on trampolines really did my body in (it kind of did though), and I needed to rest. That rest turned into me mostly binge-watching on Netflix all weekend! And this morning, I’m paying the price, trying to do a bunch of stuff that I should’ve done on those two days off from my 9-5.
There’s nothing wrong with having lazy moments or the occassional lazy weekend. But this morning, this quote came to mind for me. I’m not in direct competition with anyone but myself, but I will definitely fall behind in my work if I don’t push through my being tired or wanting to chill and watch my shows all the time.
We’ve all got a special talent or gift that we can develop into so much more. We’ve all got a dream that we want to see come into fruition. However, we’ll get left behind if we’re not consistently working toward those things. You can’t just rely on your talent in order to make it. Without hard work, talent ultimately falls to the way side.
Glad to sharing my very first interview for Imperfectly B! If you or someone you know is actively working towards bringing awareness to a cause, promoting self- esteem, or working to make a difference in this world, visit my Features/Submissions page to see how to be featured!
In addition to his experience as a TV host, Rahn effortlessly creates inspirational music with R&B, hip hop, and gospel elements, hoping to reach someone else with his words. “Music is soothing to the soul and, when you have the right lyrics, it makes life easier especially when it’s words of encouragement,” he said. “If a person is going through [an] issue in life, music can help.”
In fact, Rahn is using his music now as a platform to bring awareness about abuse going on with special needs kids. His role as advocate stemmed from the tragic loss of his own special needs son, Aaron Hatcher, in March 2011, allegedly at the hands of a teacher. “Aaron was a person who would show love in spite of his disability,” the artist said of his late child. “Aaron could not walk or talk, but he show expression with his eyes. If you were ever going through something, he showed emotions with you as if everything would be fine in spite of your situation. Even though Aaron was allegedly abused by teachers he never showed any hate toward anyone.”
For Rahn, he realized that it was important for others to know more about and communicate with those with special needs because they’re often misunderstood. “Special needs kids are creative and very smart. If we take the time to communicate with them we will learn that they are smart,” he said. “I learned a lot from Aaron. I learn to be patient, [to] love and I got a lot of joy.”
As Aaron loved music and seeing his dad perform, Rahn began to realize that he could use his singing as a way to reach the masses. “Music is the key that’s freeing me from the hurt and pain,” the singer admitted. Rahn recently released his track, “I’ll Trust You,” as a special tribute to Aaron, and is determined to put his trust in God no matter what. “I want all to realize that we have a choice to trust GOD in spite of what the situation is. I chose to trust GOD because that is my only hope,” Rahn revealed. “I want the song to let people know we must forgive and love in spite of whatever happens in our [lives].” That last part can be so very hard to do, but is true. Watch the official video for “I’ll Trust You” below!
Shortly after Aaron’s passing, Rahn, currently in Georgia, also started his own non-profit organization, They Can’t Talk, But We Can, Inc. (TCTBWCI), alongside his wife Denise. The organization provide advocate services for youth with physical, emotional, behavioral, or learning disabilities, as well as assisting parents and caregivers with special needs children. “We also work with legislation to make it better for our special needs community,” Rahn said, currently working towards holding government officials accountable if proven that they have kids in the special needs community.
TCTBWCI also has worked with representatives to get cameras in special needs classrooms in Georgia. The nonprofit will be hosting their annual Special Needs Rock Awards, honoring not only special needs kids, but parents, teachers, and so many others that are good in their community! This year will mark the third year for the awards, which is set to be held on October 29. The organization is currently seeking sponsors for the event, so feel free to reach out by email to donate!
Currently, TCTBWCI are developing a video project, The Aaron Hatcher Story, which will take people into what happened with Aaron. In fact, they are working with actress Chrystale Wilson (The Players Club, From The Bottom Up) to create it! Aaron and Denise are also creating a play approcalled, “They Can’t Talk But We Can” with actress D’Atra Hicks, who’s done plays with Tyler Perry. “I hope to see [TCTBWCI] as one of the largest nonprofits helping and giving awards on a major network for the special needs community,” Rahn said. “I hope to see laws in place to make a better life for the special needs community and we are the ones who [are] going to make that happen across the world.”
You can check out more about TCTBWCI on their official website. You can also hear more from Rahn on his artist website, and connect with him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!
90-year-old Wanda out in San Francisco was living alone and very much sad and lonely. One of her sons had died of cancer, and her other two live very far away. The poor woman lives alone, and knew not a soul in her neighborhood.
Fed up of being alone, she reached out to her neighbor, Marleen Brooks, who lived a little bit down the street. In a bittersweet note, Ms. Wanda expressed that she was by herself and asked if the two of them could be friends.
Marleen quickly went over to her elderly neighbor’s house with a friend the next night, introducing herself with a friendly smile and some cupcakes! She expressed in a letter to a newsman, Frank Somerville of KTVU News, all that happened:
“Frank!
She’s such a sweet lady!
And she was over the moon when we came over.
Wanda said:
‘I hope you didn’t think I was stupid for writing you, but I had to do something.
Thank you so much for coming over.
I’ve lived here for 50 years and don’t know any of my neighbors.’
Wanda has 3 sons, one died last year of cancer.
The other two live far away.
She’s 90 and and is on oxygen and has congestive heart failure, osteoporosis, among other ailments.
We brought her cupcakes (didn’t have enough time with work to make the banana bread).
I also made sure she knew she can call us at anytime and that I’ll be back to spend time with her!
I’m sure Wanda and I will have some great times.”
This was so, so sweet, but so sad at the same time! Imagine how many other elders are out there, living alone with no one around to talk to! How we treat our elders in America is a whole other topic in America for another day, but man, that’s crazy. Glad Miss Wanda reached out to one of her neighbors, and now it looks like she has a great, new friend! Hoping she finds even more!
But this reminds me of an old adage found in Proverbs. In a paraphrase, “To have a friend, you must show yourself friendly.” (Prov. 18: 24). I’ve been thinking about this myself about having and KEEPING friends. In order to have friends, you have to be kind yourself and be willing to reach out and spend time with other people. In Miss Wanda’s case, it wasn’t her fault that she was alone. But she was tired of it, so she kindly asked someone to be hers.
My own circle is SMALL (and I like it that way), but I can often get caught up in the hustle and bustle of my life, and not even think to reach out to the friends and loved ones I have around me sometimes a lot of times. You can’t expect people to keep reaching out to you and you’re not reciprocating that. So this story inspired me to just be a better friend to my circle and possibly make new ones!
Imperfectly,
Moving forward, every Thursday I’ll drop an inspirational jam that motivates and pushes me. I hope it does the same for you guys!
Today’s Inspirational Jam is one from the beautiful ladies of Fifth Harmony with a special assist from Meghan Trainor!
From their debut album, Reflection, the group has a powerful, motivating track entitled, “Brave Honest Beautiful.” It’s about embracing everything about you–your looks, your quirks, who you are a person completely–and making a decision to walk confidently in that! The song is uplifting to not only the group’s fans, but to each other. And they do a beautiful acoustic rendition of it on their 7/27 world tour!
I really like these ladies! And though Fifth Harmony is down a member after Camila Cabello’s exit last December, they’re still going strong!
Take a listen to “Brave Honest Beautiful” below!
Imperfectly B 