It’s February which means it’s Black History Month. Celebrating black culture is something that a lot of us pride ourselves on. I wanted to do something special so I decided to showcase some “Black Girl Magic”! It’s nothing like supporting, encouraging & uplifting other women, in my opinon. If we had more of that in the world today it would definitely be a better place.
I feel in today’s society we consistently praise celebrities & reality tv stars. Don’t get me wrong they’re probably some great people. But what about the hard working mother who has a full time job, raises her children and attends school on top of all the other life stresses. These women that I want to celebrate and shed some light on don’t get a lot of recognition all the time. It may not mean much to everyone else, but I just want to let these ladies know that they rock! One thing I know is that black women NEED to stick together. We have the ability to be a force to be reckoned with.
This will be a four part series… five different women… authors and business owners. The first queen is a new author. She is a great mother, taking on this new venture all the while holding down a full time job and running a successful business. Black girl magic at its finest! Always on the quest for excellence!
Natasha Bonner, my cousin, is a mother of two beautiful children DJ (5) and Natalya (3). She has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a specialization in Research. She also has a Master’s of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling with a specialization in Crisis and Trauma. She is currently working towards obtaining her Doctoral Degree in Advance Studies of Human Behavior. She is the CEO and founder of Harmonizing Minds which is a non-profit organization striving to advocate and bring awareness to the mental health issues that impact each neighborhood. Harmonizing Minds provides seminars and workshops to assist with increasing knowledge around mental illness.
She is constantly working towards the awareness of mental illness especially within the black communities. This is something, in my opinion, that is needed since it hasn’t been a topic of discussion in our culture or communities. We are now becoming more aware of mental health with the increase number of mental illness diagnosis and the rise of suicide rates. I commend her on this task of making people aware of this matter. Knowledge is power!
Natasha recently became the author of Mental Note A 60 Day Self Reflection Journal. I asked her what was her inspiration for writing this journal. Her response was… “Journaling has been one of my favorite coping skills. I love to write down my thoughts, how good or bad a day is going or just goals I have. When I would meet with clients or have a conversation with friends, they would always have the same concern about journaling. They never knew what to write about. This gave me the idea to make a prompt journal that consisted of 60 questions and activities to help guide their journal experience. The questions I used for this journal were questions I wrote and answered at a pivotal time of my own discovery.”
I wanted to know how in the world she balances all of this as well as being an excellent mother. I mean there are only 24 hours in the day! My goodness when does she sleep? Lol! She responded by saying… “Balancing being a full time mother, student, counselor and entrepreneur can be hard at times. It took me being honest with myself in knowing that I needed help in order to be successful. My family plays a very important role in assisting me. Being an involved parent is very important to me as well as motivates me. No matter how many roles I play, I ensure that I make it my priority to be at every activity and event they are involved in. My clients understand that and it increases my rapport with them as well.” Natasha is definitely goals!! Balancing all of that is certainly a lot of work, but the reward that comes along with this is greater than anything she could ever imagine.
If you or someone you know is looking for a counselor she makes an excellent one. Believe me I know from my own personal experiences. She’s very honest and very knowledgeable about her craft. Even though we are related she doesn’t sugarcoat anything! You can find her on Instagram as the vintagecounselor. Also please pick up her journal Mental Note at www.thebookpatch.com. I’m proud to call her my cousin. Keep doing your thing. Keep being strong and most of all keep being the best you!!
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