Clark Atlanta University Book Review

Clark Atlanta University Book Review

Angelina T. Velasquez

Book Review: Who Said Peaches Were Perfect?

Author: Tracy Nicole

         Author Tracy Nicole takes readers on a fictional 180 page journey through some of the trials and tribulations that come with life in her book, Who Said Peaches Were Perfect?

         The story based upon the lives of two young women, Victoria (Torie) and Lisa, exposes the difficulties in knowing when to let go and when to hold on tightly in life. Both are women that want to get ahead in life, but like many people in reality they hit a few bumps along the way – it is then they must find strength within themselves that they were not aware they possessed.

         Tracy expressed a dire need for both men and women to work on themselves in order to reap all of the benefits of life that come from healthy relationships, both intimate and social through the dialogues shared amongst the characters.

         Through this story the struggle of leaving an emotionally and mentally abusive relationship is exposed, as well as the realization that not dealing with situations only allows them to be masked and exposed at a later time.

         Readers will gain insight and new perspectives on issues they or a friend has experienced.

            Tracy steers clear of limiting the issues dealt with in the story to specific ages, sexes or races, however it is a highly recommended read for college students because this is a time when many of the issues in the story are their daily lives, and it is better to learn life lessons before situations become lifetime mistakes.

Check out the book by clicking here: "Who Said Peaches Were Peaches?"

Mentor VS Mentees

Saturday was a special day.  The Ladies of AGU gathered at the W Hotel in downtown Atlanta to introduce the mentees to their new mentors.  We had a great time breaking the ice with interesting games.  We really bonded in a short period of time.  I am sooooo looking forward to the full calendar of events we have planned this year with AGU!  Our next event will be the 'Friday Night Live' to be held on March 26th.  This event is a fun for all!  We will have plenty of fun in the midst of workshops for the girls to participate in throughout the night.  This event focuses on one of the many things we strive to do through AGU, which is to offer a constructive outlet that takes the place of "hanging out" in the streets, engaging in sexual activity or experimenting with drugs.  Let me know if you want to become a mentor with AGU!!

My First Book Signing

WOW! My first book signing! What an experience!! It was simply a warm feeling I got when I entered the dimly lit restaurant. Rare Restaurant seemed to be the perfect place at that very moment in my hometown of Atlanta. Immediately, a photo was snapped as I stood in the doorway staring at a poster-sized framed picture of the cover of a book that I wrote.  I felt great in my peach dress and  it would not have been complete without my leopard Christian Louboutins. LOL! Butterflies surfaced in my stomach and a huge smile was plastered across my face.  As I was greeted by a familiar face, I snapped back into the reality of walking into my very first book signing.  I felt loved when I walked into the back of the restaurant filled with my friends and family who came out to support me with the launching of my first book.  Even a few celebrities came out. I spoke to everyone about my book and why I wrote it.  I am so eager to hear feedback on what people are experiencing when they read my book. The night was filled with hugs, kisses and many book purchases. The feeling was so surreal.  It was a laid back, relaxed environment with nice music in the background and some great food! I signed at least 80 books and no, my hand was not tired!  I could not have asked for a better first book signing.  This first one I wanted to share with people who love and support me and know what I put into writing this story. That was accomplished!  Now, on to the next one.  After working so hard on my first novel, "Who Said Peaches Were Perfect?" I am finally sharing it with the world!

Click here to see more pics  

Great Interview!!

Friday I had a great interview with a young lady from Clark Atlanta for a story for their paper.  It was such a good interview.  She came totally prepared, book in hand.  She had already read "Who Said Peaches Were Perfect?" from cover to cover and loved it. She told me she put it on her favorite reads list and some of her friends have it and are already reading it. Then she disclosed that she saw herself in one of the characters and it made her evaluate her life.  I was really touched that one of my characters had that kind of affect on her. I told her that was why I wrote the book!  Whew! This has been a great start to publishing a book.  I'll post the interview when it is printed.

Perceptions

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of speaking with the young ladies of sporty girls!  I conducted an interesting workshop on perception.  I had an idea that came to me in a dream a few nights before.  I threw out my plans for another workshop and went to work on how to help them understand the importance of how they are perceived by the world.  I thought it would be a difficult thing to do because I wanted to stress the importance of not worrying about what others think of you but definitely becoming aware and taking responsibility in how others perceive you based on the way you dress, talk, carry yourself, behave in public and so forth.  I put together three personality skits that were beautifully acted out.
There was Tameka Boss

Nickname: Misss. Tameka

Walk with your head up. Talk proper with a smile. Look at me and then make eye contact with some of the other girls. Use hand gestures when you talk. You are very confident.

Then there was Shay 

No nickname

Walk with your head down very slow as if you are scared to come in. Mumble when you talk. Talk real soft. Don't look me in the eyes. Look down at the floor when you talk. You are very insecure.

Last there was Natasha

Nickname: Nay Nay 

Walk with a pimp walk to the side. Talk loud and ghetto. End every sentence with "know what I'm sayin!" cut me off when I’m talking. Say whatever you are thinking at the moment.  Don’t answer the questions I ask.  You are very rude!

These young ladies, who are in middle school, blew me away! They are so smart and mature.  Definitely exposed to a lot more than we were in middle school.  Not only were they aware of how these characters may behave this way and not know how they are being perceived, but they were actually able to look at themselves and what they could work on to improve themselves.  The workshop got even better when the young ladies and the adults (including myself) participated by telling one good thing about themselves and one thing they want to work on to better themselves.  I am working on one of mine right now.  I want to better myself by allowing more people to know me and who I am.  I am still learning how trust to trust people enough to let them in.

In life I don't think you ever stop learning about yourself and trying to become a better person.  If you stop learning, you stop growing, if you stop growing you stop living.

Live...

My True Feelings...

Do you remember the teen talk shows that used to come on BET where teens could ask real questions and dialogue about what is going on in their world and get some real answers? Well, it seems like that has gotten lost among the videos and reality shows.
We have created a place where teens can dialogue about what is going on in their lives and ask questions and get answers amongst their peers on an internet radio show called 404 Live.
My True Feelings is a portal for teens grades 8th through 12th to freely talk about the real deal issues in their lives.  catch us live!!
catch our show on 404Live.com on thursdays @ 8pm and saturdays @ 3pm!

AGU Lock-in

Whew! I survived another lock-in with the wonderful young ladies of AGU. This time they were pretty off the chain. It was over 70 girls and they had so much energy! There was a live DJ and the girls hit the dance floor hard. After doing the stanky leg (yes I joined in!) It was time for the workshops to begin. I am always amazed at what is on the minds of these young girls. They take in everything. It's like they are just now talking about things that were in the media months ago. We started with talking about what artists they like to listen to and who they don't like. Well, they still like Drake (no offense but can we get some new artists!) They hate Chris Brown. They told me they can't stand Chris Brown and they don't want to hear his music because they don't like the way he treats women. We didn't stay on that topic too long because they seemed to have been repeating what they heard. They didn't really know what happened. (The workshop was not on domestic violence) They also talked about Kanye West and how they didn't like what he did to Taylor Swift. They informed me that Taylor Swift has a line in her song now that says she hopes your kid doesn't grow up to be line Kanye. (I haven't heard about that). They were passionate though. We talked about the women in the videos and how they dressed. They thought these women in the videos were disgusting and had low self-esteem. None of the girls had any interest in being in a music video (surprising, but good to know). There was one girl who just said she wanted to be famous. So I asked her, "What does that mean?" She says, "You know, I want people to know who I am." So I asked, "Why?". She says, "Famous people have fun. I want to be on TV. I just want to be known." So I asked, "Known for what?" That stomped her and she got frustrated so I let he off the spot and asked everyone in the room who else wanted to be famous and everyone raised their hands. So I said, "Ok, if everyone was famous, then what? Who will be the fans?" They looked confused and said they didn't think about that. I told them there are a lot of idiots on TV that a lot of people know and don't care anything about. It's ok to want to be known but think about what you want to be known for. (These girls are not alone. There are a lot of adults out there wanting the same thing...

All Grown Up! The Day After...

The workshop was great!! AGU All Grown Up! had 95 girls to show up. I showed the girls pictures from different magazines. They enjoyed telling me what looked appropriate and what didn't. They noticed how provocative the black models were dressed in the magazines compared to the white models. I was impressed that they noticed this on their own and felt like something was wrong with it. They hated the outfits that showed too much of 'their stuff' (as they called it) I had each one look in a mirror and tell themselves something positive about themselves. I think they were shocked at how uncomfortable it felt. I told them they should practice this everyday and they should be able to say it loud to themselves with confidence. If they don't believe it about themselves, how could anyone else? The conversation got really interesting when I asked them to tell me what their 'money maker' was. (They hear that in the songs everyday and jumped to answer) Only two girls yelled out body parts and everyone else said their minds. These were some really smart girls who want to be lawyers, doctors, veterinarians, writers, dancers, etc. They were so impressive!! Hopefully they will make some comments on this blog... I would love to know what they got out of the workshop and all the other things that went on that night in the other workshops!!

All Grown Up!

This evening I'm going to hold a workshop with the high school girls from AGU on self-esteem and dressing appropriately. I'm really excited about it. I cut out pictures from several magazines of different females with different styles of dress. I was amazed at how difficult it was to to find images of black females dressed appropriately. Wow! Maybe that is part of the problem. I'm looking forward to the workshop!!