IMPACT July 2011 - Joomag

IMPACT July 2011 - Joomag

Check out this write up about me :) I had a lot of fun talking to this journalist, Sam!

Blessings from Tia

I know some of you don't know me and you're are wondering who is Tia, and those of you who do are thinking, "Oh goodness"! Trust me, it'll be fun to read.

I met Tia almost 8 years ago. She was too cute, very quiet and still, and had the cutest black and brown furry face I'd ever seen! Tia is a Yorkie, and she was only 8 weeks old. At the time I was 20 gibberish something years old, so I was the one training Tia. Funny thing is Dogs age 7 years to our 1, so apparently I schooled her at first but as we grew together, she started to school me. Now I know if you are not a dog (animal) person you are thinking I'm crazy, just read along and I'm sure you will get something out of Tia's Life Lesson :) because I certainly did!

How to be a friend - Seriously, Tia showed me how to a be an excellent friend! When I cry she forces her way into my lap and licks my tears, then she'll just look at me, then somehow I laugh. If she hears me fussing in one room she slowly walks in looks at me then comes and sits next to me. Another time, my Dr. gave me some kind of pills and it made me sick and I threw up every hour from about 6pm until 9am the next day. No matter if I was sleep my stomach woke me up, and every time my feet hit the carpet, a set of four paws joined me, and Tia sat in the restroom with me all night long just to make sure I was OK. That's what a friend does, even if they can't anything for you they are there with you. I actually carry these traits in my relationship with my best friend Kwesiu, no matter what we are always there for each other, never ONCE have we been mad at each other and didn't talk to each other. It's an unconditional friendship.

Patience & Persistence - Like all dogs Tia likes to play fetch!! Now, Tia is different , because most dogs after so long go on with something else, NOT TIA! She will wait hours for you to throw that toy ONE time. If you ignore her she'll find ways to get it in your hand and you won't even know how it got there, (true story). Me and my friends get a kick out it. She is so determined to play fetch she'll let nothing stop her an if I say no, she'll find other ways to get it in my hands. I think that's a life lesson. If there is something you want, I know this is a cliche, but always keep going after it no matter what. And you know what I always end up throwing that toy. Sometimes we can be persistent but we don't know how to wait on God and let him handle the rest, that usually when we mess things up and say forget it, it's not meant to be and all other mumbo jumbo, when patience is a form of action.

Stop and Smell the Roses - Tia is big on this, and when I say stop and smell the flowers she literally smells all of them outside, LOL! When I take Tia out for walks, she's aware of everything and she takes it all in. She loves flowers, plants, and the Sun. Tia will walk by one and run back to smell it. One time we were going in and she kept pulling on the leash like she had to potty again and I finally let her go and she ran to another plant to smell the scent. I was like "Wow"! If it's a pretty day, she will actually lay out in the sun instead of walking and I'll sit and join her, then I'll realize it is a pretty day. I joke with my friends about being like Tia and smelling the roses, but I actually do. I don't go out and smell flowers but I enjoy God's creation...Earth. I take life in now, when I accomplish something, I take that in as well. You'll be surprise how going outside relaxing can make a bad day seem better.

Forgiveness - No matter what I do to Tia, she Always forgives and forgets. I know All dogs do this, so a part of me feels God did it that way so we could follow suit. Hmmm. If I yell at her because I thought she did something and she really didn't, I feel bad and say sorry, and she'll come over and shake my hand. If she does do something and I yell, seriously she gives me 1 minute then she will come over and again shake my hand. I call her a con artist, but really she's smart. We should end a dispute right away instead of carrying it with us.

Faith - Tia doesn't worry about anything because she knows I will protect her. She knows she will always have a place to sleep. When she's hungry she goes to her bowl and wait and I know to put food in there. This is how we should be with God. He will never forsake us. This is a big lesson I've learned well over the past 2 years, and it's made my life better!

If you don' have a dog please go get one today...just kidding. Like always I hope you got something out of this message. If you like these type of tales about furry friends please check out "Angelic Tales" by Joan Wester Anderson.

God's Greatest Gift

This was initially suppose to be a letter to my friend who recently lost her mother, and the more I thought about it, I thought it could touch you all reading including my own mother. I have been thinking about my friend a lot lately and what all she's going through and I wanted to find the right words to maybe help her in this time, and I was reminded of what a friend said to me when I lost my Granny; he said she lives on through you. I've been thinking about that statement more now than I did when he said that to me and he's right! So I wanted to share a story (somewhat) about God's Greatest Gift in my life and how she lives in me!

She was the first beautiful woman I'd ever seen. She had the prettiest smile, brown glowing skin, thick black long curly hair and a confidence that I didn't get until I turned 30. As a child I would watch her as she put on her Fashion Fair makeup, even til this day if I smell FF lipstick I think back to riding in the backseat of her red sports car with her and her girlfriends as we would roll through Herman Park on a Sunday. I would watch her do her hair and she would rock the same hairstyle and she was very particular with the way she wore it, and I would look at her and wonder why she had to have it THAT way. She wore Gloria Vanderbilt (however you spell that) jeans and I guess she thought she was looking good whenever she wore them because she had a lot...okay she did look good in them! As a child I watched how much she loved and respected her mother and how close their relationship was. No she was not perfect as she let me eat out maybe 5times a week and whatever I wanted...McDonalds, Popeyes, and then we discovered Pappadeaux's and it was on. I remember one time we went there for dinner twice in a week. Once a year me and her would play hookie and sit at home and watch movies and laugh. We would dance together all the time and sometimes wrestle, of course she showed me no mercy.

As I got into my preteen and teenager years I started to not want to be like her. She came up to my school one time in rollers and a scarf, and I would have rathered died! If she thought somebody was mistreating me she would make a big deal out of it and BLOW UP, and I would want to crawl into a hole. I would look at her like she had lost it every time a Frankie Beverly song came on and she would throw up one arm and shout "heeeeey, that's my song"! I'm thinking OKAY but don't tell nobody, LOL. Her brother was in the army and was based out of state, when he would leave from a visit she would lock herself in the bathroom and cry. I was thinking what a cry baby, he'll be back. Growing up I just didn't understand her ways and they use to bother me. I would think she's only 20 years older than me shouldn't we think more alike?

Fast forward to today and I'm 32 and she's 52 and now those years don't seem so far apart. Back to that statement that she lives through you is so true. Daughter's, our mother's not only live through us we are our mother's. Remember that saying every woman dreaded...well I believe it's true. Looking at my mother and aunts I see my granny. Looking at my other aunts I see my other grandmother it's amazing. OMG I am Sharon Samuel; I have to wear my hair in a particular way if it's not in that way I will wash it and start over! There are certain jeans I wear That I swear I'm the baddest thing walking when I put them on :). I have the worst eating habits (thanks momma, granny said that was your fault) I'm quick to go to a fast food spot for dinner instead of veggies, but she's making me do better (ain't that something LOL). I will wear my wrap cap ANYWHERE and DARE anybody to say something, I just don't care, that is so funny to me now. She took me to a Frankie Beverly concert when I was in college and to this day I think Maze is the greatest band of all times and yes when I hear one of their songs or Patti Labelle, I throw one arm in the air and say "Heeeyyy"!! I have a close relationship with her like she did with her mother. I talk to my mother, kid you not, like 4 or 5 times a day, and when I don't call her back, she'll say "Why didn't you call me back girl'? My brother came to visit me here in LA and I when I dropped him off at the airport I cried all the way home...can you believe that? Who's the cry baby now? I talk to my brother on the phone like EVERYDAY and I cried like a baby when he left. It's crazy I look in the mirror and I see my mother, I am my mother. I say little things at times and I laugh to myself afterwards because it's something she would say.

I wanted to tell my friend your mother may be gone but she left her wisdom, her laughter, heart, face, memories, beliefs, stories with you and she will always be with you because you are her! Same to my mother, I know it was hard when you lost your mother but you act just like her.

Mother's are some of God's Greatest Gift. My mother is so awesome I can't believe it at times. When I get into a bind she says "What are we gonna do"? or "We may be in trouble"? I'm thinking wow, you're going down with me? LOL. My troubles are your troubles, that is the most selfless thing anybody could do for another.I am aware that not everybody has this story maybe your Gift was a father, aunt, granny, sister, or a friend but we all have somebody that has just been amazing in our life and we should take the time to thank God for them and to thank that person.

Ladies are you your mother?

Move, Get Out My Way!!!

I know we always talk about the really really big things GOD does for us, but I want to talk about something not so big, but did start to become a burden in my life, also to show you how something small can affect your life in a negative way. Now when you hear what this blog is about you are so gonna laugh, but that's good because you'll see how something so silly can get out of hand. What am I talking about...ROAD RAGE!!!

Who's still laughing? Be quiet. ;) I can't tell you when this started, but I do know I had it when I lived in Atlanta because I was reading my old prayer book the other day and I actually had Road Rage listed. I remember praying to control my temper behind the wheel, and I never thought it could better because it Always got worse. When I first moved to Los Angeles I was in prayer about this issue, and I remember I was driving and I was at a light and another driver was upset with me because of the way I was positioned, she rolled down her window and called me a slut. Like I said I was in prayer about it because normally I would had rolled down my window and called her a few names too, but I didn't. I remember shaking and actually crying because I wanted to go off on the lady but GOD was working with me and I needed to work with him. So let me tell you what I use to do and how bad it really was.

If someone would cut me off I would catch up with them and cut them off. Pass by people and make the crazy person face, blow my horn at people for not moving fast enough, then get mad if someone blew their horn at me. This woman blew her horn at my one time I put my car in park and made her go around me, and of course as she went around I rolled my window down and smiled and waved at her. When two cars go the same speed side by side, it would kill me when I couldn't get passed them, so I would ride both of them until one moved. The list goes on and on, however one nice thing was I would do, I would let anybody over...I was a polite Road Rager.

I noticed it was a problem when I got out of my car and would still be upset. I would go to work upset, or to the store and would wait for somebody to say something "smart" to me, and if they did, I would really have an attitude and all because it started in my car. It started to mess up my whole day and I'm an actress, so imagine me going into an audition with an attitude reading for a cheerleader.?? I use to say ShaWanna what if you go off on somebody one day, and you get to your audition and it was casting director? Who thinks I'd get the part? Me neither.

I was a totally different person behind the wheel, and I would feel crazy afterwards, so I started to pray about it. When that lady called me a slut I was in the process of working on my temper behind the wheel, that's why I started crying because everything in me wanted to let her have it, but I didn't. Funny instead of me being happy I passed that test I was still upset, LOL. That was in 2005, it's 2010 and yes I hav gotten better, but God is not done with me yet!! For the most part I'm a lot better, if I do lose it for a second I'm able to pull it together right away. I don't make faces or cut people off anymore, and I wait before I blow my horn, just to give them a second to see that the light has changed. I think writing about it tonight will make me more aware the next time I get behind the wheel.

So pray for me and don't cut me off if you see me driving!

Angels You Can See!

I have always heard about we have guardian angels around us, but what I know for sure is that we have angels that walk with us everyday. Of course we have close friends that gives us really good advice or we attend groups and we inspire each other, but I believe that God sends some people to talk directly to us when we are in the thick of things. I'm not trying to spook anyone here, I think these are cute stories and they will make you smile and hopefully "my angels" reading this will feel that they were actually apart of something even bigger than just giving a kind word or two.

One night around 9pm, week night, I was in my "Office" (Extra bedroom) and I was doing my actor's stuff; submitting for parts, correcting cover letters, looking through my Ross Reports...you actors know, the fun stuff we love to do! I got frustrated and overwhelmed. I had a conversation with my now Ex husband, a week prior, and he was asking me if I wanted to go back home to Houston, and I told him no, and that I was going to keep trying until something gives. Well a week later, something gave, my patience, LOL. So I'm in the office and I get tired and I was about to let out a big cry when the phone rang, and it made me stop. It was my aunt Sue. Now my aunt time is 11pm and normally she's sleep, but she called me. So she says she was just calling to see how I was doing, and I lied and said fine :) She says "OK", then she says "God wanted me to call you and tell you to just hold on he has so many wonderful blessings in store, and things you can't imagine, and everything is going to work out". So I'm looking around like "who's watching me"? I just said thank you and we got off of the phone. Not one tear dropped and the almost cry turned into a smile.

One time at church we were doing a fast and we were to ask God for direction in our life. Well I fasted but I felt I already knew God's direction for my life but still something wasn't clicking. That next week I got an email from my step mother Jeanie and it said: Hi Wanna, God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above WHAT YOU CAN ASK OR THINK. He will do it if you will only believe. Love, Jeanie. I copy and pasted her email. Now nobody knew I was fasting, so I took this as God speaking to me and it says it clear as day, if only I believe, and that was the missing ingredient with my faith in '05. Now I believe, I believe enough for everybody reading this blog, that God will do everything for you!

Out of the blue once my sister Tenisha emailed me in '03, yes I still have the email (I'll have to show her) and she told me to believe in what I was asking God for and that all things were possible. She also told me she was proud of me and that means a lot too, for a loved one to say that.

I think this is a good message for both sides because, have you ever had the hunch to call somebody and just say something encouraging? I think it's God and we shouldn't ignore those because someone may be really going through something and need to hear a word. Even if it's praying together over the phone, my friend Shawn Eaglin and I are prayer partners (even though we have fallen off this year, we are starting back in May). You can also be a blessing to someone else just by sharing a word you recieved in church. When I hear something wonderful, instead of just chatting on the phone with my mother I tell her what I learned and that can bless her day.

What I learned from these experiences is to BE an Angel to somebody. The best feeling in the world to me is to make somebody laugh, so I try to do that when someone is down. The bottom line is, if you're an Angel to somebody and they do the same, everybody would be angels eventually, then there would be world peace! Did I go too far on the last statement? Maybe so.


By the way, please be aware of random people who come up to you and say God told me to tell you this, and they start to look in the sky and get the "spirit"! My pastor calls those people "Spooky" not Spiritual!

What Happens To A Dream Deferred?

I have absolutely no idea!

Let's all make a pact, as long as we are alive we will continue to go after our dreams, so we won't be sitting around one day at 80 saying "I wish I would have tried juggling"! :)

Let's Do It!

"Cheaper" To Have Your Own Dreams!

As you all know I am an actress, but what you may not know is I also produce and write. I write because I have a funny imagination, and I produce because, who else is going to put my art out there? It's difficult as a black female actress because the parts they write for us are limited, so I started writing because there were certain parts I wanted to play or see other's play. I know some people have been like..."Oh so you want to act, write, AND produce, whatever". I believe what ever dreams stay in your heart are from God, so this blog is about following your own dreams!

OK, I can get right to it because you all know about "Cheaper To Keep Her", I just want to show you how God worked this out for me, so if you have dreams, and people tells you, you shouldn't go after them, maybe this will help you and you can keep on pushing and not let anything or anyone distract you. I will try and make this as short as possible, because it's not so much about the play but it's about letting God lead you.

Fall of 2009 I decided that the urban theater needed a woman's voice. We have Tyler Perry, Je'Caryous Johnson, and David E. Talbert, and these men are writing for women... Houston we have a problem, men are talking for the sisters!!! So I said I'll write a play and this time instead of doing it in Los Angeles I'll take it to my roots, Houston. I got excited I was going to write it, produce it, possibly direct it all by myself. I was so excited I told my mother whose response was "Oh OK", that pretty much means whatever ;) I told my best friend whose response was "Maybe you shouldn't write it, just pay someone else to write", that pretty much means your not a trained writer. I mentioned my mom and BFF for a reason... they are 2 important people in my life and if they were hinting that I shouldn't do it, I probably shouldn't have, right? WRONG! Even the people who love us most don't know what GOD has in store for you, so when you let someone in on your dreams, continue to love and respect them, but take their opinions with a grain of salt, and let God work out it out.

Once I decided to write my play, I needed a plot. After a phone call with my ex husband in Nov 2009, I laughed and said it would have been cheaper to keep me, and a light bulb went off. The next day I wrote the entire play in a day. It's like I woke up and God put all of the ideas in my brain. Finished the script, loved it and I made a list of all the things I needed to do to get my play up and running for Dec 2010. It was going to be so freaking expensive to produce the play, and I remember looking at the Hobby Center and saying "Man I wish I could have it there"! So I scratched that and at the end of Nov I decided I would just do it in L.A.

I went home to Houston for my sister's wedding and just stayed through to Christmas. Enter Je'Caryous Johnson. Je'Caryous and I go way back, to middle school, and he was telling me he was in the process of trying to write his next play and he was trying to work out the details, so I started to help him brainstorm. Not thinking I said, see in the play I just wrote, blah blah blah, and he said you wrote a play? I said yes, it's called Cheaper To Keep Her, and he started laughing. Long story short he asked to read it and he saw potential in my writing, and he said I could be like Mara Brock Akil (creator of The Game, and Girlfriends) but most important he like my raw talent. Like I said earlier, my friend didn't think I was trained enough to do this but that's what got JC attention, it's like that quote, God doesn't call the qualified, he qualifies the called...Yes I am the called... and so are YOU!

J and I have worked really hard on this script and we leave tomorrow to North Carolina for our first show, and I'm super duper excited. WAIT, do I have time for a cheap plug? Yes, yes I do. Come out and see the show, I promise you, you will laugh and cry! I will attach the link on the bottom to see the tour dates ;) Now back to your blog...

I stepped out on faith, I did what God put in my heart and followed his direction. About a month ago I look at my to do list for my play that I made, and just started crying because God handled it soooo much better than I ever could. Also, guess where it's playing in Houston? At the HOBBY CENTER!! LOOK AT GOD!

Have your own dreams because it ends up costing you so much more doing what other's want you to do, than what God has planned for you. Go after your DREAMS!!!!


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