Interview w. KayKi!

Kanisha McSwain, known to her family, friends, & supporters as KayKi, started kaykispeaks.com back in 2009 and nearly one year later she had caught the full attention of the twitter world, MTV, and me! KayKi knew she couldn't be the only one who wanted entertainment blog news minus the negativity & gossip (she was right) and thus she breathed life into her blog and has been giving it to her readers with 'no hate & no shade' ever since. This lady speaks all kinds of fab to me & on a wing and a prayer I contacted KayKi, hoping she would give me some insight & the inside scoop inside her writing/blogging world. I wanted to know her thoughts on life after being picked as a top 20 finalist in MTV's first ever TJ competition. (As in Twitter Jockey, $100K, NYC…need I say more?) Kanisha was sweet enough to talk with me right after the top 5 were chosen. MTV lost one by not choosing KayKi and so I was eager to see how she really felt on this bull.ish, intense, incredibly hard decision that MTV had to make….

AHJ: You still seem in very high spirits, is this natural? What kind of feelings are you really going through right now?

KayKI: I've always been the type of person to live my life where I expect to excel…I always understand that this is life and one second I can be here and then in another second I can be in a totally different situation… I think that has helped for me to just always be in high spirits! When things don't go the way I want them to go it helps me to see that something else will, so, honestly, it's my natural reaction to not freak out in a negative way.

AHJ: Honestly, though, do you feel that you should've been picked?

KayKI: I think TeamKayKi, my friends, and family were a lot more upset about me not being in the top five than I am. I'm a believer that things that are supposed to happen will and things that aren't meant to happen won't. Even with that…I was hoping from the beginning, I was confident with my challenges, and I was expecting to be in the top 5, I think all of us were, so my initial reaction was a little bit of a letdown. I was a little like, huh? LOL

AHJ: Are you rooting for any one person in the top 5 now?

KayKI: You know, Gabi, Jose, and X are the three people that I developed a relationship with in the time that we've been competing that are actually in the top 5 now, and I couldn't choose between them, so… I won't, LOL!

AHJ: Cool, I think we could all understand that. As far as writing, though, how challenging was the process for you?

KayKI: The great thing about this was that when they contacted us for the challenge, they [MTV] didn't want us to change as bloggers or as tweeters. They wanted us to be ourselves, so it wasn't a big adjustment that I had to make from what I've been doing.

AHJ: But the pressure of an MTV audience now watching your blog and your tweets was on…

KayKI: I can't say that it wasn't, we knew about this for a while before the public knew, and at times I found myself changing some things that I might have normally done. But as far as writing, nothing really changed.

AHJ: What's one of your best memories throughout this whole competition?

KayKI: The best memory that sorta sticks out in my head was actually the initial way that I even got into it. I'd been working someplace and had the feeling that it may end. So I got up really early to go look for some other job leads and while out, I got a call that my position had been terminated. I came home shortly after, checked my email and I had a message from MTV… which I sent to the spam folder!

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Zippity Do Dah

Yes, it had to be done….sometimes I just feel the need for it. I took some time off from blogging just to reamp myself amid all the chaos in my life right now. When things get really anxious in life, I have to sort of step in my serene little imaginary box & do some intense prayer, meditation, yoga… otherwise I may just haul off & slap a b.ish for no reason at all. Haha. J/K.
So I'm sitting here, day in and day out, telling myself: "when things sort of calm down again, I can resettle then I'll start my writing regularly again". Then I woke up and smelled the chaotic coffee. And I wanted to slap myself. Like wtf? I LIVE for writing. My life breathes energy into my writing work, it's the very passion of my soul…and without it I know without a doubt that I could not & would not be me. Now don't get me wrong, I still THOUGHT about writing every single day. I dreamt of writing. I dreamed that I was thinking about writing. And I wrote, a little, for a few hours here and there, but I was totally off my schedule of writing EVERY SINGLE DAY. And I didn't necessarily feel like I had writer's block, I just didn't WANT to write because I've been feeling uncomfortable in my skin for a few weeks now. And somewhere along the way I made myself believe that if I didn't feel completely comfortable and in control then I can't do anything that relates to comfort.
And then this morning I got a BBM from my BBbud/FAB photographer, Chadd Cal, @CB_CAL, that broadcasted a message with him singing 'Zip-a-dee-do-dah, Zip-a-dee-ah, my oh my what a wonderful day.' He then said to remember your blessings, keep things within your control simple, and enjoy the easy pleasures of life. The fact that he sang that ol' Disney song made me feel happy, tingly-giddy like a school girl…and then laugh and smile harder than I've really given myself a chance to over the last few weeks. I haven't felt unhappy at all, like I said, I've just been feeling out of my skin. I'm facing & pushing myself with trying a lot of new things…and that can be scary. It takes a lot of faith and a lot of courage. And so I took all the strength I thought I had, removed it away from my writing, and put it into every other category of my life…work, personal, social, etc.
But then I realized….heck life can be as complicated OR as easy as I make it. If I want to write, then h.eck I'm gonna write. If I want to pick up my things and start a life somewhere else, heck I can do that too! If I want to accept a job promotion, no prob! Feel flirty and beautiful…EASY! You see, sometimes we really can overthink, overanalyze the duties of life. God gave us free will and his Son sacrificed His very life, so that we can fruitfully enjoy ours. We've been granted the opportunities to do lots that we desire, when we want & how we want…and until God makes it perfect…well we can at least have it really, really good right now! My life can be as simple as the words to that song Zippity Do Dah…my oh my what a wonderful day.
Therefore, from this evening onward…I'm going to strive to make everyday easier for me, more wonderful for me….and I'm definitely gonna start back with putting pen to paper EVERYDAY and let life roll on from there. Let's let nothing stop us dolls! ROLL ON! ROLL ON!
What do you think…can life truly be as easy as we make it?
P.S.I love this Jackson 5 rendition of the song "Zippity Do Dah" (MJ you are so missed)…; Miley's Cyrus's version (ehhh not feeling it so much #cantTOUCHajacksonCLASSIC)

#WriterFab!

BlogPickoftheWeek:07/02/10:ProlificLiving

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Hope you dolls like this 'blogpickoftheWeek' as much as me! (at least the song by 'Paramore'...I can't get enough of that band, lol) Love to hear your thoughts...do you practice yoga like me & Farnoosh? What kind of healthy foods do you eat? Ever gotten training from toastmasters?

FCG Guest Post: My take on ‘Question of the Week’

So if you're a woman that longs to be informed, inspired, and empowered, but you haven't heard nor visited Jamie Fleming's site ForColoredGurls.Com then I'm just going to attribute that you've been under some virtual rock somewhere. Hehe. But, alas love, no worries! FCG and AHJ have teamed up where I will now be a regular contributing blogger to the site & I can't tell you how excited I am! The site is focused on women of color, but offers so much diverse information that any person could spend hours on the site…I know I could! I truly feel that guest blogging is so important for any aspiring writer because it's a wonderful opportunity for online networking…and a really neat way to form lasting, real friendships. Cori on her site 'Big Girl Branding: A Smart Chick's Take on Biz' gives a wonderful analogy to the importance of guest blogging:
Think of your blog as a restaurant and your content as the menu. If you keep serving the same dishes over and over, eventually even your most loyal patrons will get sick of the fare and try out other places where the food is always fresh and the menu is regularly updated.

 In fact, I've had this very issue lately… I only have about 3 restaurants in my area that I enjoy eating at.  And at my favorite place, the menu never changes.  Like ever.

 So despite it being my favorite place… I get sick of going there!  Because I know that even though I love my egg salad sandwich and French fries… I've had it every other day for a month and now I'm burnt out.

 You've simply got to spice things up now and then.

 And I'm definitely in the mood to spice things up in the 'blog'room! LOL. So I truly hope all of you dolls will come over & visit me at FCG where I'll be contributing often to Jamie's 'Question of the Week' along with other content. This week I asked readers if and what they ask a man they're dating. I know we could easily talk all week on that one! Anyhoo, I hope you all are as proud & happy as I feel, especially because this is just the beginning… the best is definitely yet to come!

How do you feel about guest blogging, are you in or are you out? Can't wait to hear your thoughts!







And in case you didn't know how team FCG I am, ForColoredGurls.com is awesome & was actually my very first blog pick of the week, check out the tribute after the jump…

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My FaveFour!

Hey Loves!
-Just wanted to show you a glimpse of me & things that I had a chance to love a little more this week! The smilebox link will show you the thoughts from my heart, so just one little click and wa-lah!... you've got instant access into my week's FaveFour: Drake's New Album, Time w. my Family, Writing (of course, lol) & Kobe Bryant! Enjoy! Muah!

If you prefer reading about my fave things this week in print format....read about it after the jump!

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Play your mind to Success

Henry Ford said, "If you think you can, or if you think you can't… you're right." He knew that the mind is a key component to success. Are you using your mind to fund your writing career?
I personally went through dozens of ideas & self-rejected themes before I came up with a solid idea for this blog. And you don't even wanna know how many times I lay in bed, eyes wide open, driving myself crazy, before I broke ground on a solid story idea, with realistic characters (and a decent love plot) for my book. And I know that when I grab my overnight success with a critically acclaimed published novel one day, some of my nights are still going to be longer than others. Hey, that's just a dose of reality that I've given myself. Terry McMillan studied journalism in undergrad and saw herself as a writer all through college. She published her first book in 1987. Know how many years passed before she got that New York Times Waiting to Exhale flying off the shelves? FIVE years. Whew! That's like 1,800 days dude. Seriously, that's a lot of writing confidence. E.Lynn Harris didn't see himself as a computer salesman and quit his job in 1990 to write his first book to prove it. But it took him 365 days longer than it did Terry before he got his bestseller. And children's book author, Evelyn Coleman, intensely studied nearly 500 picture books and spent $60,000 on writing classes….and that was just in one summer. She developed her craft and claimed her success for writing over a timespan of nearly ten years.

Like my favorite NBA player (and b-ball crush, lol) Kobe Bryant said in this year's finals:

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#WriterFab!

BlogPickOftheWeek:06/22/10

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