Starting the New Decade with healthier hair

Cartoon By TallnCurly1 on Instagram

          As we enter a new year and decade, you probably created a list of goals you hope to accomplish within those time periods. One goal you should include in your list if you haven't already added is growing your hair out naturally with the removal of heat and relaxers. In this article, we will learn the history of African Americans/ people of color hair trends and inventions. We will then cover the reasons why becoming relaxer free is the best choice for a healthy lifestyle.

          During the year 1441, Africans became a part of the "New World" era as slaves. These slaves were forced to believe that "fair skin, straight hair, and thin features" ( aaregistry.org/story/black-hair-care-and-culture-a-story/ ) were the only acceptable form of beauty. While many of the slaves tried to continue representing for their culture through braiding their hair in African patterns and using natural herbs from plants to create hair and skin products, others didn't have any other choice but to participate in creating European beauty standards for their survival of the New World Era (  aaregistry.org/story/black-hair-care-and-culture-a-story/ )

          By the time the first slaves where bought to Jamestown, Virginia, USA; in 1619 African languages, cultures, and other African traditions started to become less present among them and would continue to disappear among the generations after them ( Thirstyroots.com/black-hair-history/discovering-our-roots-do-I-hate-my-hair ). They were no longer creating herbal treatments used in Africa, they started using bacon grease, butter, and kerosene as replacers for conditioners and cleaners. During the time of slavery in America, lighter-skinned, straight-haired slaves were placed for higher prices at auctions than darker-skinned slaves with kinky hair ( Thirstyroots.com/black-hair-history/discovering-our-roots-do-I-hate-my-hair ). This made a lot of slaves the next generations of people of  color to become color and hair textured conscious about themselves and other blacks. They started to believe that dark-skinned blacks with kinky hair were less attractive than light-skinned blacks with looser curl patterns.

          When slavery ended in 1865, black women who styled their hair in an European feminine way were viewed by society as being "well-adjusted" and lady-like (  Thirstyroots.com/black-hair-history/discovering-our-roots-do-I-hate-my-hair ). By 1880, Black women in America would start straightening their hair with an invention called the hot comb made out of metal (  Thirstyroots.com/black-hair-history/discovering-our-roots-do-I-hate-my-hair). The first use of the hot comb was seen used by a French stylish named, Marcel Grateau, who was a popular stylist for prostitutes in Paris. He used the metal hot comb to create a style that would forever be known as the "Marcel wave" ( www.hji.co.uk/top-hairdressers/hairdressing-icons-marcel-grateau ). While people are not sure who invented the first hot comb, Grateau was the first person seen using one, while Annie Malone was the first person to copyright it. It was not Madam C. J. Walker as many people believe ( www.freemaninstitute.com/poro.htm ) [ unfortunately the website had been shut down for some reason during the making of this article].

          At one point in time Annie Malone was known as the first black female millionaire. "Malone was an African- American business woman, educator, inventor, and philanthropist" ( www.freemaninstitute.com/poro.htm ). Annie Minerva Turnbo Malone started her hair care business called Poro for four years before Sarah Breedlove aka Madam C.J Walker. In the early 1900s, Madam C.J. Walker was working for Malone for about a year as an " Poro Agent" ( www.freemaninstitute.com/poro.htm ). In 1902, Malone's business grew quickly and when she moved to St. "Louis, Missouri, she copyrighted her Poro beauty products brand including the metal hot comb ( www.freemaninstitute.com/poro.htm ). When Malone's business started to fail, Madam C.J. Walker's business took over and shadowed all of Annie Malone's efforts to what black hair products would became to be in the 1900s and what's currently taking place now within the industry. In 1910, Madam C.J. Walker was featured in the Guinness Book of Records as the first American female self-made millionaire ( Thirstyroots.com/black-hair-history/discovering-our-roots-do-I-hate-my-hair ).

Annie Malone and am Image of one of her cosmetic colleges

          The year 1909 was the birth of hair relaxers for the black hair industry. The very first hair relaxer was invented accidently by Garrett Augustus Morgan. Morgan is well known for the invention of the three-part traffic signal and the gas mask, but he wouldn't have been able to get the resources for those two inventions if it wasn't for his invention of the relaxer
 ( www.ric.edu/faculty/rpotter/morgan.html ). In the early 1900s, Garrett Augustus Morgan was employed as a repairman for sewing-machines. He soon was able to open his own sewing machine repair shop. One day at his shop, "Morgan wiped his hands, which were covered with a lubricant used for the machines, on a bit of wooly cloth. When he returned to the shop the next day, the cloth was smooth (   www.ric.edu/faculty/rpotter/morgan.html). The results of the carpet intrigued him and he decided to experiment on one of his neighbor's dog to see if the dog's fur would become similar to the carpet. The dog's fur did become smooth as the carpet and Morgan decided to take it another step further by placing the same liquid on his own hair. This became the birth of G.A Morgan's hair refiner and a line of hair products (    www.ric.edu/faculty/rpotter/morgan.html ). After Morgan's hair refiner became a success, George E. Johnson was selling his own version of the "permanent" hair straightener for men that could be applied inside the home. Johnson then created a feminine version of the product and sold that as well ( Thirstyroots.com/black-hair-history/discovering-our-roots-do-I-hate-my-hair ).

          The next hair trend to emerge was the Jheri curl in 1977 and would remain a popular trend until the 1980s ( Thirstyroots.com/black-hair-history/discovering-our-roots-do-I-hate-my-hair ). Jheri Redding is the founder of the Jheri Curl. Redding was also an hairstylist who also invented the hair conditioner and Ph-balanced shampoos ( www.80sfashion.org/the-jheri-curl/ ). When Jheri Redding first introduced the jheri curl hairstyle it costed around $300 and could only be done at the hair salon. Soon, Comer Cottrell invented a cheaper version of the jheri curl kit that could be done at home for the cost of $8. The only downfall was that the chemicals easily stained anything it landed on ( www.80sfashion.org/the-jheri-curl/ ). Once African Americans saw popular celebrities such as Michael Jackson and Ice Cube styling their hair with the Jheri curl, the style became mainstream among the African American  populations in the United States, The trend soon died down nd has become a style in the past that won't be seeing much daylight of resurfacing back to mainstream media hairstyles. Now in the 2010s and currently, natural hair products has been the latest trend.

          Now that we have covered the history of where African American hair trends started and where it has lead us today; it's now time to reflect on why getting rid of relaxers or any harmful chemicals from your hair routines. As we covered before in the paragraphs before how the first relaxers were invented that included a lubricant chemical that was used for sewing machines ( Thirstyroots.com/black-hair-history/discovering-our-roots-do-I-hate-my-hair ). Now why would anyone would want to put anything so close to their scalps and pores; which is a direct link to their brain? I guess desperate times leads to desperate measures for that European straight hair. Overtime, relaxers included lye as one of the ingredients; which is basically sodium hydroxide. Sodium hydroxide relaxers break down the hair bonds that causes hair to become permanently straight ( www.designessentials.com/types-of-relaxers/ ). On the Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry website, they define sodium hydroxide as, "...a white, noncombustible solid that absorbs moisture from the air. When the solid is in contact with water, it may generate sufficient heat to ignite combustible materials. The solid and its solutions are corrosive. Sodium hydroxide is odorless; thus odor provides no warning of hazardous concentrations" ( www.atsdr.cdc.gov/mmg/mmg.asp?id=246&tid=45 ). With this information, we now gain an understanding why after the removal of the relaxer, the scalp feels very irritable and dry from moisture.

          Once this information was released from the Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease registry, beauticians started using relaxers with the removal of the lye chemical.  On the Sally Beauty website, they mention that no-lye relaxers are usually milder than lye included relaxers and is great for people with sensitive scalps, but can cause hair to become drier ( www.sallybeauty.com/faq_women_of_color_6.html ). 

          The no-lye chemical in relaxers is calcium hydroxide. Why does no-lye relaxers claim to create less irritation among the scalp, but you're left with less moisture in your hair than using lye relaxers. So now we have the option to get straight hair, but it could be mildly dry or extremely dry afterwards. Are we really winning with these options? Also, both relaxers will cause some level of irritated scalp. Both forms of relaxers cause the same health problems as well when it comes to the scalp and the internal parts of the body. Lastly, after getting the relaxer, the hair becomes very weak and starts breaking off from the ends to the roots. Have you been wondering why you hair only grows to a certain length? This might be the main reason why.

          It has been well documented that relaxers both with lye and without lye causes damage that can be physically seen and has been linked to many cancers, such as Dr. Oz on his show ( click the link on Dr. Oz to see the video about lye and non-lye relaxers), but many people are not aware with the internal damage relaxers cause. Around the beginning of the first year ending my use of relaxers, I came across a YouTube video called, "If You Perm Your Hair, Please Watch This" ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtHfh8t8x7k ) The video was of a guy mentioning a video he had watched on YouTube video of a woman who decided to stop getting perms when she learned of the affects relaxers cause brains when she was an active police officer working with body remains collected from crime scenes. Her video was called, " Why I stopped perming my hair My personal experience." In her video, she elaborates on her experience one day at work when she came across an African American brain that was black in color and no shape of the natural pink color. She asked her partner why was the brain black and they guy replied stating that the reason was because she got perms/ relaxers in her hair. She was in disbelief because she at the time was also getting relaxers in her hair. The guy then showed her another brain from Another African American woman who seem to become natural at least a year or two before she died and her brain was mostly pink and less black spots compared to the brain they viewed previously. From this incident she witnessed in her career, she knew she had to remove relaxers from her daily routine. Sadly, somehow her video disappeared completely from YouTube. Something sounds fishy just like we never heard of Annie Malone, but heard of Madam C.J. Walker.

So just in case, they try to get rid of the YouTube video I just linked, below is the transcript of it.

00:01

okay quick video here this is for any

00:05

female they have firmed a hair um used

00:09

to perm their hair thinking about

00:12

perming your hair this is something you

00:14

really need to know concerning perm and

00:17

the effects of perms

00:19

this is a video I'm recommending i'ma

00:22

leave a link for this so you can come

00:24   over here and watch this video but

00:26

basically it goes over the dangers

00:28

effects of perms and now of course many

00:32

of the females are going natural which

00:35

is the way to go right now but this is

00:38

the lady here let me stroll down this is

00:45

the lady here so you have this video is

00:47

what I recommend you watch you the video

00:49

is titled why I stopped perming my hair

00:51

my personal experience she's a former

00:54

police officer and basically she give

00:58

her testimony of what she discovered

01:01

what happens to the brain of a female

01:04

they they get their hair perm and it has

01:08

an effect on the brain and many people

01:11

don't know this and this is the reason

01:13

I'm recommending that you watch this

01:16

video there are many images that you can

01:19

find online where the perm is just they

01:23

do damage to your to your scalp to your

01:26

head and there are there are horror

01:28

stories out there so this is just

01:30

awareness video you need to be aware of

01:34

the dangers of the perms that people put

01:39

in their hair again this is just for

01:43

awareness because many people may or may

01:46

not know the danger effects of putting

01:49

firm in their hair and once you watch

01:53

this video make sure you share it with

01:55

your friends and your family because

01:57

they anyone that could terminate and

02:01

really need to know this and once you

02:03

see hurt once you hear and see our

02:05

testimony you may think twice before

02:08

putting another firm in your hair okay

02:12

you

From this article, I hope you learned something new that you did not know before and if you haven't considered before reading this article that you decide that going natural is the best thing to do when it comes to your over all health and well being. See you next time #AphroKingdom

Starting the New Year's Resolutions a Month Early

Walking into 2020 with determination

          We all know when December hits, we start hearing people speak on all the accomplishments, failures, and incomplete goals they had for themselves or had took place in their lives within the year; while at the same time they be saying that next year will be bigger and better than last year without any really concrete plans taking place before the year starts. In this article, I am going to explain why it's best to start creating hard concrete plans for 2020 before 2019 ends through my own experience that took place not too long ago.

          During this time of the year, a lot of people have it in their minds that when the ball drops (a reference to the New York City New Year's tradition) and January 1st appears that a new energy emerges within them that tells them to become a better person that they were last year and focus on creating the lifestyle they want, but it don't exactly works that way. Usually once January 1st appears, a lot of people try to put all their energy into accomplishing their yearly goals during the first few months then everything starts falling down hill because they start feeling burned out. These individuals usually go back to their old ways they were doing the pervious year(s) and don't make any real impact in the new year. With these repeated yearly patterns, it's about time we make some changes on our strategies to accomplish our yearly goals advocate in preparing for the new year goals at least one month in advance.

          Two years ago, I decided to plan my yearly goals months because I wanted to make sure I made no mistakes with my degree choices while I still had time to make some changes to my career path. During that time, I was not sure whether or not I should make both English and Psychology my majors instead of making one a minor. I thought the required level of math needed to graduate would help me decide. Well it didn't help because both degrees required me to take another math course. After a week of this realization, I looked at all the classes I've taken so far while at UMBC and realized that I've been taking so many classes for both subjects that it just made sense to major in both. Within that time I also decided to add a concentration to my studies because when I was looking at all the programs UMBC had to offer, I thought Developmental Psychology program was a major; but it wasn't. It was a concentration certificate program. One of the psychology advisors told me that the only way I could graduate with the concentration was by majoring in a psychology degree as well.

          By the start of my third year, I finalized my degree choices and it was time for me to focus on what I wanted to take place in my life as a post Undergraduate. All I knew was that I didn't want to go back to school for a Masters degree and end up in debt or waste more time in my youth staying up late studying, completing assignments, and continuing my unhealthy diet. I wanted to start living my dream life before I turned thirty and if I did decide to go back to school, it will be my personal choice and would not be an requirement for a specific career or job. That's when I started looking on job search engines such as, Indeed.com and my college career center's website to look at possible jobs that fit my degrees and sparked my interests. That's when I gained an invitation to apply online as an online English teacher and I learned that this could possibly be the perfect job for me. The reason why I felt as though this could be a possible dream job for me is because the work hours were very early in the morning and I would be finished for the day by 2:00pm or earlier. With these hours I could focus on my writing and getting everything ready for my book release, flexibility to travel within the U.S.A, and down the road it would be reasonable hours to work and raise children. At the end, I did not end up getting the job because of complications I was having with my interview.

          While I didn't get that job, I started getting more invitations to apply to similar jobs. I even started seeing international teaching jobs where I could teach English as a second language in different countries. When I started seeing all the possible teaching jobs I could be a part of, it really excited me because I have always had goals to be able to not only travel to all 50 states in the United States, but also to travel around the world while having the ability to write and motivate others at the same time. Ever since the beginning of my junior year in August 2017, this has been a goal of mines as a career.

          In November of 2018, I started preparing for the new year by looking at jobs and internships on the career center website that related to my career interests. That is when I learned about the Spain internship that I mentioned in my last article. The internship position was for October 2019 until June 2020. I immediately applied within that week and got scheduled a Skype interview within a week. During the interview, it started off rocky because I couldn't find any good internet connection at the job I was working at during that time until the interviewer suggested that we use Facebook Messenger instead. Through using Facebook Messenger, I had just enough bars to stay online long enough to do the interview, but I had to hold my phone in an awkward position the whole time or I would have lost the connection. Once the interview was over, I thought that my spot for the internship was a given and I would hear back from them in June to learn whether or not I was one often people to be selected.

          In June of this year, I learned that all the spots were taken but the interviewer loved my passion and interest of being a part of the internship. Since the interviewer thought I would be a great fit for the program, she told me that I should add my application to the next selection of possible interns that would be selected in October for the six-month internship. I was very much blown that I wasn't select for the 10-month program, but I dropped my pride low enough to add my name to the six-month program.

          For months, I would constantly email the company to see if they started selecting people for the internship. I would always get a response from them stating that they would let me know when they receive more information in October. I waited and waited until it became mid-October and a voice in my head told me to email the company to see if they had any available spots. It was a very good thing I emailed them when I did because I received the email I've been hoping for since June. I was told that they had a spot for me and this wouldn't have been a reality for me if I didn't start planning for the year 2019 in the late months of 2018.

         From this article, you learned multiple reasons why you should start your new year's goals during the months of the year before. The first reason is the fact that when you wait until the first of the year to do anything towards your goals, you either lose all the ambitious energy you once had for that goal once January 1st appears or you burn the energy out during the first few months and go back to your old routines. The second reason is because you have now realized the many steps it takes to complete certain goals; which can take more than twelve months to get from the starting point to the wanted result point. This is especially true when you want to see that goal accomplished in a certain time period. This advice goes for any type of goal you have in mind. And the last reason why you should start your New Year's goals at least a month in advance is because you never know what opportunities will be passing you by if you just wait for them to appear. As I mentioned about my search for my dream career in 2017, I wouldn't have known about the possibility of being an online English teacher for another country. Without learning about this career field, I wouldn't have known about the Spain internship or the other job openings looking for people to travel around the world to teach English. Now that you have finished reading this article, you will now plan next year's goals accordingly.



I want to give out a big shout out to you, the #AphroKingdom, for supporting me thus far and I hope to see you in the new year as I spread more advice, encouragement, and reveal new possibilities.

Connecting the Ancestral Map this Thanksgiving

My Ancestral Map

          As we are inching closer and closer to the holiday season and one day before Thanksgiving, we are physically and mentally preparing ourselves to spend time with our close friends and family, trying to reconnect with people we don't get to see on the regular basis, and participating in as many events as we can before the year end; but this year I want to do something different. I want to spend this time learning more about my ancestral background especially when around this time we see Ancestry.com and 23andme.com giving Black Friday discounts for the DNA kits and other ancestry search items. I purchased a DNA kit from Ancestry.com around this time last year and gained my first DNA results earlier this year. In this article, I will be discussing my journey to my new DNA discoveries and why I encourage others to find out more about theirs through sites like Ancestry or through family members this holiday season.

         Before I purchased my DNA kit, I had known and heard of a few friends and family members who had purchased one from one of the sites I mentioned previously. From their discoveries, they were surprised with the information they found. Many had assumed they were a part of a certain race such as Native American or Asian. Only 1% received the confirmation that their biological history included those ethnical backgrounds. Others used the sites to find possible family members and learn about their family history. Once I learned about their discoveries, it interested me to learn more about my history and ethnical backgrounds. Once I saw the Black Friday sales for DNA kits, I did my personal research to find out which company was the right choice for me. As you read the first paragraph, I went with Ancestry. I chose Ancestry over 23andme because it's today's most popular choice so I would be able to find a lot of possible family members. My other reason for choosing Ancestry was because the company continuously does their research in finding more DNA samples in more countries than what 23andme seemed to be offering at the time of my decision. When Ancestry finds out that their new samples is connected to the completed DNA kit you mailed to them, they update your ethnical background chart with the new information. As of this month, November 2019, my ethnical background has been updated three times. The last update was on November 18, 2019.

          On the Ancestry website, you have the option to fill out a family tree. When you fill out information about your family that you know about, the company will connect other account members who included similar or the same family members as you and ask if there is a connection. If you say yes, they will help fill out the information on your family tree. When I placed my mother's father's father's information on the site, it lead me all the way to Europe. The person could have possibly been one of our ancestors first slave masters when they moved to the United States. I'm still receiving more possible family members to add to my family tree. I plan to confirm the information from my relatives before I add the members to the family tree. The only disappointment I received from the family tree is the fact that you can't add half related siblings. I figure that the site will fix itself when both siblings include the same parent as me. At the moment, I have one sibling interested in sending in a DNA kit, but I have yet to convince the other. Both of my sisters have a different parent from me and are completely unrelated to one another without me being the other piece that connects them.

          When I gave my DNA sample to Ancestry by mail, I kept an open mind. I didn't make any real ethnical assumptions, but I thought it would be interesting to find some part of Asia on my profile since a lot of people always compliment my almond shaped eyes and say that they look Asian. I received my first DNA results on January 13, 2019. My DNA results were: Cameroon, Congo & Southern Bantu peoples; Benin & Togo; Mali; England, Wales & Northwestern Europe; Ireland & Scotland; Indigenous Americas- (North, Central, South); Ivory Coast/ Ghana; Germanic Europe; Norway; and Eastern Africa. When I finally saw my results, I was amazed to know more about my ethnical background because growing up, all I was told was that I was Black and African American. I was supposed to just accept the title without the thought to ask further questions. No one in my immediate family were interested in knowing more about our history. Since having these results, I can now confirm that I have no drop of Asian in me when people think saying I have Asian shaped eyes is a compliment. It was interesting to see that I was West and East African and that there were no sign of South African or Nigerian. With all the Nigerians I have met in the DMV (Washington, D.C; Maryland; Virginia) I figured someone within my ancestry came across a love connection with someone of that background.

The First DNA Results

The First DNA Results

          Ever since I left Capitol Heights, Maryland and started being around people of color who knew something about their ethnical background, I became more concerned about knowing nothing about mines. I thought that if I took the first step into learning about my family's ethnical background that they would be interesting in exploring more about it. Somewhat they became a little more open about learning something about our history. They may have not been open to completing a DNA kit, but they have helped me create confirmations when filling out information for the family tree. Within exploring more about my new discoveries, I received more ethnical background updates on February 19th and November 18th of this year. By the third update, it now charts Nigeria; Cameroon, Congo & Southern Bantu Peoples; Benin & Togo; Mali; England, Wales & Northwestern Europe; Senegal; Ghana; Norway; Sweden; Indigenous Americas- North; and Spain as my ethnical background.

          From this recent update it confirmed that it was in fact true that someone in my close ancestral history was Nigerian and it's the highest percentage of all the other regions charted. The only country I found surprising to see on my chart was Spain. Out of all the countries that I could have possibly been linked too, Spanish decent was crossed out a long time ago when I was in middle school. Around this time, a lot of people of African decent were always trying to claim that they either had Native American or Spanish decent in their ethnical background, but didn't have any real hard proof to confirm those beliefs. I didn't want to be apart of that stereotype so I crossed those possibilities out until I gained further proof; which I now have that says I have both ethnicities charted.

The Third DNA Results

The Third DNA Results

        Ever since I've gained the results from my ethnical background, I feel more connected with my ancestral history and more than ever eager to learn more about each country my ancestors walked and traveled. Now that I have this information, I can now tell people and my future children that I am West African (Nigeria; Benin & Togo; Senegal; Mali; Ghana); Central African (Cameroon; Congo); European/ British (England; Wales & Northwestern Europe; Norway); Irish (Ireland); Scottish (Scotland); Swedish (Sweden); Native American (Indigenous Americas- North); and Spanish (Spain). I will soon have the ability to visit the countries my ancestors lived and traveled while learning about their history. I will start this journey in January of next year where I will be living in Spain for six months for an internship as an English teacher assistant.

        I know some of you are probably looking at the images of my ethnical background and thinking that the countries that have under 5% does not really count as part of my true ancestry, but in fact they still do count and you're not the only ones who feel this way. My immediate family would say the same thing to me when they saw the chart and I would reply with the following statements,  "When Slavery and Segregation took place, it only took one drop of blood to be considered Black so the same goes with the other ethnicities" and "My 1% still counts because one of my parents have at least 5% and within my set of grandparents, they have close to 10% if not more." So, if you have taken or plan to take a DNA test and see any ancestries that are less than 5% you should still count them because they still give you information on your ancestors' journey and how far they traveled to get you here at this very moment in life.

          From my experience turning in a completed DNA kit with Ancestry.com and receiving my results, I hope I have convinced you to take the time to learn more about your ancestral background through talking to family members while enjoying each others company at the dinner table during this Thanksgiving break or through purchasing a DNA kit with companies such as, Ancestry and 23andme while they are giving out Black Friday deals.

          Have a happy Thanksgiving if you're somewhere in the United States and I'll see you next month as we wrap up the year with my last article for 2019 .

The Work Place from Hell: How Toxic Work Environments Affects Mental and Physical Issues

Picture Found on Google

          Have you ever worked for a company that drained you mentally to the point where you start receiving physical health issues because of the work environment?

          In this article, I will be focusing on toxic work environments and how it causes mental and physical health issues through telling my own experience. Through this article, my goal is to inform you the many signs of a toxic work environment and why it's important to remove yourself from such of an environment as soon as possible.

         If you've been staying up to date with my articles and social media posts then you know I just graduated from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County with Bachelor degrees in English and Psychology with a concentration in Developmental Psychology. The day before my graduation day, I left the preschool center I've been working at for the pass three years because I was moving back home after the graduation. The very next day, I was on indeed.com and on my former University career center website applying for jobs. I applied for both international jobs and local jobs within the United States. I spent the whole next week going on in person and online interviews. I ended up chosen a preschool center located in Washington, District of Columbia (D.C) because I was offered the hourly pay I requested for, it was walking distance from the metro station, and all the other preschool jobs in Maryland was offering an hourly pay of less than $12 even with my educational background.

          I started the job located in D.C on the first week of July as a lead teacher. The first couple of weeks on the job was great. The co-teacher was supportive and helpful, the assistant director helped guide me the best way she knew how when the co-teacher ended up sick for a week, I was congratulated for my quick thinking when it came to the Mother's Day performance while my co-teacher was still sick, and I met a new friend who I still talk to til this day. By the next month, the director moved me to another classroom as the classroom's lead teacher because she made the former teacher a floater. I thought the move was temporary, but this location would become my permanent classroom. After a week, the job started becoming stressful.

        The atmosphere where my new classroom was located at was completely different from the atmosphere I received at the first location. Staff members kept calling out or coming to work late at least once or more a week during the summer. This caused the staff who did show up to work to become understaffed all the time. There were very less supportive and helpful co-workers. Many of these co-workers would snitch on one another to the director about the most pettiest things or lie when they thought they were going to get in trouble. One time, the director moved a couple of my students to the classroom next to mine. When the students returned, one of the students had a red mark on his face. When my co-teacher asked them what happened, they replied back "it's not my concern." The director personally spoke with the co-worker who made the statement then she asked me and two other co-workers to confirm. The director ended up taking the co-worker's side and then told me and the other co-workers that using the words we said she spoke to us was not in her vocabulary. With three teachers telling the director the same thing, you would think the director would have been on our side, but instead was on hers.

        The children would be moved to new classrooms too fast without acknowledging the parents first about the changes. The director would always go back and forth on how she wanted the lesson plans to be constructed every month even when she told the staff a different way to construct the lesson plans the month before. When it came to the supplies needed in order to teach the lessons we had written for the lesson plans, it was either hidden within the buildings or the director expected us to go out our way to get the items ourselves and if the items were reasonably priced, she would reimburse us. In my last job, the school had a school budget that they would use to purchase items we needed for our lesson plans and would personally get the items for us per each week. When we didn't have the items; which was very rare, we didn't do that particular activity that day and the teachers wouldn't get punished for it. At this current job, it is a different story.

         There has been a numerous of times where the director has had me in the office to discuss my lesson plans that she previously approved. Each time in her office, she would ask me why I wasn't doing a particular activity with the kids I had put on my lessons, I would tell her the reason was because she never gave me the items I needed that I asked for weeks in advance, she would never accept that answer. Instead she would tell me that I could have used a different item that were hidden in the buildings that she never told me about until that very moment while sitting in her office to compromise not having the original items needed for the planned activity.

        When I first had to sit in her office, I believed she was just giving me constructive criticism. By the second time, I felt as though her advice and criticism were only negative and destructive. At the last couple of meetings she had me sitting in her office, she degraded my Psychology degree. I felt belittled and as though she would fire me any moment once she had enough staff members with a Bachelor degrees relating to children and teaching. I then realized why so many people would walk off the job after having a meeting with her.  I can go on and on about the many ways the place was toxic, but I think you get my point. The preschool center was unorganized and the director was all over the place.

       With all of this taking place, I started to get stressed out at the very thought of having to return to the job the very next day and once the weekend was over. My patience started to become very short when it came to many of my co-workers and the director's nonsense. I would just walk away whenever I felt like cursing them out. I felt a level of depression of staying at the job for the paychecks. I even hurt my hand and almost my legs from breaking up a fight with a couple of my students and grabbing items I needed for an activity before the director saw me. And another time, my nose started bleeding out of nowhere while watching the kids play outside. Many of the staff tried to start a rumor that I was doing something with my nose to cause it to bleed; which was never the case. The one friend I made at the job was the only one to clear my name from that rumor and call an ambulance for me.

       I wasn't enjoying the position I was in anymore, but I wasn't the only one who felt that way. Many of the current and past co-workers felt similar to me and is the reason why they either quit or are applying to other jobs.

        While I've heard of people working in toxic work environments, this was my very first time experiencing it for myself and I hope it will be my last. I once used to tell people in this situation to "thug it out" and wait until you get hired at another job before quitting because bills and ways of living still needs to be maintained. Now, my advice to them is find a way to get out of that place as soon as possible because your health always comes first before a job. I don't wish anyone to be placed in this situation at all. The craziest part about working at this preschool is the fact that the company doesn't offer any benefits like medical insurance, but the atmosphere caused a lot of health problems among staff members. Two weeks ago, I placed my two weeks in. Today, Monday, October 28, 2019; I will be working at the center as my last week.

         During my experience working at this preschool center, these are the signs I picked up on when I realized I've been working at a toxic work environment:

1. Disorganization within the business

2. Unsupportive nor helpful directors and co-workers

3. A lot of gossip and rumors going around among staff members and clients

4. Poor communication skills among staff members

5. Discrimination among treatments between certain staff members and the boss

6. Always depress and feeling signs of anxiety at the though of having to be at work

7. Unfollowed policies and procedures

8. Always understaffed

9. A high turnover rate

10. Always worried about being fired

11. A lot of destructive and negative criticism taking place and little to none positive criticism