Nathonia Smith
Bio
I am a wife, mother, grandmother, inventor and online published writer who recently completed studies at Ashford University earning a Bachelors Degree in Human Resource Management. Writing has always given me such joy and fulfillment.
Stories (29/0)
WESTWARD BOUND
As a married woman, it’s not often that I consider taking a solo trip over a certain distance. But, as individuals we could all use that solo quality time to self-reflect. It is great time to appreciate your own company, increase your spirituality (if you’re a spiritual person) and connect to our Creator.
By Nathonia Smith3 years ago in Wander
COUNTRY LIFE IN MISSISSIPPI
Back To Where It All Started....Country Living There was a time when I thought of home that images of cobblestone homes, crowds of people and hundreds of vehicles driving by throughout Chicago would come to mind. I was born there and would never see anywhere else as my home. But, most of my life has been spent in one of Mississippi's country towns in the Franklin County area. Since age 10 I have been a resident of Mississippi and all of its southern charm.
By Nathonia Smith4 years ago in Wander
Keeping That Positive Mindset
Lately, it seems that I’m always fighting hard to stay positive and focused on important goals I’m trying to accomplish. And, it should not be a struggle to maintain a positive mindset when you know in your heart that positive thinking usually creates positive results. It never fails for negative thoughts to pop into my mind after speaking to someone with a negative thought process, daily. It’s easy now to understand why some people often use the term “energy drainers” when it comes to socializing too long with cynics and negative-thinking people. Sometimes, these cynics seemed to be determined to dash the hopes and dreams of others, for whatever reasons.
By Nathonia Smith4 years ago in Motivation
Trust and Truth Go Hand in Hand
As children, many of us are taught the importance of honesty and trust, always. I learned from a very young age the importance of trust and how easily it can be lost. And, even as a child, it was obviously clear that once trust is lost, getting it back can be impossible. Trust and honesty are two traits that go hand in hand for me and many others. Without one, there can’t be the other, at least where I stand. As children, we grow up trusting that the adults in the family will take care of us and protect us from harm.
By Nathonia Smith4 years ago in Humans
Life Is Our Priceless Gift
Life, that precious gift that so many have yet to appreciate. Personally speaking, for the first 11 and a half years of my being, I took it for granted. Although I had attended the funerals of several relatives, all had been much older than me. So, I quickly developed the idea that only older people were dying. It sounds naive, but I didn’t really know any better and never asked any of my elders. Then, shortly after my 11th birthday, and a few months before my 12th birthday, reality hit me twice when two well loved young people in my family passed away five months apart. The first was the death of one of my favorite female cousins, who was just 16 when she passed. This was devastating to me because I looked up to her as more like a big sister. And to this day, her death remains a mystery to me because I don’t understand what happened to her. At least five months after losing her, while still trying to learn to cope with her loss, my oldest, and only maternal, brother lost his life while to safe another. This was truly devastating for the entire family, especially so soon after losing another young family member. And as our family began to deal such great losses, I heard an elderly family member say, “It’s sad. But that’s life, one day you’re here. Next day you could be gone.”
By Nathonia Smith5 years ago in Motivation
The Art of Communication
Have you ever been speaking to someone and they assume that you’re aware of who or whatever that person is talking about? I have many, many times. Each time I’m thinking, what are you talking about? Whether the information is important or just friendly conversation, I sometimes sit and wonder why it’s so difficult for people to communicate with each other. So many times throughout my life, I’ve heard people use the phrase “There’s an art to communication” and didn’t quite understand what that meant. But, over time, I’ve learned exactly what that means. Or, I know what that means for me. Communication between individuals is not as easy as some people may think. In so many ways, there is an art to communication, especially when it involves speaking to a person about a delicate or personal situation that involves him or her. It’s important to choose the right words and phrases when addressing anyone, because there is always the possibility of words being taken out of context. Still, sometimes people choose to keep their thoughts and opinions to themselves to avoid misunderstandings. This solution is not really helpful because if a person needs to know something about themselves that could be helpful, there has to be a way to tell them.
By Nathonia Smith5 years ago in Humans
Restoration from Negativity
It never fails, in my case, that whenever I have a positive train of thought, something or someone tries to hit me with negativity of some form. Whether it’s a story of something negative a friend or family member has recently experienced, and that person just needs to vent. Or, something that I was hoping for, maybe even expecting to happen, doesn’t go the way I had planned. It’s like I’ve always heard from my elders, the devil always finds a way to rear his ugly head when you’re feeling good about something. As I get older, I know that concept is true from personal experiences and from hearing about the experiences of others feeling as I do. It's all a part of this priceless gift called life.
By Nathonia Smith5 years ago in Motivation
That Valuable Commodity Called Time
If there is one thing I’ve realized in my old age, it’s that patience in any given situation is not easy. Everything is about timing for me. I tend to think that it may be because, subconsciously, I feel like time is something no one really has to simply waste. And, the quicker I can get something done, the closer I’ll be to reaching my goal, satisfying my appetite, and quenching my thirst. I view time as a priceless commodity that should be used wisely by everyone. I’ve learned through simple observation and from personal experience that when it’s time for life to end for an individual, it ends, simple as that.
By Nathonia Smith5 years ago in Motivation
Determination Gets It Done
Determination is a feeling that I find difficult to hold on to when life’s unexpected circumstances arises that brings stress. Oftentimes, I wonder if those circumstances are put in my path to derail me from reaching goals. As I become older, I feel that the things I want to accomplish and goals I want to reach are on an urgent schedule because I’m now a few years past the half century age. However, in many cases, I’ve noticed how people 50+ are really enjoying life, doing things that brings them peace and some form of joy.
By Nathonia Smith5 years ago in Motivation
Divorce May Not Be the Answer
Why, oh why, is there such a lack of communication among families these days! Whatever happened to the notion of working things out through the use of communication? These are just two of the many questions I ask myself whenever I hear of divorce between couples whom I know, don’t know, or even celebrity couples. I don’t want to stereotype celebrities because, like us, they’re individuals with huge incomes earned from their crafts of either singing, acting, writing, dancing, etc. in front of millions of viewers. However, I have noticed that an awful lot of divorces are among celebrities, though I won’t name any names. Still, how can a woman decide, “This just isn’t working out. I want a divorce,” so quickly after giving birth to a second child that you both supposedly prayed for? If it’s not a case of physical abuse or verbal abuse, it should be worth considering what drew you to your significant other or spouse in the first place. What was it about him that made you give him that second look? What was it about her that made you have to have her phone number at first sight? What gave you the nerve to approach her to introduce yourself as possibly the man of her dreams? I’ve often heard people say that when it comes to making big decisions a person must look deep within himself or herself before making any life changing decisions. The first time that I heard that expression I thought, “as if our eyes could turn around and look inside our bodies." That would truly be a sight to see; all of the major organs operating to keep us functioning as human beings. Still, I understood what that concept meant due to circumstances in which it was used.
By Nathonia Smith5 years ago in Humans
I Thought He Was My First Love
The rate of teenage pregnancy was consistently rising during my years in high school and it was frightening to me. As I entered junior high and high school, I was an active introvert to keep boys from showing too much interest in me. I had witnessed a few classmates coming to school with symptoms that I didn’t realize were those of pregnancy because I was in no way interested in having sex. Besides attending junior high and high school with pregnant classmates, my mom always made us watch educational programs on PBS which would document the issues faced by teenage girls, teenage boys, and teenagers, as a whole.
By Nathonia Smith5 years ago in Humans