Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream. He had a dream of equality and unity. A dream that would transcend through the decades, becoming a noticeable reality in much of the United States. Dr. King would be proud to see Black and White Americans entering and leaving through the same doors of commercial businesses, and hospitals. He would be proud to see that the richest and most influential woman in the U.S. happens to be a Black woman. He would be proud to see that we have a Black President, and many more Black leaders in high government positions. He would be proud to see how we've advanced in the areas of education and entrepreneurship. I believe that if Dr. King were alive today, he would say that his dream has been, and is yet, materializing into reality, but that does not mean that we've made it to, as Dr. King would say, the promised land.

Let's say you're in a relationship with someone, and you both have been together for a number of years. During your relationship, each of you have seen your fair share of ups and downs and have worked through many obstacles that have caused you to to become closer over the years. You know that you have strong feelings for them, and you can't imagine losing them in your life at this point because they've permanently carved a place in your heart. You believe that they feel the same way about you. Now, you both have entered the prime of your lives, where you have either reached or made the necessary steps towards accomplishing your career goals as well as other endeavors, and you both are ready to settle down. Naturally, you both want to get married. So, the conversation about marriage comes up, and along with it, the topic of prenuptial agreements. You find out at this point that one of you is set on getting a prenuptial agreement, and the other one isn't. This causes conflict, as each of you have your own reasons for your decision, and doesn't want to give in. At this point, what would you do?

Selfishness to a relationship is like adding hot sauce to cake batter; it doesn't quite go, and just ruins the entire thing. Love is not selfish in the sense that when you love someone, you are concerned about their well being before yours. It is only selfish in the sense that you depend on the person you love to love you in return, and since you are both loving on each other, the relationship stands strong, like a card house.

Matters of the heart are never easy to deal with. The reason for this is because, contrary to what a lot of people would like to believe, you can not control your emotions. Emotions are a result of your environment, personality, circumstances, and events. Not everyone will react emotionally the same, but when you do react, you can not control it. What you can control however, is whether or not your emotions will have a lasting affect on you. Relinquishing all happiness to an emotional encounter can mean the difference between truly living, and just existing in your life.

Okay, so you knew that you couldn't get their attention by just being who you are. You knew they wouldn't be impressed or intrigued enough to even give you the time of day, so you went all out. You didn't just put your best foot forward, you totally went completely out of your comfort zone to get the attention of this person, and now that you're in a relationship with them, and you feel like they should care about you enough to accept you for who you are. Instead, you're annoyed by the fact that they're not happy and they're wondering “what happened?”. It's a little late for you to say “this is just who I am”.