Me! newsletter spring2015 by Melica Niccole

ME! ME! is a trademark of Hampton Publishing House, LLC. ME! is a newsletter that encourages YOU to be yourself. It is time that you show the world who you really are by being who you were intended to be. Who am I? I’m ME! That’s all I need to be. Hampton Publishing House, LLC’s focus is to assist authors with publishing material that engages the community and provides knowledge of many societal matters. The company creates material that coincides with real life experiences and gives creative inspiration to those who are motivated by literature; whether it is written, spoken, or visual interpretations of text. It is the hope of the company to increase awareness and maintain open lines of communication by receiving manuscripts that relate to the following areas: friendships, marriage, domestic violence, depression, how-toinformation, social ills, and other subjects that will allow readers to understand the moralities of the subject matter.

Words of a genius “Just Bee Yourself” -Genie from Aladdin

Distributed to over 5,000 readers

i This issue contains information about being focused, living in your passion, and ways to make dreams come true. Start living in your passion today.

~ Start making your mark. Our writers welcome you to experience ME! Newsletter. Write our staff, provide us with your stories, and tell us how you overcame adversity in being who you were intended to be by living in your purpose.

Melica Niccole, Editor-in-Chief Author of All in Together Girls, Poetic Outlets, My Poetic Soul Unleashed, and Dead Wrong

Follow Melica on: @MelicaNiccole (Twitter), Melica Niccole (Google+), Melica Niccole (Instagram)

Getting Back Into the Spring of Things Hello ME! Readers Have you gotten back into the spring of things? Well, I surly have done so. I have been continuously writing, having fun with “family,” and welcoming new experiences to my life. New Jersey and the New York area has definitely been treating me well. I am amazed at all the things I have experienced thus far. My life has been great and I expect it to get even better. So here’s to making dreams come true, keeping the faith, and to new experiences. ~The only thing you can do is be you; people will either love it or hate it.

Either way, you are being true to yourself. So love yourself, appreciate what you have, and transform opinions -Melica Niccole

In This Issue Getting Back into the Spring of Things

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Five Stesps to Make Dreams Come True

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Lean on Me The Best Poet of ME! Newsletter If Men Cry By Mr. Riza716 Motivational Videos Upcoming Book Festivals Author Spotlight

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ME! Five Steps to Make Dreams Come True By Melica Niccole Do you remember as a child, being asked “What do you want to be when you grow up?” As children, we sometimes have the most outlandish dreams like fly to the moon on a dragon or train a fire breathing unicorn. These dreams help us in the future in developing more sound aspirations such a becoming a doctor, social worker, educator, and even an author. In the past, as an adolescent, I had hopes of becoming a nurse. I even went to college and majored in nursing. The only issue with my profession of choice was that I could not take the sight of blood. This became evident when my roommate and I watched the Emergency Room (ER) channel in our dorm. So I changed my majored to a more practical one in which I would still be in the health field, but I would not be around blood. Upon graduating college, I was very passionate about the field that I majored in; however an old dream not previously realized was coming into fruition. This was writing and performing poetry. Prior to ending high school, I had written a few poetry pieces, but never really thought about profiting from the field. Now, I live and breathe writing and poetry.

Here are my steps in making a dream come true: Step 1- Never give up. There are going to be times in your life where you have to test your dream to make sure it is something that you really want to do. My answer to this is that if you walk away from your dream for a year or two to do something else and continuously think about your dream, then maybe you were meant to continue working toward that dream. Remember I told you about going to college to be a nurse. Well, I had walked away from my dream for about four years and came back with the same zeal that I had when I left it. I guess you can say I left to better my craft with what I had learned in college. Step 2- Surround yourself with like individuals. There’s nothing like surrounding yourself around a bunch of individuals who do nothing but suck the life out of your dreams. I call them dream stealers. These individuals are so obsessed with crushing the dreams of others at any and all costs. If you come around individuals like this, run. Ok, don’t literally run, but refuse their antics and team up with those who are all about making dreams come true. Step 3- Understand that failure precedes success. You must understand that failure is a part of the process of being successful. How else would you know the feeling? Now let’s think about very successful people, such as: Michael Jordan, Michael Jackson, Tyler Perry, Joan Rivers, and Janelle Monae. What do you think would have happened if they gave up the first time they failed and never tried again? I would assume that there would be no “Air Jordan,” “Smooth Criminal,” “Madea Goes to Jail,” “Fashion Police” as Joan, and “Electric Lady.” All of these things distinguish these individuals from each other and displays them living in their passion and making dreams come true. Hampton Publishing House, LLC © 2014 Visit us at HamptonPublishingHouse.com

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ME! Step 4- Don’t expect people to understand your dreams. In following your passion and your dreams, people may not always understand or agree with what you are doing. Do you think people understood or always agreed with what Bill Gates or Steve Jobs did in regards to computers? Let’s imagine growing up in a time where there were no computers and someone told us in the future we would be able to surf the world wide web, use apple pay to pay for purchases, and shop online. We would be in total disbelief. This goes to show you that just because people don’t believe in your dreams, they can still come true. Step 5- Being willing to finance your own dream. In the beginning of making your dreams come true, you may have to be your number one backer. This means that your equipment and supply budget may actually have to come out of your own pocket in order to obtain the needed items for your dreams. What does it say to others about your skills and abilities if you are not even willing to put money into yourself? To me, it says that “Maybe my skills and abilities are not quite up to par.” If that is the case then individuals would not want to invest something you are not willing to invest.

Lean on Me By Melica Niccole In December of 2014, I had the opportunity of visiting Eastside High School, which was the location of the movie “Lean on Me.” I was overjoyed with enthusiasm as I had watched this movie numerous times as a child growing up in Columbus, Ohio. This opportunity presented itself when a friend and I was discussing the movie. In talking about the movie, which was a true story, we started to discuss the location of the film. I hypothesized that the movie had taken place either in New Jersey or New York. This conclusion came about due to the way individuals spoke in the movie, their mannerisms, and some of the facilities within the film. Upon searching for this information, I found out that the school was in Paterson, New Jersey. I immediately contacted the president of the school to make an appointment to meet with her and discuss the movie. Principal Dr. Karen Johnson met with me to discuss the movie, Joe Clark, and the student population. Dr. Johnson reported that most of the scenes displayed in the movie were true events, especially the way the movie depicted Mr. Clark, previous principal at Eastside High. She was pretty sure of that depiction, being a teacher at the school during the time of Mr. Clarks reign. It was interesting finding out that prior to the movie and the great migration of AfricanAmericans from the south to the north, the school was made up of mainly Jewish individuals. As the environment around the school started to change, so did the school’s population. During…. (Year)… the school was made up of mainly African-Americans with some Hispanics and Caucasians. As of the moment, the school’s population has changed again. The school is mainly made up of Peruvian individuals. I would like to thank Dr. Johnson for providing me with a most insightful visit and allowing me to tour the school, as displayed in the pictures above. Pictures taken at Eastside High School in Paterson, New Jersey. Includes pictures of the school, Principal Joe Clark, school logo, signing group in the movie, and picture of the famous hallway in the movie “Lean on Me.”

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ME! Best Poet of ME! Newsletter In the middle of July, we held a contest for the Best Poet of ME! Newsletter. This was an opportunity for poets to send in their best poem with hopes of being chosen as the winner. There were a few individuals who entered the contest. In choosing the best poem, the following was considered: Content, relatability of the material, and poem coincided with material that was featured in ME! Newsletter. With that being said, it was a hard decision to make from all the individuals who submitted their work to be reviewed. There were great poems that “Birthed nations and brought light” and carried a “Canoe full of emotions to and fro.” These poets were definitely on to something, but there could only be one winner in being a competition. The poet who will retain Best Poet of ME! Newsletter for one year is Mr. Riza 716. Feel free to tweet Mr. Riza 716, add him as a friend, and ask him which poem won him the title. Read below his original poem titled “If Men Start Crying.”

If Men Start Crying Let the tears flow and let the guns go. If men start crying, we'll stop dying and the killings in the hood would cease. The prisons would be empty of angry men.....because they've finally found a release. If men start crying we'll stop dying and take our rightful place as the head. No more negative views, news or obituaries to be read. If men start crying we'll stop dying and now I'm on my knees.....praying for my life, but not from a gang of thieves. If men start crying, we'll stop dying because we're no longer afraid......about the misconceptions about men that have been made. If men start crying, we'll stop dying and hiding behind this wall of pride......so much hurt inside ...I need a life preserver to prepare me for this ride. If men start crying, we'll stop dying A canoe full of emotions traveling to and fro, but I've held them in so long that I'm about to blow. If men start crying, we'll stop dying Do you know what I've been through? It wasn't a pleasant ride...but God knew what to do. Jesus loved the world and he cried for it too. The Perfect one showing me exactly what to do. If men start crying, we'll stop dying and become the leaders that God has called us to be. We'll be the voice of reason instead of the negative images often displayed on TV. IF MEN START CRYING, WE'LL STOP+ DYING. John 11:35 Jesus wept.

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ME! Motivational Videos Jay-Z https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gvL-LCUsxA Jay Z on Oprah 9/24/09 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6lDtlI7sq0 Shawn Corey Carter & Warren Buffet Interview with Forbes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OF4JCmqF6ec Warren Buffett and Jay-Z on the Power of Luck

Jay-Z: One on one (Click video to play)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ucm7nwhNZWU Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter on Real Time with Bill Maher

Tyrese https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cU5d23EvNwc Handling Haters https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_0uwQlt6bw Words of Wisdom Words of Wisdom (Click video to play)

Motivation Videos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_fDhqRk_Ro Coach Carter- Our Deepest Fear https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iaLQZ73ujQ No Excuses

Most Important Life Lesson (Click video to play)

Loving Yourself Visit SistahGirlPostivieAttitudeGratutide.blogspot.com for more information.

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ME!

Harlem Book Fair

Baltimore Book Festival

Friday, July 17, 2015

Friday, September 25 - Sunday, 27, 2015

Brooklyn Book Festival

Collingswood Book Festival

Sunday, September 20, 2015

Saturday, October 3, 2015

Positivity’s Corner Getting your positivity back can be very challenging, especially if you are constantly around negative people. Negative people can drain the life out of you. Sometimes it may seem as if these people love to bring others into their realm and walk with them down “Negativity’s path.” At times, positive people travel this path unknowingly. Positive people, it is up to you to identify negative people and avoid at all costs if necessary. Some individuals love to complain and exude the characteristics of a negative person. You may try to assist these individuals with seeing the positive side of things, but nothing works. The only time they can relate to you is when they have won you over to their world, where you are now complaining and welcoming those negative emotions into your world. Sometimes we all get caught up in being negative and have to refocus our energy for the greater good. Refocus your energy for the better and leave negativity where it belongs; in a bottomless bit with no ropes or opportunities for escape.

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Author Spotlight Anasa Maat is a Newark, New Jersey author with a book of two that will definitely make you pick up a book if it has been a while. She has written a few notable works that had people out at the Newark Public Library on …. in order to meet, greet, and obtain her books. The audience talked mostly about her previous book “A Little Bit of Honey.” She made sure to plug information about the sequel to the book titled “Til Death Do Us Part.” Make sure to check out the review for her book at: Book Reviews by Melica Niccole. Check out her other work at AALBC.com.

Thank you for supporting ME! Until the next Edition

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Fall 2014 Edition