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Jamieson Diaries

Married | Mother | Millennial

All Posts, Dear Diary, Family Love

Food Is How I Spread Joy

February 20, 2019 Leave a Comment

 

Joy is defined as: “a feeling of great pleasure and happiness.” I realized the other day that food has been at the center of most joyful occasions for me. Whether it was during one of our family holiday parties, celebrating a birthday, or just a casual Friday evening, food remained a constant at all of it.

When I moved into my apartment in college I knew I enjoyed cooking, but it was quite far down on the priority list of college classes, work, and social life. Once I moved to Montana to be with my then boyfriend (now husband) I quickly realized how much I not only liked eating food, but how much I loved cooking it. Fast forward to present day and I look forward to creating my own delicious recipes week by week to share with all of you on my blog. I like to say “food is how I spread joy” in this world.Read More

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International Women's Day

March 8, 2017 Leave a Comment

Happy International Women’s Day everyone but especially to all my ladiesssss! Women are amazing. Women of all colors, ethnicities, occupations, and living in countries all over the world. We are powerful. We are strong. We are beautiful.Read More

All Posts, Dear Diary

2017 Goals

January 4, 2017 Comments : 2

We may be four days into the new year, but it’s never too late to share your long time goals, and ask the people closest to you to help keep you accountable. Since 2017 is my year of purpose I’m being intentional in setting my goals and them all serving a purpose of being a better version of myself.Read More

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Wisdom Wednesday: Morgan Smith

March 25, 2015 Leave a Comment

I’m about two weeks late on my March Wisdom Wednesday person, but it’s been a crazy month, and better late than never, right? I decided for this month’s Wisdom Wednesday person I would ask her direct questions and do a sort of question and answer session. However, I will fill in with a few personal feelings in between. I met this month’s Wisdom Wednesday pick, Morgan Smith, my freshman year of college at, Loyola University Chicago. I don’t quite remember when we met exactly, but I want to say it was in one of my sociology classes. Although I can’t remember the exact time and place where we met, I remember thinking she was a sweetheart. Every once in a while we meet people who give us genuinely positive vibes, and she was one of those people for me. As I explain a little bit more about who she is, what she does, and what she stands for, you will soon see how my general instinct of Morgan couldn’t have been more correct.

Question 1: What made you want to be a teacher?

Answer: “I’ve wanted to be a teacher my whole life. Teaching is in my blood. My great-grandmother used to teach kindergarten through 8th grade in a one room school-house in rural west Virginia. My grandmother and mother are both educators as well. It was something that I just fell into, and always knew I would end up doing it. If you were to ask my younger brother, he’d probably say that I just like bossing people around.”

I would say teaching is in her blood as well. This is a picture of Ms. Smith during Christmas time. I don’t know about you, but she would’ve been my favorite teacher, ever, simply for dressing up as Miss Cindy Lou Who from The Grinch. And she did pretty good if I must say so myself!

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Question 2: What is your favorite moment so far since being a teacher?

Answer: “I’ve had lots of favorite moments as a teacher…it’s hard to pin point one. So many of them are seemingly insignificant moments that others would deem ordinary. A few of my favorites have been watching my students’ faces as they got to look out at their beautiful city from the Willis Tower after the entire field trip had been funded by friends of mine. Every single third grader in my school was able to go on a field trip that would have otherwise been too expensive for them to go on. Watching them witness the sights from 103 stories up was incredible. Another favorite moment of mine (more funny than anything) has to be when I was sitting in the rocking chair during a reading lesson, and a student right at my feet kept interrupting saying it smelled like Ruffles (chips). I asked him to be quiet, but you could tell he was trying to figure out where it was coming from. He kept leaning towards my feet (I was wearing leather flats) and sniffing and saying, “Mmmm! I want some Ruffles!” It took me a minute to realize he was smelling my shoes and I tried not to laugh. I felt so bad that this boy was salivating over the smell of my shoes that the next day I brought him a bag of Ruffles and put it in his mailbox. He came up and gave me a hug. I honestly could find a moment in every single day that could be considered a favorite!”
One of my personal favorite Facebook moments of Ms. Smith’s class was seeing her buy all of the fleece fabric on Black Friday last year, to make each student a personal blanket for their Christmas gifts. Seeing someone take that much time to do what would be such a simple gesture to others, I’m sure meant the world to those kids. The cover photo is a picture of Ms. Smith posing with the class as they’re wrapped up in their new Christmas present blankets. 

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Question 3: What has been your most challenging moment?

Answer: “There are so many moments in teaching that challenge you. Moments that challenge your patience, emotions, and physical body. When I first began teaching I had one of the toughest behavior challenges in my class. A cute little girl, who at the flip of a switch could lash out violently against me or other students. It got so bad several times that desks would be overturned, and I would end up with handprints on my arms. I was so physically and emotionally exhausted from not only being a first year teacher, but trying to figure out how to teach 25 other kids with this girl in my class, that I began to get sick. I was throwing up before school every day, getting hives all over my body…I didn’t think I was cut out to be a teacher any more. Then my mom sent me a quote, “Students who are loved at home, come to school to learn. And students who aren’t come to school to be loved.” That quote changed my outlook on teaching students with behavior issues. So many of them are going through unimaginable situations at home, and I have to remind myself that they are acting out because they need extra doses of love throughout the day.”

Another Facebook moment of Ms. Smith’s shows no matter how hard these kids may have it in life, and no matter if they may not say out loud to their teachers that they’re changing their lives, they will always express it in some way. Here is an example of a note Ms. Smith confiscated from a student who was passing it to their friend during class. I remember her captioning it and saying she couldn’t even be mad when the note says something as amazing as this..

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Question 4: What is the most important lesson you want your students to take away from your class?

Answer: “They are special. They are loved. They are capable. They are smart. Despite the backgrounds, home lives, socioeconomic statuses, and zip codes of my students…I believe 110% that I’ve taught at least one future president, neurosurgeon, Broadway actor, and entrepreneur. My students amaze me daily at their resiliency and drive to do better than the day before. I honestly don’t care if my students remember their multiplication facts (although I believe it’s a necessary skill), I don’t care if they learn to spell perfectly. I want them to remember me the same way that I remember my favorite teachers…that they were loved, and that they were pushed to be better versions of themselves. I want them to walk away from my class knowing that they are capable of anything as long as they put in hard work…even though they might have to work 10 times as hard (as unfair as it may be) than their suburban, white, counterparts.”

Morgan’s answer to the last question is what made me want to make her my March Wisdom Wednesday, person. If the world had more people who cared about other’s well-being as much as she does, it would be a much better place. We need a Ms. Smith (soon to be Mrs. Shah) in every classroom around the world.

I have been abundantly blessed to know many amazing people in my only 26 years of life, and I’m happy Morgan Smith is one of them 🙂

Brie <3

[03.25.15]

All Posts, Dear Diary

Wisdom Wednesday: Maya Angelou

January 7, 2015 Leave a Comment

My January Wisdom Wednesday post is about the one and only, Maya Angelou. (Birth name: Marguerite Annie Johnson) Maya Angelou was an extraordinary woman, many people, from different generations have admired for years. Her list of credentials are nothing short of amazing. From Pulitzer Prize recipient, to well-known activist in multiple countries, Ms. Angelou was a woman who lived by the definition of compassion and courage.

Although Ms. Angelou’s resume trumps a majority of the human race, there was one particular title she held that inspired me when I was in middle school. The title was, poet. Her poetry is what many people know her for, but there was something about the words in the poem “Still I Rise” that gave a younger me such a feeling of empowerment. Which for any young girl in her soon-to-be early teens, couldn’t have enough of at the time. It was at the moment I read “Still I Rise” I realized I wanted to read more of her writing.

Still I rise

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is still to this day one of the most emotionally driven, beautifully upsetting, books I have ever read. If you have not read it, I would encourage you to read the book and learn in detail what made Maya Angelou such a remarkable person, at an extremely young age. As many people know, she was raped at the age of eight by her mother’s boyfriend at the time, and when his punishment didn’t fit the crime, (as most of us would say) it is suspected her uncles took matters into their own hands and killed the man days later. Maya became a mute and didn’t speak for over five years, because she believed using her words to name the man who raped her are what had gotten him killed.

By the time I had made it to high school my favorite poem by Ms. Angelou, and still to this day is Phenomenal Woman. The poem makes me love everything about being a woman. It makes me love every curve and flaw on my body, as well as, make me appreciate the difference and beauty of every woman’s body. If for some reason you have not had the pleasure of hearing or reading this poem before, please do so.

Maya Angelou Phenomenal Woman

Ms. Angelou died on May 28th, 2014. I read the news of her passing as I got off of the plane in Denver Airport from Chicago, IL, to board my next plane back to Great Falls, MT. I remember feeling an instant wave of sadness because the world had lost such a beautiful person. Maya Angelou inspires me because her life journey proves life is about the choices we make, and how we overcome mistakes we make. She is the definition of learning to stand for what we believe in, and how our words can change lives positively if we use them lovingly and wisely. I’m thankful I was alive during the last 25 years of her life to see her work in action. I will be sure to teach my daughter about her so she can learn the same life lessons I did from Ms. Angelou at a young age through her beautiful words.

R.I.P. Maya Angelou

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Brie <3

[01.07.15]

 

All Posts, Dear Diary

Wisdom Wednesday: Tia and Tamera Mowry

December 10, 2014 Leave a Comment

My Wisdom Wednesday post is a week late, but it’s the holiday season, and I’m sure you all know how that goes. To make up for it, my December Wisdom Wednesday will talk about two individuals who inspire me. When you talk to most people in my generation or younger, they will probably tell you their role models are in the likes of Beyonce, Rihanna, Taylor Swift etc. I will hold my opinions on a few of these examples until another blog post down the road I will call “The Modern Day Celebsession.”

Anyway, my Wisdom Wednesday of this month will concentrate on Tia Mowry-Hardrict and Tamera Mowry-Housley.  Many of us grew up watching Tia and Tamera in the 90’s on the sitcom “Sister Sister.” And lets be real, can we hear or read that show title and not instantly say in our heads- “GO HOME ROGER!”  Exactly. Lol. I consider these ladies to be inspirational because of the example they have set for young ladies, and how they are the complete opposite examples most childhood actors/actresses have set for others. Since they were younger we never heard of these ladies being caught up in scandals or in the tabloids for making stupid decisions. Instead, their parents (who have had a major influence on them) tried to make their lives as normal as possible. When “Sister Sister” ended, they attended school at, Pepperdine University, as normal college students. It wasn’t until the Fall of 2006 when we saw Tia make her way back into the major television industry again in a show called “The Game.” (Which happens to be one of my favorite television shows while it was on the CW network.) Although I had already been a fan of these ladies from the early 90’s, it was their hit reality tv show “Tia & Tamera,” on Style network, that made me realize how inspirational these ladies are to everyone around them. They are both so genuine in their faith, loving their families, and making themselves positive individuals. I love hearing them openly talk about how they turn to God to guide their footsteps in everything they do. I love hearing and seeing how much they adore their husbands and their children. And it seems despite what issues may have presented themselves at the time, they always found the positive side of any trial they were going through. It was a plus to see how diverse their family is as well. I personally come from a melting pot of a family, and although I can’t relate on a very specific level of them being biracial, I can say I understand how important it is in becoming who you are in this crazy yet diverse world. During season two of their show “Tia & Tamera” they developed a product line called “Milky” which serves the sole purpose of helping Moms and Moms-to-be produce more milk for their little ones. Being a Mom myself, it was nice to see celebrities acknowledging Moms and future Moms needing more products specifically for us.

In this day and age where “rowdy” and “negative” seem to get most of the attention, it is nice to see women who still conduct themselves as respectful women. During a time where we can turn on multiple television channels and see so-called “Real Housewives” or “Love and so-called Hip Hop” showing women cursing, degrading, and showing off every single inch of their bodies, it is a breath of fresh air to know these classy ladies exist.

Tia and Tamera are showing young ladies everywhere that it is still possible to be successful without having to lose yourself in the process. Not everyone in Hollywood is willing to sell their souls for the almighty dollar. A few are still allowing God to lead their steps to serve their purpose on this planet. Which is why Tia Mowry-Hardrict and Tamera Mowry-Housley are my Wisdom Wednesday ladies for the month of December.

Brie <3

[12.10.14]

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About Me

ABOUT BRIE:

Hey there! My name is Brie Jamieson. I've been a lifestyle + mom blogger since 2014. I'm Kris' wife. I'm Jordyn and Riley's Mom. And I'm Apollo and Chronos' fur-mama. We're a military family currently living in the burbs of Shreveport, LA. I'm a simple lady who loves God, family, food, and travel. If you'd like to learn more about me head on over to the "my story" page. But more importantly: Welcome to Jamieson Diaries!

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