A new day is dawning.

2013 has been one heck of a ride.

In the year of Suit & Tie and Blurred Lines, twerking & selfies, major issues took center stage. To name a few:

•  The Zimmerman trial and the continuing debate regarding Stand Your Ground laws;
• Gun ownership  and the safety of our children due to highly publicized school shootings (resulting in some new legislation);
• Stop & frisk in NY;
• Facebook bullying and liability for the consequences;
• Hacking vs. whistleblowing, with Snowden dealing a severe blow to President Obama’s administration and the way the NSA does business.

Looking at the cultural aspects of things, the death of Nelson Mandela ended an era, and created a vacuum in some ways.  Who will unite us in the same way? His funeral had a cross section of political and religious beliefs, all united in their grief of the loss of such a great man, an icon.

The untimely death of Paul Walker of Fast and Furious fame reminded us how short life is.  He was going to take time off after Fast & Furious 7 to spend time with his daughter.  This is a reminder…tomorrow is not promised, live TODAY.

For me professionally, it was a great year. Highlights from this year included my legal commentary regarding jury selection on the Rick Party afternoon drive show of Hot 105.1 during the George Zimmerman trial, the publication of my articles by a variety of online news outlets, including Essence.com, along with a great discussion on NPR about racial profiling while shopping.

On a personal level,  I lost 20lbs on Weight Watchers and enjoyed my second year of marriage to my soulmate.

But, most importantly, I started this blog.

I feel blessed and excited for what the new year will bring. Thank you to all who have supported, encouraged, proofread, and shared.

Next year?

I don’t do resolutions…they always seem to get broken.  I set INTENTIONS.

I intend to learn tennis, and to serve a wider community by providing quality opinions through writing and other media.

Wishing you and yours all the best for the New Year!