Have You Ever Been Bullied?

I was sad to read a story in the news today about two young girls who hung themselves in a suicide pack because they were allegedly bullied. This is so appalling because these two young girls did not see another option to help them get through this. Both of their parents felt they did everything possible to assist them and did not see any signs that they would take their lives.

When will bullying be taken seriously? I personally was bullied from third grade to six grade. I had a break during 7th and 8th grade because I was placed in a different school. It was the happiness years of my school life. But then I went to high school and met all the same people. To make a long story short, my bully hit me in the back of my head and it changed my life FOREVER. I have never been the same and it shaped how I deal with people and I do not allow people to get close to me because I do not trust motives or what they might do to me.

The young girls that hung themselves was said to be bullied on Facebook and through text messages. It made me realize that when I was going through this, at least once I left school, I had a break and could find solace at home, in my room, with my family. But nowadays, bullies continue contact 24 hours because of technology. I cannot image the humiliation I would get from online messages and text. It was more than enough in person each and every day.

My prayers go out to the families of these young girls and I am going to work and do what I can to stop bullying. I can no longer sit back and watch what happen to me, happen to others. I want to do my part. Something has to be done to stop this long history of kids bullying kids. I never knew what caused my bully to dislike me so much that she had to resort to violence, but I do not want other kids to have to feel how I felt and how I have to deal with the residual effects.




Damita Miller-Shanklin is the Founder and Publisher of Ujima Magazine and the Host of Ujima TV with Damita and Evelina.

Building A Business with An Idea

I have been watching American’s Next Great Restaurant and as I watch I think about my own business. No it is not a restaurant but it all started with an idea. All the contestants have an idea of what type of restaurant they want which includes what they will serve, their logo, how they will serve the food, the taste and how to market their business for the best return. These are lessons all business owners think about and work hard to accomplish.

Ujima Magazine started with an idea. From there the development of my concept came, the logo, how the information would be delivered, how I would market the magazine to gain interest just for starters. But just as the contestants found they had to make some changes to accommodate their goals, so have I. It has been difficult to cut back on things I found important to the magazine such as the amount of pages. But I think of the bigger picture which is I have a magazine that can still reach our community despite the struggle.

There are a few things I have learned as I push forward in building the Ujima Empire.

1.   Be clear about what you want to do. Decide the type of business you want to pursue from your ideas. Go with the one that fuels your passion if nothing else.

2.    Surround yourself with people who are pursuing their own business for support and feedback.

3.    Stay true to your dream despite naysayers because if you believe in what you are doing, you will be fine.

4.   Understand that success for most people do not happen overnight, so be ready to work hard for your dream.

5.    Make good business decisions that will impact your business for the good. But don’t be afraid to make mistakes because you will. But learn from them and keep going.

I continue to learn each day something new about my business and myself. But I embrace it and push on.

What have you learned? Can you share your lessons?

Damita Miller-Shanklin is the founder and publisher of Ujima Magazine and co-host of Ujima TV with Damita and Evelina.

Ujima Magazine