#HotNerdFall: Megan Thee Stallion, Yara Shahidi & Other Celebs Who Put Their Education First
In 2016, black women became the most educated demographic in the US, further proving the theory that our mothers didn't raise any fools. Whether you went to a PWI, HBCU, community college or trade school, getting a little extra training in your field of choice is always a good idea.
While college may not be the only route to success, it can certainly illuminate a number of pathways. This was especially true for celebrities like Megan Thee Stallion and Yara Shahidi, who are both currently pursuing four-year degrees while maintaining full-time entertainment careers. This fall, Yara is heading back to Harvard for her sophomore year, and Megan, who is enrolled at Texas Southern studying health administration, says that she's fully prepared to make this a #HotGirlSemester to remember. The rapper told Access Hollywood:
"So, being a hot girl is like a lifestyle and everybody knows I'm still in college. It's gonna be a real hot girl semester, you know what I'm saying? Real hot nerd fall. So, I'm just about to start putting on for all my school girls."
After losing her mother earlier this year to a long-standing brain tumor, Megan has her sights set on using her platform to put other women on the power of education and open assisted living homes in Houston. She continued:
"I want to show other girls how happy I am and how confident I am, how I still want to go to school and I still want to rap. I just want to be like a good example to somebody in the future."
Along with Meg, here are four other celebrities who will inspire you to have one helluva #HotNerdFall:
Yara Shahidi
While Yara may be on track to be a giant in the entertainment industry now, she also says that she will not compromise her education for a chance at Hollywood. After taking a gap year, Yara began her sophomore year in 2018, accompanied by a recommendation letter written by Michelle Obama herself. In an interview with Glamour, the actress said:
"Hollywood isn't moving anywhere. I'll figure it out when I get back."
Issa Rae
College is good for more than just a degree, being in school can allow you to meet some major contacts too, sis. Just ask Issa Rae, who met the co-producer of her first major web series, Tracy Oliver, while pursuing African American studies at Stanford.
Ciara
Generating multiple streams of income ain't easy, so Ciara enrolled in Harvard's four-day intensive business program to equip herself with all the tools she needs to be a mommy mogul. The "Level Up" singer said that taking the classes not only helped her dreams of being a college grad come true but helped further the agenda of her new entertainment label, Beauty Marks.
Lupita Nyong’o
Before her breakout role in 12 Years a Slave, Lupita was getting her college degrees all the way together. After graduating with a bachelor's in theatre studies from Hampshire College, Lupita went on to study acting at the Yale School of Acting.
Featured image by lev radin / Shutterstock.com
Taylor "Pretty" Honore is a spiritually centered and equally provocative rapper from Baton Rouge, Louisiana with a love for people and storytelling. You can probably find me planting herbs in your local community garden, blasting "Back That Thang Up" from my mini speaker. Let's get to know each other: @prettyhonore.
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The Holistic Remedies This Yoni Specialist Uses To Heal Her Womb & Level Up Her Vulva Care
It’s time we have a talk with our yoni.
Before we ever knew she had a name, our yoni has been a beloved companion. She ushered us into womanhood with our menstrual cycle and nudges us in the right direction through the voice of our intuition. Through her, all life flows, and with that kind of power, doesn’t she deserves a lot more love, care, and protection?
“Everything comes [from the] womb,” says Dorisa King, Minister of Holistic Feminine Healthcare and Pennsylvania’s first Certified Yoni Steam Practitioner. “Our deepest fears, desires, and goals — that woman's intuition that we feel is really our womb talking to us. The womb is the brain of the woman's body.”
Dorisa’s calling came to her in a dream on her 30th birthday in 2018. While she had never heard of Yoni steaming before, the vision set her on the path to seek further education about the practice and inspired her to rewrite the womb history in her family. “I've always been into herbs and eating clean, so the fact that a lot of women in my family had hysterectomies and suffered from fibroids — and with me having painful periods — I wanted to reverse the curse on the womb history in my family.”
@thenakedtruthpodcast Part 5| Yoni Specialist, Dorisa King is back with some more natural birth control tips! In this clip, Dorisa talks about a natural herb you can use as birth control. If you’re tired of using hormonal contraceptives push that + for more tips! #naturalbirthcontrol #contraception #tiktokhealthtips #viral #blackseedoil #birthcontroloptions
After a clip of Dorisa sharing a list of natural birth control options went viral, many women in the comments were left amazed (and even skeptical) of the discovery. From black seed oil to tangerine juice, these alternatives to hormonal birth control have left many of us wondering: why didn’t anyone tell us about these before? But according to Dorisa, it’s an insight that our ancestors have made available to us all along.
“I like to take things back to our roots and ancestors. We've only been in this country for about 400 years, but these plants and herbs have been here forever,” she tells xoNecole. “We weren't able to practice these things then, but if you claim to be a child of God, you should take God's medicine.”
The connection we have with our womb is sacred. And with natural methods to enhance our feminine care and secure our reproductive health, we can ensure that the care of our vagina remains where it should be: in a woman’s hands.
Dorisa tells us all about how natural birth controls work, how to up our Yoni care routine, and why a natural approach to birth control is worth trying.
xoNecole: You’re a big advocate of good Yoni care — could you share what a proper Yoni care routine entails?
Dorisa King: I want to talk about vulva care, and that's: washing, toning, exfoliating, and moisturizing your vulva daily.
It's really important to wash your vulva with a safe plant-based wash. We use our hands only because rags carry bacteria, and the detergent that we use can be harsh. A rag is too harsh of a material to use on this soft sensitive skin, so I always recommend using your hands to clean your vulva, the clitoris, the small lips, and the big lips.
If you're getting waxes, I really recommend toning with a nice plant-based toner or rose water and exfoliate the skin to keep it clean from dead skin cells. Lastly, apply a good moisturizer like flaxseed oil or coconut oil.
xoN: How can Yoni steams help to the regulation of our flow and/or relieve menstrual discomfort?
DK: Everything that we eat must go through our womb before it exits the body. The way yoni steaming works is by cleaning out the womb space and the vaginal canal. The steam goes through the canal and kind of whispers around the reproductive organs to pull out anything that's unwanted — a lot of stagnant energy [from] a spiritual perspective. Anything backed up in there is just going to expel. I like to think of it as when we have a congested nose, we steam our face, and the snot comes out. Well, it's the same thing when we steam our yoni.
xoN: Let’s talk about natural birth control. What are some natural birth control methods that women can use to prevent pregnancy, and how do they work?
DK: They work by getting into the bloodstream. Everything's all about the blood, especially when it comes to women. There are four different birth controls I’m going to share, and they all can be used at the same time and work effectively together.
- Black seed oil: Black seed oil should be taken in the a.m. and the p.m. around the same time, daily. Black seed oil is great for keeping the immune system boosted and rid of excessive mucus in the body.
- Organic coconut oil, organic: Unrefined coconut oil is actually a spermicide. It can be used as a lubricant on the penis and all over the yoni. Every time before sex, you want to apply this because the properties in coconut oil and antifungal and antimicrobial, keeping infections at bay.
- Vitamin C: Vitamin C keeps your immune boosted, and it should be used after sex or before sex. We want to keep these herbs and minerals inside the body so the blood knows how to recognize [them] and then let [them] do [their] job. You can use vitamin C like in capsule form like Emergen-C, or you can use other liquids like tangerine and grapefruit juice.
- Neem oil: This kills sperm in 30 seconds, tops. Now, the smell is very offensive, but it works, and it has been used for hundreds of years. A way to use neem oil is after penetrative sex, you'll pour the neem oil inside an applicator, insert it up to your cervix, and abstain from sex for 24 hours to allow the herb to do its job.
xoN: How long after sex should someone wait to utilize these natural contraceptives?
DK: I would do it immediately, but I want to treat this just like you would with Plan B — that 24-72 hours after sex.
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