In the Mix with Aaliyah Miller

"Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self." -  Cyril Connolly The quote above really resonates with me because as a writer, I want an audience, but every writer knows first and foremost you should write for yourself. The story should be the one you want to tell.  Last May, I completed my thesis, "A Post-Feminist Look at HBO's Girls: A Critical Analysis of Characters, Career, Gender, and Sexuality" and it was published by ProQuest in August. I was really excited to have that accomplishment, but of course I couldn't stop there. I wanted the paper to get more exposure in the academic community. Gender bias is a topic of great interest to me and my paper provides an overview of how television has been and continues to be a tool that perpetuates gender role stereotypes for women and men in our society. I want to be a part of this narrative and keep conversations going because I believe this topi...

Out of all of the blog topics I envision writing, today's blog was definitely not one of them. If you follow financial and business news, this blog post may not be new news to you. Today, Mark Bertolini , CEO of Aetna, announced  that the company is boosting the pay of its low-waged employees. Beginning in April, the lowest earning employees will get a minimum of $16 an hour . Aetna will join the ranks of the city of Seattle, Gap, Ikea and a handful of other companies that will pay $15 or more an hour. Holla! This is good news for approximately 5,700 Aetna employees who primarily work in customer service and billing.  Will this be a game changer in the health care industry and in the business world in general? I'm not sure, but I believe it's a conversation starter for the business community and our government about what actions the corporate sector can do to ensure Americans have a livable wage to support their families. Five, 10, and even 12 dollars is no longe...

“People fail to get along because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don't know each other; they don't know each other because they have not communicated with each other.” - Martin Luther King Jr. Selma , the film that chronicles Martin Luther King's struggle to pass the Civil Rights Act through organized protests in Selma, Alabama hits theaters tomorrow. Holla! Can't wait to see it this weekend.  I'm ready and have been ready since I saw the trailer back in early December of last year.  This film is directed by Ava DuVernay , a journalist turned film director and the script was written by Paul Webb . Acto r  David Oyelowo , who plays Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, signed on to take the role seven years ago. That's right, it took seven years for this film to get made. This film was made without the rights to King's speeches, which made the storytelling a bit of challenge, but from the critics I've listened to, a challenge that ...