“We, of the fatherless tribe love men differently.”

That one line of Gina Loring’s poem, “You Move Me” strikes me every time I hear it because as a young Black woman it rings so heart-wrenchingly true.

Some of us have other shadows of fathers who help but they can never quite be the “Daddy” that we silently envy in the lives of other Black girls. And those other Black girls seem so oblivious, don’t they? So unaware of the pot of gold they’re holding. In having a protective figure. Someone to validate them and instill self-worth. A rule-setter and protector. It’s not the norm anymore. And here we are. Trying to figure out ourselves. Trying to work through issues with our hair, our gifts and talents, our guards that we’ve built up to the high heavens. We struggle with insecurities before we even know what the word means. Our struggle is sometimes much harder because we are Black, we are female and we are fatherless.

In order to distinguish yourself from the masses it is essential to commit to the never ending process of personal enhancement. This spans far beyond mere physical appearance, exhibiting the essence of your innermost being and every aspect of social interacting. It is imperative to be intentional in creating an impactful first and lasting impression. Let's cover five fabulous ways to shine and be seen in 2013:

ABC Family premiered a show called, “Baby Daddy,” in the summer of 2012. The acting is dumbfounding, the plots buffoonish, and I doubt that the one African American cast member cares about the fool he’s making of himself as long as his checks clear. But my beef is not with Taj Mowry. This is clearly a case of Don’t hate the player, hate the game. I am not knocking mindless television. I have stayed home plenty of Friday nights to watch the TGIF lineup on ABC. As silly as Family Matters, Perfect Strangers, Full House and Step-by-Step were, I doubt anyone was offended by their silly titles. But the people who chose to call their show “Baby Daddy” stepped across a line and I have to call them on it before this year comes to an end.

You probably haven’t heard much about Sage Smith.

Dashaad “Sage” Smith went missing in Charlottesville, Virginia. The day Smith disappeared, she told her father that she was meeting Eric McFadden for a date but McFadden told police she never showed up. Shortly after being questioned by the police, McFadden left town. While he is not considered a suspect, McFadden is wanted by police for further questioning in the case.

Felecia Hatcher has been paving her own way since her days as an industrious high school student. Now she's a successful entrepreneur with an unusual business venture. Feverish Gourmet Pops sells gourmet popsicles and empowers youth entrepreneurs. The business has been featured on "The Today Show" and The Cooking Channel. We asked Felecia a few questions about what it takes to be a successful Black woman in an unusual industry.

I don’t follow tennis except for when I get news updates about Venus and/or Serena Williams whooping someone’s ass. I didn’t know who Caroline Wozniacki was until the stunt she pulled heard ‘round the internets. I was so annoyed by it that I tweeted her.

Photo by Noble Damon

“Mommy, your hair is so fluffy,” my son said as he buried his face in my Afro. Taking a deep breath he dug his four-year-old fingers closer to my scalp and exclaimed “I love your hair. It’s so soft!”

It was one of those moments that first time mothers savor for a lifetime.

My husband and I have one son – and while we debate having more – I pretty much gave up on the idea of having a daughter. Statistically speaking, there has not been a female child born in my husband’s family for the past 5 generations. So the odds are fairly high that our next child will also be a boy.

Conversations about marriage leave me feeling like a newbie salesman rattling off the features and benefits of a product I’m struggling to sell to an uninterested buyer.

I’ve exhausted every excuse to justify his unwillingness to take the next step. The “still young” and “not financially stable” scenarios have been fatigued and retired.

This picture was taken in March 1986, I was 14 months old and my mom lovingly soaked up as much as she could of me before she handed me over to my grandma to enter the passengers only area at the airport. She did what, I think, is possibly the hardest thing in the world; have my grandma take me “home” for a while, while she worked to get herself situated in a new land.

Originally posted on '83 to Infinity

When I’m not out being a Saturday night social butterfly, you can catch me at home, curled up on the couch, tuned into Saturday Night Live. A recent Saturday was one of those homebody nights. As I chuckled at host Anne Hathaway’s portrayals of Claire Danes and Katie Holmes, and marveled at the Windows 98 screensaver effect of Rihanna’s “Diamonds” performance, I had a thought. Where are all the Black women on SNL?

I don’t know why women think they need to lose themselves, their independence, their individual identities and their friends when they find boyfriends.

You know the type.

Originally posted at '83 to Infinity

There have been a lot of changes going on in the world of Bee. Some are great, others leave much to be desired. Such is the nature of life – the ups and downs, peaks and valleys, the hard times that make you value the good times, and the good times that remind you that you can and will get through the rough patches.