Written By Shauna Robinson

Written By Shauna Robinson Current and archive articles, blogs, scripts, and nonfiction content. I write scripts and blogs. Thank you for liking this page. I welcome feedback.

My topics are usually parenting related, but if I am inspired, I will contribute pieces on relationships, work-life balance, politics, and entertainment. If these labels matter to you, I am political independent, socially liberal, and Agnostic.

11/29/2021

Some of my friends are the definition of Millionaire Next Store prototypes.They send their kids to public schools and drive conservative vehicles. Occasionally, they splurge on a vacation or a remodel.

Others are comfortable displaying their wealth a bit more. They welcome respectful and engaging conversations about how they got here. They aim to inspire their loved ones, young people, and strangers. A powerwalker strolls through their neighborhood and admires their home. A personal shopper at a department store brings them the perfect designer bag to compliment their new dress. A valet parks their beautiful car up front at the restaurant on display.

All of my friends and family, who are winning financially, are genuine and generous. Many come from zip codes with horrific life outcome projections. However, they found a way to make it. Legally. And they are still the same people inside and out. Their diaper bags used to come from Target. Now, they are a designer brand I’ve never heard of. But they are still moms trying to protect their babies and find balance like me.

Over the course of my life, some have saved me from precarious situations.

I couldn’t make payroll.
Our mega tax refund was tied up in the pandemic when the whole economy was closed.
My husband was downsized.

This includes folks who may not be part of the one percenters. But they are steady savers, have multiple streams of income, and big hearts.

Years ago when my first husband was in the hospital, and I had a newborn. I was about to be evicted. A loving in-law saw a notice and screamed: “All you need is $1200. All you had to do was ask.” And she helped me.

When I closed my business, I changed my phone number. One of the best decisions of my life. I let go of old employees, members, and reminders of my failures. My mother in law sat me down and gave me an unsolicited check to pay for my bankruptcy.

I tried to object. “I don’t know if I am comfortable taking your money? I will find work. And, I’m not sure about whether I should file.”

She told me to take the check. Cash the check. And file immediately. She shared her own stories of financial struggle and success. The theme was, “You’re not going to wallow. You’re going to do.” And I did.

With my new credit profile and phone number, I felt like a lighter person. I had a bounce in my step that I hadn’t had since becoming a small business owner.

The loans and gifts have impacted my family’s economy. And I am forever grateful to the people who helped us.

When someone asks me for anything, I try to give them a few dollars more than their request to keep abundant giving in circulation.

07/19/2021

Back when I was the most codependent version of myself, I used to chant mantras like: love is work that’s worth it. My intention was good. I had busted my ass for everything I ever had. Why wouldn’t I have to work for love..?

Took my forever to realize that I am worth partners who don’t require work. That being alone and peaceful is so much powerful than accepting crumbs.

Now, my husband brings me joy. We can get on each other’s nerves because we’re human. But our drama is about whether to get a refrigerator with a side or bottom freezer.

So glad I grew up.

04/04/2020

I am one of those people that HGTV was created for. Not because I love design. Because I fear the beast that it is. The thousand shades of blue, the financial risk of making a wrong decision, and inevitable critique from my inner dialogue.

I grew up in an unstable environment. My mom suffers from a severe mental illness. I was in foster care and with lots of extended family. As a young child, I can not remember living anywhere longer than a year.

The inner child has now blossomed into a woman who decorates mostly with used items. Some of the used items are high quality consignment store pieces. Others are hand me downs from family. It has nothing to do with money - which I don’t have a lot of right now. I raised four young kids in this house and worked a lot. Design seemed like something that people with time and money took on. But I now realize that I was putting my joy and peace last every step of the way. I have given myself a pass for too long.

I realized this when I opened a business. It was a gym and day spa for women. Nine thousand square feet. I had a general format to follow. But I confidently selected the colors, art for the walls, and chairs that were aesthetically pleasing and plus size friendly.

I found myself selecting every detail. I never allowed clutter to be visible. I banned sticky notes, and signs that were not typed and framed perfectly. Somewhere along the way, I became an accidental designer. I used to believe that I did not have the eye to make my home homey. But that was an excuse.

My house is a pale yellow blah, blah, blah. Like many, I am a renter. I have not given myself permission to make it my own, even after a decade. I updated the kids’ rooms with new furniture. But I left the common areas with haphazard mismatching woods and styles.

So, I am taking this on. Over the next few months, I am turning my dreary land into something cheerful and welcoming. It doesn’t have to be HGTV worthy. But hopefully, my family and I will love it.

To deal with the stress of this stay at home order, I created a chart with 142 items. It’s sorted by room, and has a budget item on each line, even if it costs nothing.

My goal is to do 2-3 of these items per day. To prove to myself that I wasn’t s**t talking, I made my first home real design decision last night. I ordered new dining room chairs. More on that later.

01/22/2020

I will support any candidate. I am drawn to Warren because I respect her. However, I appreciate how progressive she and Sanders are when it comes to health care.

In the past year, I was dumped off of Covered California due to a clerical error. They misread an income statement - thought it was a month and not a whole year.

Fortunately, my son was covered by Medical. My bonus girls are covered by their mom. But my husband and I were without the most basic safety net - one that America loves to rip from the poor and middle class.

His gig work didn't offer any options to buy into health care. If we purchased insurance privately, it would have been about $650 a month. If we purchased coverage through my business, then I would have been able to write off some of the cost. However, it would have added about $1200 to our monthly expenses. And, my health and fiscal outcomes would be tied to each other.

So, I surrendered. Tried to get Medical for me and my husband. When you're a gig worker and/or self employed, the paper work process can be tedious. But I figured it was worth it. In the meantime, we paid out of pocket for doctor and meds.

And of today, I am insured through my husband's new company. The list of self care items that I have neglected is so long. Twenty four hours ago, appointments with dentists and dermatologist seemed like a 1% luxury.

Even though I was frustrated and in tears dealing with a huge bureaucracy, I was immensely grateful to have the option.

12/19/2019

Last night, I turned away from impeachment to Bravo.

I saw a man tell his daughter that her eating disorder was worth it. Made her a role model for fat girls. She screamed, “I almost died.” He shrugged.

I watched a white woman get called to task - much too late and much too easily - for her racist comments about Mexicans. A middle aged white Texan male who was born into wealth was the moral anchor of the episode. His wife tried to wiggle away from sharing the toxic quotes with her castmates. Her husband told her not to associate with the racist woman, to find a backbone, and do the right thing.

I watched an anti-illegal-immigration Trumper family learn that their patriarch was being deported. He described ICE as an inhumane hell hole. He has been in the country since he was a baby, and is being sent to Italy after serving time for fraud. The family weeps and wails about the insane immigration policy. He should be able to come home. Based on their real-time social media, they still support Trump. Do they not realize they are Dreamers?

Fascinating.

11/03/2019

When a new film with a Black star set of the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade era is released, some of my Black friends express frustration by another “slave story” being dropped like Halloween candy.

As a writer, I don’t want to limit anyone heart’s desire. I don’t watch Tyler Perry Madea movies but I would never tell him to stop making them. Entertainment is personal and intimidate. Just because I don’t get the joke doesn’t mean it isn’t funny.

There are different reasons for people not wanting these films to be made. Some want contemporary content where we are slaying professionally and personally. A few of my filmmaker friends feel like they can’t get their own projects made because the slave narrative is all that the “man” wants to see. Others express straight up conspiracy theories like, “They are trying to keep us in a slave mentally by always showing us this slave s**t.”

Whenever I could, I volunteered for Black History Month at my children’s mostly white elementary schools. I did this because the whole nation is dumbed down. People don’t read.

Many parents and some teachers don’t know much about slavery. In fact, they don’t know the thing that we boast about the most - American Dream and our our wealth - is a result of slavery.

I majored in Afro-Am Studies at UCLA. Yet, this stat just caught me by surprise:
“In 1860, 25% of the US Population were enslaved.” - Washington Post

Slavery is the origin story of this stolen land. If you’re bored by our ancestors overcoming the most horrific human conditions in recent history, fine. Entertainment is personal. But why hate on others who write, act, direct, and purchase tickets?

Would you tell Jews that the Holocaust is passe?

Victims of Human Trafficking. We get it. You were gang banged. Move on.

Children who were s*xually assaulted by the Catholic clergy Spotlight won the Oscar for Best Picture. Not worth looking at this story from another angle. Ever.

No more genocide films because Hotel Rwanda killed it.

If I were a psychologist, I would say that Black Americans are victim-shaming ourselves. Unless you complain about American war films with white stars with the same disdain..?

A part of us is embarrassed and disgusted that the “slave story” still sells. That’s not who we are, now, is it?
Yes, it is. The opportunities that Black people have are because of slavery. The trauma lives in our DNA. It’s recent - not ancient - history.

If the impact of Trans Atlantic Slave Trade, Jim Crow, and today’s MAGA mentality stop affecting Black Americans lives, then maybe they would have a point.

But I’m pretty sure that we were shocked when a police officer got fired. For killing a Black man who sold ci******es. For using an illegal joke hold. For not rendering medical aid. Filmed on camera. In 2019, we were shocked that “the man” held “the man” responsible.

The origin story is America’s story. Go tell it from a mountain.

06/05/2019

Driving from my friend's house in Baldwin Hills back to my house in Thousand Oaks with my whole family, I rambled to our kids:

Me: As a parent, one of the biggest struggles of my life was figuring out if we should have raised you in a predominantly Black community like Jalen's. Or in Thousand Oaks? I grew up with a Black mayor, Congresspeople, etc... I didn't know I was a minority until I went to UCLA. So, if you could go back 10 years, which path would you have picked for your lives?

Ashley: Yeah, I would have picked Baldwin Hills. But I'm going to a HBCU to get it all. It's cool. You did the best you could.

Audrey: I love my life. Everything about it.

Hailey: Our schools are so good and free. The IB only exist at our High School... I feel like we got the best for our buck in Newbury Park. I don't know. I can't imagine living anywhere else.

Lexington: Thousand Oaks. No question about it. No regrets, Mom.

10/13/2018

To give you an idea of how mental illness f***s good people up. My ex husband and I were in therapy trying to patch our marriage back together like a mismatched, worn out out quilt.

He had s*x with me at his mistress’s home. Yep. We were house sitting for a chic that he was fu***ng. I was blind to all of it because she wasn’t his type. I recounted this story to my girlfriend.

Friend: Wait. So who did he hook up with?

Me: The friend. The white girl.

Friend: Mr. Watts. Mr. South Side Chicago.

Me: Yep.

Friend: The guy who made enough money to live in Manhattan, but chose the South Bronx.

Me: To be with his people. Black Panther mama. Geronimo Pratt Godfather.

Friend: He cheated on you with a white girl.

Me: You know, it doesn’t feel any different. Like I don’t care about her race. I care about our marriage.

Friend: I know. It’s just so not him.

Me: Exactly. It’s out of character. Even worse. Doc says I can’t hold him accountable because he was having a psychotic break. They make it sound like a vacation.

Friend: I don’t know what to say. I’m sorry.

Me: I knew that su***de might be a side effect of this bipolar bulls**t. But I never thought he’d f**k a white girl.

Long pause.

Friend: For the record, s*x with a white girl is better than su***de.

Me: Is it?

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