I have always tried to remain fair and balanced. As an interculturalist it has been my life's work to create mutual understanding and provide objective mediation across cultures. But I have to admit, I am struggling to see the other side in the case of the historical Emanuel AME Church massacre in Charleston, SC.

I have read plenty of intercultural texts about the late great Tupac Shakur. Some of these texts characterize Tupac as a "gangster rapper" discussing his death and history of, "struggle with poverty, relocation, family separation, and violence," [Digital Generations: Children, Young People, and the New Media. 2013]. Others tout his, "messages of resistance, struggle, and empowerment in the face of racism and oppression," [Globalizing Intercultural Communication: A Reader. 2015]. These pieces normally center around the influence of Tupac Shakur on the African-American culture and beyond. Unfortunately, I have yet to find an article that engages it's audience in the discussion of Tupac's actual culture.

Recently, I was introduced as Brazilian in a meeting with the upper management of an organization. Now, anyone who really knows me, knows that I am not Brazilian. While this piece of information was incorrect, I chose to save the person giving my introduction some embarrassment by not correcting them. In that instance I knew that this group of people would leave the room believing that I was Brazilian and that I would be responsible for making the choice to clarify my actual cultural heritage. But I won't lie, the thought of them believing that I was from a place that I so adore was flattering to me. I even thought, "hey, let them think what they want," for a brief moment. I mean why not? I've lived in Brazil, I've studied Portuguese, I can cook a mean Moqueca de camarão and I Samba my butt off anytime I have the chance.

As societies become more culturally diverse the notion of freedom of expression takes on a new level of complexity. For journalist whose profession depends on this freedom, understanding the world's increasing multicultural landscape is critical and can even be a life or death matter.

There comes a time in every serious professional's life when they have to go out, buy a web domain and start to build their own personal brand. At least that's how it is shaking out for me.

In this last few months, the argument has been made that the gun control camp has better PR than the gun lobbying camp. Organizations like the NRA have struggled to fight the "anti-gun" campaigns and their supporters.

Since I can remember people have made remarks about my ambition. I've heard everything from, "how does she have so much energy," to, "if you don't be careful you are going to burn yourself out." What I have realized is that people who made comments about my "hyper-active" search for success may have failed to realize one thing, I am an eagle. Being an Eagle has helped me tremendously as a communications professional.

Earlier this week I decided to take public transportation to work... Any one living in the Washington, D.C. area knows that the journey to work can be a bit of an adventure. In preparation, I plugged in my tunes and opened up the Pulse App on my phone. A young professional looking woman sat next to me and began to read her email. The image on her phone caught my eye and I instantly became curious. Don't judge me for being nosey, I am an information connoisseur! Naturally, I pulled out the Google machine and what I found has become my new favorite news service.