About Donnie

Donnie Nicole [Smith] is a writer, High School English Teacher, wife of grammy-award winning artist Che “Rhymefest” Smith, step-mother and community activist who surfs the winds in The Windy City (Chicago). A “glass-half full” type of gal, born on the cusp of Aquarius & Capricorn. Donnie has east coast style, midwestern motivation and southern values. A woman whose life mission is to (r)evolve, habituate happiness and serve as a match to spark (r)evolution in others. DonnieNicole.com is her mental workroom/studio.

Caption: Donnie loves accessories and she loves being a black woman!

Caption: Donnie with her husband, best-friend & partner in crime Che “Rhymefest” Smith. 

Donnie used to think her blog had an identity crisis and tried to force herself to stick to just one theme – relationships, art, fitness – but then she embraced the reality that “[She's] like Che Guevara with bling on – [She's] complex…” so you never really know what you’re going to get here. She writes whatever the spirit tells her to write. Donnie is also a scrapbooker, an organizer and a lover of all things cute. View her photo collection here: http://pinterest.com/donnienicole/.

Caption: Adinkra Symbol – Hye Won Hye which translates into “that which does not burn.” A symbol of imperishability and endurance.

Donnie is a barrier buster. She survived a sexual assault, was a true 80s baby who grew up struggling with a crack-cocaine addicted/incarcerated mother, became a first generation college student and lost her first child due to a miscarriage while 5 months pregnant in 2011. She refuses to be a victim of or imprisoned by circumstance and instead uses her background to empower others. She also believes that God has a purpose for everything.

Caption: Pinky, where the magic happens (MacBook Pro).

Get more of Analog Girl Here:

@blkgirlunmasked (Twitter)

@donnienicole (Instagram)

@donnienicole (Pinterest)

Favorite Books: The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison/The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Affiliations: Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Incorporated

The Bucket List: Travel to Africa, Italy & Europe, Start & run a successful business, Skydive (and do something adventurous every year!), Take Pictures of Everything (and scrapbook it all!). See the whole thing here: http://donnienicole.com/personal-manifesto/

Quotes She Lives By:

“Worrying is using your imagination to create something you don’t want.” – Esther Hicks

“Ignorance is a voluntary tax.” – Unknown

“You must know who is the object and who is the subject of a sentence in order to know if you are the object or subject of history. if you can’t control a sentence, you don’t know how to put yourself into history, to trace your own origin in the country, to vocalize, to use voice.” – Nina Pinon

“I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge. That myth is more potent that history. That dreams are more powerful than facts. That hope always triumphs over experience. That laughter is the only cure for grief. And I believe that love is stronger than death.” – Robert Fulghum

“This is nothing to me, difficult takes a day, impossible takes a week.”  - Jay-Z

“You must act as if it is impossible to fail.” – Ashanti Proverb

“A girl should be two things: classy & fabulous.” – Coco Chanel

“The definition of revolution is love.” – Che “Rhymefest” Smith

“True power is the power to empower others.” – Che “Rhymefest Smith”

PRESS AND PAPERS:

CNN Biographical Article

Letter To A Formerly Incarcerated Mother

Hip Hop & The Civil Rights Movement: The Dotted Line

Dating Malpractice Is Your Vision Failing You?

Scrapbooking: Writing A Letter to the Future