Meditate on this.

Borrowed from Tumblr (actual artist is unknown)

Relationships will undoubtedly be accompanied by difficulties, but it should not be difficult to love. I am completely sure of this. I believe that real love, like that Love Jones Darius to Nina type lovin' (spare me the argument of whether that is truly possible), is the bonafide truth-- no fillers. At the end of the day, whether you are willing to admit it or not, we all want to be accepted and cherished for our truth. Knowing this, I am bothered by the lack of effort and compassion that some of us have for each other and wonder how & why this has become so common among our sistas and brothas. As a black woman, I see myself in a black man, therefore, I am honored to be his partner and I treat him as such. As a lover, I hold myself accountable for the energy I put into a relationship and this world. As a lover, I treat my relationship as a gift from God and to God. What is mine is also his and being fully engaged & engrossed in his energy gives me a greater purpose. It fills me up....

That's real.

12:12

Dear Readers (and to my inner self):

I had no plans to write today. If I carefully examined the decisions I made as the day progressed, I do not recall the urge to re-edit this site or to even visit it, but here I am...smiling w/my teeth on full display and filled with an enormous (really) amount of excitement. I can't contain it any longer and know I shouldn't keep it to myself. I have to share it. 

I transitioned into the new year with a new focus (no rose-colored lenses), as I suppose most individuals do. I needed, no..I was hungry, starving...for positivity & true acceptance. I needed authenticity in every single aspect of my life. This should have been apparent to me before, but it wasn't. I used to feel like leaf, flowing through the wind...knowing that I was a part of something much greater, yet unable to understand what that "greater" was. Was it just a branch or a tree? Answer: A tree, branch, and more.

I am a writer who doesn't write every day, even though I've tried. I am a poet, plagued with writer's block more often than not. I am an artist who once wanted to fit the mold, but I can't any longer-- my truth will not allow me to do so. I am a student, whose university studies focus on art history, historic preservation, and art conservation. I am proud. I am evolving into.

A blog, this may be, but to me, it is a visual recording of my growth. I will not make any grand plans for it, but I will write and share...because I have to. Like Whoopi Goldberg said on an old episode of A Different World: "you are a voice in this world." Believe that.