15 seconds of Queen Lupita twirling during her InStyle magazine shoot, as posted by her highness on her Instagram page. Take in all that African Girl Wonder. Breathe it in. And then find an empty office somewhere and do your own Friday twirl. Slow motion would even be better. Bon weekend, dear readers.
International Women’s Day
[All quotes derived from Pinterest.] Happy happy happy International Women's Day. Appreciate the women in your life and thank them for their strength, passion, resiliency, and intellect. And above all, don't let a commemorative day dictate things: feel that way about the women in your life (about yourself) every single day.
[Pardon the Interruption]…
...But I'd like to deviate from the daily Parisian round-up and share my new poem with you. Enjoy. Birthright Before I could even learn to appreciate you, I was desperate to shrug you off, this mantle that clung to the nuances of my dark skin like birthplaces and legacies. You were the mirror I was ready to turn …
Les Poèmes.
Autumn: Brevity I pull open the doors for you, my intermittent love, eager to greet you with the cool kisses of yet another season. It does not bother me that you arrive once a year bearing your all-consuming brevity. It does not trouble me that I compete with the other colors in your world. When …
On Visuals and Inspiration.
The most popular question I get as I continue on this gaining health journey: what inspired you to want to lose weight in the first place? I don't mind the question; to me, it's natural that people want to know. And so I tell them: I was making very unhealthy choices in my life and …
Music? [The Soapbox Series]
Since I was knee high to a grasshopper (always wanted to say that), music has been a significant part of my life. I mean, my father was playing Simon and Garfunkel and Aretha Franklin records until they scratched and wore themselves out. I grew up hearing all the greats in my household, from Sam Cooke …
Autumn Promises. (#2)
(Feel free to read the first batch of promises here.) Dear Autumn, I promise to not blame you when the things I hope for during your autumnal months don't come through. After all, your crunchy leaves and orange moon can't really wring people/things/goals into action, can they? I promise to do something about my habit of purchasing pea coats that …
Misty.
Misty Copeland was rejected by a ballet academy at 13 years old for having the "wrong body for ballet." She is now, as of June 30, the first African-American female principal dancer for American Ballet Theatre. Here are the following reasons I admire her and am inspired by her to no end: 1. Ballet is one …
Favorite Author Spotlight: Flannery O’Connor.
I discovered her in college. I'm surprised we didn't meet earlier, being that--other than my actual home--I lived in the library stacks. I stalked books, really; grabbing whatever my greedy hands could locate on the shelves, investigating, searching, making friends with the Dewey Decimal system. That said, I find it intriguing that in all my library …
Continue reading "Favorite Author Spotlight: Flannery O’Connor."
Choose Beautiful.
Every day I go through the average door. But yesterday was a unique day. So I chose to go through the beautiful one. Therein lies the power of Dove's new inspirational ad campaign. (They've been quietly setting a new precedent when it comes to ads about beauty and women, Dove. I love it and I don't think …
This Square Peg. 