Write it Down.

According to several sources, writing things down has so many health benefits, like improving long term memory, reducing stress, and helping us process our thoughts, feelings and recognize patterns.

It's been a year since I have released something here, well an article more specifically. I want to be able to give a pointed answer about how I fall off the face of the earth sometimes, and neglect the things that ground me and bring me joy, like writing and sharing in this space we've created here, but here we are.

If you have been here from the beginning or joined along the way, I have shared that I am a words of affirmation girl. I write about it in my book, Radical Self-Love: A Self-Love Workbook, and all over my social media channels, because yes, speak life, you know? I am constantly fighting against overthinking and negative self-talk, but I find when I write, I am able to combat those thoughts more regularly than when I am not writing.

Daily, I have been repeating to myself that, "I am a writer. Writers write daily. I am a writer that writes daily. I write daily, and thus, I am a writer." This past year, I have been incredibly intentional about not only writing things down, but sharing them with the world. Allowing myself to be vulnerable in my curiosity, in my sifting, in my perspective of the times. I can constantly hear my granny telling me to "write a paper about it." Growing up, I would roll my eyes at my granny's ability to be "on" at all times. This skill/trait trickled down to my mommy, and naturally to me. My granny was an educator in the Birmingham City School system and most notably was an educator during the Birmingham Children's Crusade, more on that in another post or short film? I'm rambling.

We would go on a trip to New Orleans or Biloxi and here was my granny telling me to write a paper, like girl, can we be on vacation mode and not scholar mode? I laugh a bit thinking about it now, but I am also in awe of the type of discipline it takes to record things, to take note, to be a storyteller, a writer of truths. These very traits are what has allowed me the privilege to be both a third-generation college graduate, and second-generation doctoral recipient.

When I think about how I have been shaped and molded in this past year, honestly more like

the past 5-ish years, I feel so deeply about documenting, about memorializing the experiences that I am living out through my own life and the experiences of others. Writing it down gives space for reflection, for sorting through, for working through your shit.

It's why I am always brought back to this space, the space created for all the folks with a lot to say. I keep returning to this space because I feel that I am living out the mission of those who came before me like, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Barbara C. Jordan, Joy Ann Reid, Tiffany Cross, and of course, my granny, Gwendolyn, Gwen, or Teedee, as she was affectionately called, who believed in truth-telling, in accuracy, and in exercising the right to speak freely.

As platforms like substack (which I am sure I will start posting there too) have become increasingly popular, in the day and era where fundamental rights like free speech are being stripped in real time, I feel the need to double down on creating media spaces for Black and Brown folks to be able to share stories, experiences, resources, and information freely, on our own platforms. Support independent media, like us, your contributions fund our operations, from the boardroom (my living room) to your screens and into the communities.

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Radical Reflection:

What things have you been writing down lately? Where do you usually store your notes/thoughts (in Notes app, in a journal, post-it notes, etc.)? What are some freedoms that you don't want to live without, list them out. What are 3 things that brought you joy this week (feel free to name more than 3, go for the whole page if you're feeling frisky). Finally, list 3 things that you are proud of yourself for (clearing a surface in your room, getting out of bed, talking to a friend).

Keep writing, y'all,