Continue reading “Desensitized to Hollering”
Desensitized to Hollering
Continue reading “Desensitized to Hollering”
Life according to Ky
On Saturday I attended my first ever Tea Party, hosted by my dear friend Shavon and let’s just say, it was to die for. It was at the Bosie Tea Parlor in the west village and was inspired by Alice and Wonderland.
Of course, I got there late because I had an unexpected date but I was just in time for the food and the tea. I am not a fan of tea, however, in the spirit of the afternoon, I decided to order a berry tea to go with my teacakes and scones. My friends and I, (I call them my college sweethearts) spent the afternoon chatting about fitness, boyfriends and our careers.
After the tea party, we gathered for some pictures and promised each other to do this again. I was overjoyed with the success of my Saturday. It was absolutely divine.
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BROOKLYN STAND-UP. I still remember a time when I was afraid to say that. I was 12-years old in Las Vegas riding the gondola in the Venetian hotel. There was a couple riding with me who asked where I was from and I abruptly said “Manhattan” before my cousin could say, Brooklyn. That was one of the biggest lies I had ever told as a child. My cousin looked at me completely bewildered and later asked why I would tell such a lie. To be honest, I was too ashamed to admit in front of these suburban white people that the two black kids in the gondola with them were from Brooklyn, Manhattan was so much more upscale at the time. The couple serenaded me with questions about city life as I dug myself deeper and deeper into the lie. Brooklyn for me was not a source of pride when I was younger. It represented dodging gunshots at parties and drug dealers on every corner. It was a place that I desperately wanted to escape.
When I returned home from college, so much change took place. There were cute little shops, cultural events and Brooklyn somehow emerged as the center of New York. I fell in love with “my hood” that I took for granted for so many years. My backyard was the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, The Brooklyn Museum, and Prospect Park, landmarks that people travel from all over the world to encounter. Why did it take me so long to realize the value in that?
Brooklyn is my soul. It shaped me into who I am and showed me who I didn’t want to be. This summer the most profound thing happened; not once did I have to leave the comfort of my borough to have fun…Brooklyn became the new Manhattan. From the beer gardens to the beautiful summer nights at the museum, I am proud to say that I was born and raised in Brooklyn. I AM BROOKLYN.
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I am starting to get sick and tired of the negativity that surfaces from tabloid blog sites. If the harsh words and criticisms did not have an effect on the celebrities who contrary to popular belief are human beings with actual feelings and emotions then I wouldn’t be so enraged by the negative backlash, but it does. I will never forget how my heart dropped when I read the cruel words used to describe a beautiful baby named Blu Ivy; the negativity that came about from the birth of that child was disgusting. Some people even went so far as calling the newborn the “anti-christ”.
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Dear Lost One,
You are beautiful. You are mature and you get what you want. You are very blessed. Your life is in transition yet you manage to stay true to yourself. You are one confident person. You love your friends, you live for your boyfriend but you are not having such great luck with your family. They don’t understand you. They want you to succeed and you do as well but having a social life and being popular is way more important. You find out about your mother’s past a lot during this period. It finally hits you that your mother was only 22 when she had you…22, which meant she was still very young and still had her whole life to live before you came into the picture. Talk about dreams deferred. You finally understand why your grandmother and aunt are saying “Shes going to end up just like her mother.” Does this comment sting? Sure it does because you are very protective of your mother. Although you are at odds with her, she means the world to you and you would be nothing without her.
If ending up just like your mother means being the positive light that she is, then you are more than happy to do so because she is a strong black woman who has been through it all, lost her husband at 26 and became a single parent overnight, yet was still able to hold her own and not ask for one ounce of pity.