The remarkably talented Viola Davis accepts SAG award and gives this moving speech. I am especially proud of her because her upbringing was ridiculously tough yet she made it. I am also so happy to see her wear her natural hair. It gives us so much hope. She has once said she used wigs to feel better about her appearance so this is a breath of fresh air. You go Viola! Your hair is beautiful, you are beautiful! Congratulations! #BlackWomenRock Kaci Fennell, crowd and contestant favourite, placed 5th in the 2014 Miss Universe competition as Miss Colombia took home the crown. Audience met results with boo's while Kaci's fellow contestants hoisted her off the ground in an effort to protest results. That's a true winner, if you ask me. Another proud moment for Jamaica. Excellence once again. Chris Brown drops new video featuring his girlfriend Karrueche Tran. Kendrick Lamar makes no appearance in the video, however, he drops a hot verse on the track. What do you think of this new single? Is it true to Breezy's style? What do you think of him using his girlfriend as a video vixen? What do you think of Rihanna's collaboration with Paul McCartney? #FourFiveSeconds I'm not too big on pageants but I am so happy seeing our Kaci Fennell!! I decided to take this competition in and I was amazed to find a couple other favourites! I can't keep my eyes off Miss Ireland or Miss Colombia! However, our natural, short-haired beauty WILL take home the crown! Who are your favourites? Join me tomorrow night for the viewing of the Miss Universe 2015 coronation show! :) Watching this, I found myself saying "me too" ever so often. I already went in depth with how I feel and my personally experiences in the blog I did on the Light Girls documentary. This is the other part of the documentary. I really appreciated all the people who made this possible. So much power, so much hope. I do believe things will change. Where there is a will.... #DarkGirlsRise The Queen of Afro-hairstyles <3! It's common knowledge that not many have the eccentric, afro-punk, elegant sense of style down to a science like Solange Knowles. Her street style is unparalleled and when it is time to grace the red carpet she is a style pioneer. She always seems to step outside of the box and nails it! Her wedding day ensembles did indeed break the internet as she went against tradition yet was it was so tastefully and gracefully done! She is indeed a style icon. WE LOVE #SOLOSTYLE! :) In a world filled with wanna-be's, Solo continues to let her true self shine! She is an inspiration. I went through a full range of emotions watching this:
I felt shame for thinking that we (darker women) are somehow in the struggle by ourselves, or that we struggle more even though I know the truth of things, I should know better. To hear fair skinned women say that they were beat up, raped, confused, lost, hurt.. simply because of how they look, it really reminded me we need to think of ourselves as equal! I really do feel like lighter women have more privileges and better chances of finding a mate but what I want to always remember is EVERYONE has their personal struggle. We are still ONE! We need to continue to uplift individualism and encourage people to love themselves. We have to love ourselves! I felt hurt to hear our black men say that a light woman is a trophy and she is a better choice because she 'looks better'. It made me realize why darker women like myself have stronger personalities. We have to defend ourselves or maybe we only feel we have to defend ourselves... ? If our men don't want us and the world thinks we are bottom tier, then we have to become strong, resilient and sadly.. defensive. But the more defensive we become, the more repelling we become. What a battle. We have so far to go. PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: In the Cayman Islands where I spent about 8 years of my life I felt this ever present cloud of inadequacy follow me around. It made me that much more 'in your face' sort of to prove that I was worthy. In hindsight, I realize I didn't even realize my own worth, if I did, I wouldn't find it necessary to prove it. The men there, some of them, liked me but behind closed doors sort of because as my ex-'best-friend' would say: "You're not the Cayman prototype." I believe she said that because she thought she was the ideal prototype being of Asian decent realizing that she would get considered pretty in the face by most everyone there because she "has the face and the hair". I felt like my own friend thought she was better than me rather than my equal but I also knew deep down she knew she wasn't. See there is your inner voice and then there is society's. When you're alone at night, you only hear yours. Needless to say that toxic relationship came to an end. The men would seek me out in secret, some of them had their light girlfriends at home. I guess I was a novelty, a token, an attractive flavor to be tried out but not to be kept. Not ONE man on that island pursued a relationship with me. And that is why I remained single. I think I told myself it was by choice because I didn't want to admit the truth. But, that is the truth. No matter the model pics, the nice clothes, the good grades, the independence, the good job, the long weave... I was not being sought after as a girlfriend. Just a sex symbol. I became so scarred that even if someone had good intentions, I would never give them a chance. The token black girl. I have heard so many men say "yeah I'll f-ck a black girl but I wouldn't wife her." I hear these things because I have many male friends. I laugh it off because I was the cool girl but it is really painful to hear what our men truly think of us. I was confused and I thought it meant I had to do twice as much as anyone else to get anywhere. And I did. And I succeeded greatly, my Instagram likes were 'on fleek' and I fit the bill in every aspect except for the colour of my skin and the submissiveness in my personality. STILL, not enough. Now I am not saying everyone is the same but that was my personal experience. I can't speak much for Jamaica because I spent very little time there and when I was there I was too young to be interested in boys. I speak what I know and what I feel. I do know Jamaica is inundated with the self-hate epidemic but I hardly faced any struggles in that aspect as I grew up in a little village with a very small population. My best friend for almost two decades, however, faced a really challenging time growing up as she would get mocked and called 'red gyal'... Come to think I should interview her for my next post! I felt sad at some parts of this film but I also felt sort of brave (some women, for God knows what reason, hate hearing me speak of myself in a positive, powerful light but that won't stop it. Sorry). I recently started wearing my hair natural and it hasn't been easy at all. I once sort of wanted to be a model, I hardly see any models with puffy, kinky hair. I've heard all my life people saying straight hair is better and men saying they don't want a woman unless he can run his fingers through her hair. But I still went against the status quo. I have some days where I feel like it doesn't look good because you don't get out of 24 years of conditioning in 24 months. I have days I look back at my photos when I was wearing the weave and I feel deep down that I was prettier. I met one of my boyfriend's aunts and when she saw a picture I did at a photo-shoot about 2 years ago she immediately started telling me I should go back to weave because the natural phase I am going through looks OK but the long hair looks better. I looked at her donned in Asian hair, and I felt a world-wind of emotions I cannot even put my finger on it. BUT I have 10 good days for each bad 1! And 10 good people for each nay-sayer so that is enough to keep going! No journey is easy and the journey back to self I think is the hardest. It really hurts to get attacked for speaking about it too, just so all you angry ladies know. I have had women say I am judging them for wearing their hair a certain way simply because I am now embracing mine. They feel I feel I am blacker than they are now because I stopped wearing weaves and relaxing my hair. On the contrary, I am not in competition at all and I wish I could get that point across. We find ANY reason at all to insult, compete and tear each other down rather than congratulate and uplift and it is sad. When I do me it is not to insult but to encourage! I aim to be a revolutionary. I won't sit back and let things happen IF I can change them for the better. I want everyone I can touch with my words to understand that individualism is key. SELF LOVE is the only weapon that can defend us against the harshness of the world. I don't believe I am more in tuned with my blackness than anyone else, there is so much of my history I do not know and because of constantly moving around, I am also battling with identity crisis and a sense of feeling homeless wherever I go. However the silver lining to my cloud is my constant push toward a better me and I hope women who are within the reach of my words can see me and my intentions for what they truly are. Why on earth would I even start an encouragement blog if my aim was to bash people for who they are when everyday I am trying to be who I am?? I am not trying to insult you when I embrace myself. You have no idea how better I feel now, how braver, how confident.. Coming from being the ugly duckling to feeling beautiful in my own skin. I now wear less jewelry, my outfits are less ostentatious as I now prefer and much enjoy and understand the classiness of simplicity. Better yet, I do not feel the need to prove my worth to anyone. I made this transition and didn't even realize it. While my ideals were changing, so was my style. It is a wonderful feeling and I will never stop speaking about it. I want other women to feel that way too! I did feel hopeful at the end of this video because regardless of the ever present prowess of the media, we are still improving which means that we have stronger minds than we think. More people are seeing people for who they are inside and not outside. More people are embracing their own unique, natural features. More people are going within themselves to find the solution for the problems that WE are now responsible for taking over and perpetuating. It all starts with SELF and more people are realizing that. There is hope yet! I really found this interesting and I implore everyone to watch. I really dug into the bits of my soul for this blog... whew! Haha. Sharing is caring. I am willing to share my growth experience because several people have told me they needed to hear something I've said. That's far more important to me than the few who want me to shut up! I pray for nothing but your growth as a better, stronger, more enlightened individual God bless!! -cloz<3 "There are some things you find abundance in and a child's infectious laughter, is one of them." - Cleopatra Henry How I see it, life gives us two options: you can choose to live in fear OR you can make the decision to take the road less traveled and FLY. We all have the same potential to succeed at either of these options but few of us realize the power we possess. One of these options, however, is surprisingly, ambiguously more beneficial. What am I rambling on about? Ok. Let me explain... Fear is comforting. Fear is encouraging. Fear encourages us to stay in our comfort zones because we MIGHT end up in a situation that SEEMS irrational and frivolous. Fear tells us that chasing our dreams is a wild goose chase. Fear convinces us we are making WISE, timely decisions. Fear tells us that we have a 9-5 and it pays decent money, we can afford to pay bills and save a little so we should be satisfied and not mess up a good thing. Fear tells us to hold on to good and not chase great! Fear tells us that just enough is o.k. Fear doesn't explain the abundance of wealth an knowledge in the world that is at EVERYONE's disposal. To some, being afraid is 'more beneficial'. That is how paralyzing of a disease it is. If you are to sit and ponder the fact that after this, you don't get another chance and actually HEAR (not just listen to) all the cliché quotes about living life to the fullest and doing things now so we don't live a life of what if's later, we would start to live more fulfilling lives. "LIFE IS NOT A DRESS REHEARSAL." This is it! This is our one shot. Now I could re-word this and tell it to you in a more complex form but simplicity hits the nail on the head. This is it! THIS.IS.IT! Choose to FLY! Fear lies. Fear tells you that odds are you won't succeed. Truth is, odds are you will. You were designed to win. There are two SIMPLE requirements: 1. BELIEVE in yourself and what you want to achieve! You have to have a clear mental picture and irrefutable conviction that cannot be eroded! Whoever is around you telling you directly or indirectly that you cannot or should not go for what you want, SHOULD NEITHER BE THE DETERMINING FACTOR NOR THE VOICE OF REASON! Intuition is your voice of reason! Intuition is unequivocal! Your heart speaks to you and you fail/lose when you ignore it. The universe... GOD communicates with you through your intuition. Have you ever had a mind to go East on a street and went West and had some crazy thing happen like getting chased by a dog? Then you suddenly found yourself thinking, "I knew I should've followed my mind!”..? That is the spirit, the mind, the POWER I am referring to. Do not ignore it. Harness it! Believe. 2. Take action. It is very simple but some people find it very complicated because they are being handled by fear. If there is something you want to do, begin doing it. Now. Waiting until you have enough time, enough money... making all the excuses in the world, will never get you results. You will excuse your way out of excellence! You know you can do it. Do not give up on yourself. Conditions will never be perfect. You will never get to the point where it's just right to take a leap, it wouldn't be much of a leap then eh? You make the first step and watch the universe start opening doors. Start listening to your intuition and see how much clearer it becomes what steps you should take! You are your deciding factor! FLY! What do you have to lose really? Material things? Those can be replaced. A job? All it takes for you to become unemployed is for the economy to change or for somebody or some new technology to come along and make your job redundant. A relationship? Anyone who loves you knows that love is not about possession, love is about wanting the very best for the other person. Love doesn't hold you back. LOVE LETS YOU FLY! There is nothing to lose but a wealth of everything to gain! Connect with your inner-self. Get to a stage of enlightenment through reading, watching videos like this very powerful, moving one: Enlightenment makes you a superior human being. I can only tell you how I got there but everyone learns differently so maybe you need to do these things or one specific thing, you will soon be sure. It took years to get here and I still have a long way to go but I have made remarkable strides. There is no hypocrisy in this post. I am doing everything I just encouraged you to do. I only speak from experience.
The final thing I can tell you is that your dreams are not to be ignored. They were not placed within your soul by accident. Your talents were not given to you by accident. You were sent here for a special purpose. You were sent to change the world but you have to believe you were and then begin to act on it. I cannot explain to you enough that the universe is literally just WAITING to open the doors for you my friend, all you have to do is make your way to the door. None of the great achievers we read of and see on television just sat back waiting for things to happen, they got up and found the door! The reason some people leave this life never achieving anything or having done just enough, is because they never answered their calling, they didn't believe, they didn't act, and therefore they didn't fly. I hope you found some encouragement in these words. I urge you to think of the one thing God placed in your heart that is impossible to ignore and I want you to trust that He will provide you with the wings if you believe in Him and yourself and make the bold decision to fly today! P.S. Something important you should know: COURAGE IS NOT THE ABSENCE OF FEAR. COURAGE IS BEING AFRAID BUT DOING IT ANYWAY! Choosing to FLY involves a little fear but choosing fear alone will never allow you to soar. -cloz :) Let me hear your feedback! If you need to talk, send me a meesage.. it can be anonymous if you please. |
About The Editor:Cleopatra D. Henry - Jamaican born fashion designer who gained a degree from The University College of the Cayman Islands in Accounting and is now pursuing a degree in Fashion Design at the Art Institute in New York City. Fashion designer, model, student, mentor, pioneer. Visit: Cleopatra D. Henry for portfolio. Archives
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