So! We have been through everything from break-ups to mental breaks. Whether you know it or not, we are family. To make it official, I want to create a little tradition for us. At the end of every year, we shall share our Rose & Thorns. To jog your memory, this is one of my favorite ice breakers from my mentoring days! The Rose is the high of the day and the Thron is the low part! But for our tradition: we will do it for the year!
I'll go first! My Rose this year is that I was able to stay consistent with my content for Honestly Sis. For the first time since inception, I have given you an article every month for a year straight! I was also able to build my systems and have content scheduled up to two months in advance. It feels good to be in a place where I can plan content rollout versus trying to play catch up. It was good to set a goal and not only meet it but exceed it.
This year I was able to see that with proper planning, focus, and intention- you truly can accomplish anything. Now I'm excited to apply this same mindset in every area of my life! My only Thorn is that my average reading numbers went down after working so hard to stay consistent in my work. Now I know a lot is going on in the world. But it sucked to have some of my favorite articles go unnoticed.
So just in case, you missed them, here they are again:
This article explains my love for the power couple and why it's so much bigger than rap. Jay and Bey are not only the best in their fields, but they managed to do it together. Fuck the rumors and the questionable age of when this all started- the two of them beat the odds. Each of them, in their own ways, showed me that I didn’t have to choose. I could have it all.
After watching Underground, it changed the way I look at my life and my search for freedom. While I do not have to work in the fields or even go into the office now. I do not own my time. I have to be present and accounted for at least eight hours a day, five days a week. While there is flexibility, my freedom is limited to weekends, holidays, and PTO's. America has gotten us to buy into this illusion that we are "free." But what is free?
This article was the hardest article to write, but it was so necessary. I never realized it until I watched Malcolm & Marie that I thrived on the drama. I thought that the yelling, fighting, and make-up sex was just the cycle of love. But once I saw this movie, I was disgusted by myself and ashamed of my behavior. Looking back on it now, I see how living in chaos was my default setting and toxicity was my norm.
Whenever I typed up an article for nearly two months straight, I would veer off into talking about my book or the writing process. It never went with the story I was creating. So when it got time to edit, I would cut it out and add it to my "junk" file. Then one day, an article was so bad that I had to cut it into two. I took the pieces from the junk folder, and voila, this article was born! This article gets a mention due to its immaculate conception.
Black Lady Courtroom | The Article That Made Me Believe This article made me believe that it's possible to change the world through writing and you don't have to be dramatic about it. This is the story of the time I got to sit in a real-life Black Lady Courtroom while serving jury duty. It was nothing like the movies or a podcast! Shit got real fast.
Now I want to hear from you: What is your Rose & Thorn for the year? My hope is to get enough responses to create a community newsletter to motivate us in the New Year! So think about it and respond!!