Life has been keeping me busy. Making incense has been such a peaceful and positive experience. My life has shifted profoundly in ways that I never could have imagined. At first, I considered the most drastic thing that had ever happened to me to be getting hit by a semi-truck on the highway. But as I look back and reflect, describing it in such a plain and straightforward way doesn't actually capture the gravity or totality of the entire experience.

I wrote this poem as a poetic personification of the central themes that have been unfolding throughout this most recent chapter of my life: forward movement, spirituality, root-work, growth, grounding, and the quiet wisdom that comes from learning to trust the direction in which life is leading me. These are themes I have not simply been thinking about, but actively learning to embody.

“COURAGE doesn’t mean we are never scared. Courage is ACTION in the face of fear.” - Ruth Soukup

I am a person who loves to journal, but I didn't always use to be this way.

"No one ever told me that the back steps were a part of the dance rountine."

Quote: "This is what knowledge does. It doesn't bring anything closer to you. It separates you. Drowns you in loneliness." - Eternal Ruin, by Author Tigest Girma

It's been a few weeks since I last posted, but the truth is, I think about my blog every single day. Today, I had a revelation—an understanding of why I don't post every day.

I was in a car accident a couple of weeks ago. By the grace of God and fate, I’m okay. But this accident has been shattering—not just because of the inconvenience it caused, but because of what it revealed.

Awareness is one of the most powerful tools you can develop to better understand how to navigate your life—your life, specifically. When used intentionally, awareness allows you to identify both your strengths and your weaknesses. From there, you can lean into your strengths to grow naturally, while using your “weaknesses” as catalysts for change—refining discipline, overcoming fear, healing from trauma, and evolving into a more aligned version of yourself.

This poem is a reflection—a snapshot of a past version of me, captured in the exact moment I began to understand the importance of valuing myself, trusting myself, and listening to my nervous system. It marks the point where I took accountability for the patterns behind my frustrations, especially in my own infamous love life. Because awareness alone is not enough; it only becomes powerful when we recognize our patterns and choose to change them.

Mother Nature & Mami Wata

Immortal Dark, by Tigest Girma, is a thrilling science fiction novel by a Black author, and I was beyond excited to read it. Honestly, I think this was the first time I had ever read a science fiction novel by a Black writer. It was refreshing to imagine characters, buildings, and a culture where Black people were not the minority—they existed in a society of their own. And the story centers on vampires. Black vampires.