prioritize yourself.
thoughts on the journey to success + reads & vibes for your weekend.
Hi friend! This week has been a whirlwind but we’ve made it to another Friday! As usual, I’m grateful that you’re reading. If you’re enjoying it, consider sharing it with your network.
thoughts at large.
Honestly, this week kicked me down the block like a raggedy doll! 😂 I don’t know about you but I’ve been working on establishing boundaries between my work and personal life, and this week that has been in shambles! You see this newsletter is late getting to you! The MLK holiday threw me off of my game, but also - I just had a lot of work. It was a struggle but I’m so glad I made it through.
One of my goals this year is to prioritize myself. For me, that looks like maintaining a schedule for getting my nails and hair done. It also means that I go to the gym on a regular cadence, write this newsletter, and choose to do one thing each week that brings me joy.
This week, I let my workout cadence get thrown off, I didn’t eat as well as I should have, nor did I drink enough water. Once I recognized that though, I made a conscious effort to get back on track. I think that’s what it’s all about. Every week won’t be a great week, but any week we’re granted is another opportunity to get it right.
People often shy away from New Year's Resolutions because it’s so easy to drop them. If I could encourage you with one thing, it would be that it’s okay to mess up. Success is a journey, not a destination. I told myself this week that I wouldn’t regret the work I put in on myself once I get to my personal goal. I know that’s probably true for you as well.
If you mess up, get up. Dust yourself off and remember your WHY. You’re worth the investment - whether it’s time, personal work or money. Choose you.
I’ve been reading a book called “The Sugar Jar: Create Boundaries, Embrace Self-Healing, and Enjoy the Sweet Things In Life” by Yasmine Cheyenn. If you’re looking to grow, I’d add this to your book list for 2023. Grab it here.
reads & vibes.
Florida Says AP African American Studies Program ‘Lacks Educational Value’ - by Nikki Mccan Ramirez via Rolling Stone (We went from blocking CRT to blocking learning Black history in general. We saw this coming.)
George Santos Has Got To Go - by Peggie Noonan via WSJ (a congressional drag queen was not on my bingo card for 2023.)
What the Longest Study on Human Happiness Found Is the Key to a Good Life - via The Atlantic
The State of Young Black Hollywood - by Charlotte Collins via Essence (long read, but a great piece on the diversity in the newest wave of young Black Hollywood.)
Taylor Swift and SZA Officially Shut Down Feud Rumors - by Tomás Mier via Rolling Stone (one day we’ll talk about how fan/stan culture is draining the fun out of music.)
Missing, the new film starring Storm Reid and Nia Long is in theaters today. I think I might check it out this weekend. If you see it, let me know how you like it.
Harlem, the Prime Video show starring Megan Good, will be back with new episodes 2/3. Watch the new season’s trailer here:
Bel Air - the Peacock adaptation of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, will be back for season two on 2/27. The trailer dropped this week and you can check it out here:
A non-spoiler review of “You People”
I got the opportunity to see “You People” on Wednesday. If you’re not familiar with the title it’s a new film coming to Netflix on January 27th. It was directed by Kenya Barris (the creator of Black-ish, Grown-ish, Mixed-ish & Black AF.) He co-wrote it with Jonah Hill, who stars in the film alongside Lauren London, Eddie Murphy, Nia Long, and Julia Louis Dreyfus.
The concept of the film isn’t new, if you’ve seen “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”, starring Sidney Poitier, or the updated version “Guess Who” starring Bernie Mac & Ashton Kutcher - you know the story. In the case of You People Jonah Hill and Lauren London’s characters wind up in a relationship after a chance encounter. The film explores the trials they go through as they try to integrate their families despite their stark cultural differences (Black & White, Muslim & Jewish.)
The initial reaction to the trailer on social media was mixed - I think people are tired of seeing Kenya Barris talk about interracial relationships, and some even had questions about how a woman that looks like Lauren London would be in a relationship with a guy that looks like Jonah Hill (which is a rude line of thought but, I digress.)
After seeing the film - you’ll understand how they fell in love and to me, it made sense. As far as the conversation around Kenya Barris’ penchant for promoting interracial content, I also understand the concerns. I can’t tell if it’s an obsession or if he just knows that it will create enough conversation to get people to hate-watch what he makes.
I don’t want to give away too much of the film, so no spoilers ahead. Let’s start with the positives. The soundtrack is incredible. The music selections were perfect. I was bopping the entire time. I will also say that I laughed a lot - there were many funny moments - mostly driven by the banter between Sam Jay & Jonah Hill - but in general, I chuckled frequently.
I also cringed A LOT. I personally don’t like when films make a point to include super culturally relevant conversations, because it feels like a force… and there were a lot of pop culture references in the film. If you don’t follow news or culture, some things you may miss.
The microaggressions were plentiful - but I think that’s the nature of the story. There were things that were over-exaggerated for the purpose of making a point. In some ways it was realistic, but in many ways, it was not. I especially found the portrayal of the Black family annoying in this equation. It’s harmful to perpetuate the idea that Black people automatically hate/will not be receptive to white people at all. Not to mention the potential to stoke Islamophobia and the idea that the microaggressions from white folks are just “well-meaning attempts” to get to know their Black counterparts. If I could point out my biggest beef with the film it would be this. I don’t want to get too deep into it, but I can feel when films/shows are designed to explain Black people to white people, and this is one of them.
With all that said… I still think it’s worth a watch. I took some friends with me (thanks for coming Brie, Brittany & Melissa) and we landed on a rating somewhere between 6.5-7/10. It wasn’t horrible, but it also wasn’t great.
My question for the week: What’s a perfect R&B song to you? I’m working on a playlist of the songs that I think are perfect, and I’ll share it next week here after I narrow it down a bit and fix the sequencing.
With the Grammys around the corner (Sunday, February 5th) I decided to listen to all of the albums that are nominated for album of the year so that I can have a clear perspective if Beyonce loses 😂 . So far, I’ve listened to (of course) Renaissance by Beyonce, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers by Kendrick Lamar, 30 by Adele, Un Verano Sin Ti by Bad Bunny & Harry’s House by Harry Styles. Still left to go: Voyage by ABBA, Good Morning Gorgeous (Deluxe) by Mary J. Blige, In These Silent Days by Brandi Carlile, Music of The Spheres by Coldplay, and Special by Lizzo. Next week, I’ll share my power ranking based on my personal desire to replay the album again - so stay tuned.
That’s it for today! If you’re reading and aren’t subscribed, please consider joining the gang. It’s safe over here.
Enjoy your weekend.
