Why do we believe that cutting ourselves off from the people who care about us, calling it something like “I’m putting my head down” “grinding” or hashtagging it, is how we become successful in a capitalist society? I am not implying that this is indicative of simply the Black community but it is symptomatic of the lower class rungs of society who are trying to climb out of poverty and into the perceived stability of upper-class society. Whether it’s more money, a more powerful job or role, getting into school or whatever various ways we climb up the social ladder,
Mental Health
What moment did the memory hit me? It was something mundane, that led me down the road, reminding me of that time. That suppressed emotion. Turkey sandwiches, that was it. I was thinking of a homeboy who has gone on to be very successful and thinking, why did I never date him? There were hints of a connection but nothing ever manifested. And then I remembered, we had agreed that on a particular Sunday we would link up and go grab turkey sandwiches at my bodega, because...Brooklyn bodega sandwiches are a really special thing. But we never made it, I
Somewhere a long the line of having a YouTube channel and starting this #SmartBrownGirl movement, folks have deemed me worth of them asking for my advice. Originally this started out as content for my #AskJouelzy videos, but what I noticed was that I was fielding a lot of the same questions with a very similar narrative. The narrative that every person that their situation was the spectacularly different from every one else's and that they had did/done everything that was to do, met ever person there was to meet and they were at the bottom of the barrel in their
Every time I talk about mental health, I mention the importance of keeping a journal. Keeping a journal is a great tool for so many facets of life whether or not you deal with anxiety or depression. It's a great assist in those arenas as well, but all things emotional and mental benefit from you keeping some sort of journal. Life benefits from you keeping a journal. However any time you embark on something and you give it great weight, it's very easy to become overwhelmed and not know where to start. Or some might feel juvenile or insecure about
Since discussing loneliness and the "Strong Black woman," where I discussed my own issues with being diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder when I was 11 years old and opened the platform for women (and men) of color to more comfortably discuss their own mental health, I have been receiving a lot of questions about what I do to maintain my anxiety and panic disorder. I was slow to discuss this as a video topic and then slow to write the (more detailed) blog post because this is a very sensitive and personal subject. As in personal for each person. And
Ah the lonely people, where do they all belong... Eleanor Rigby, a Beatles song was pitched as the platform to create the new ad campaign for Nike Jordan, because on the journey to legendary Michael Jordan had noted the loneliness one experiences as they keep pushing forward in their dream that no one else understands. To rise above the rest, is indeed a lonely task to take on. It was 2008 and the release year of the 23rd Nike Jordan, like the 23rd Psalm that was eponymous to the Jordan brand. I was working with the strategic team of Wieden + Kennedy