Cali meets West Africa

This past weekend I went to Cali for a NSBE conference. For those of you that don't know it stands for National Society of Black engineers. I will soon talk more about that in my next post but back to this post.

My friends and I headed to LA during our free time. Cali is really warm and being from Massachusetts I knew I had to take advantage of this whether.  I went with this outfit which is actually a two piece. Bandeau and skirt. I can wear them separately or together. This outfit was
deigned by me and got sewn in Ghana. shipped straight from West Africa.

The total cost in US currency for this outfit is $10 dollars. the sandals are $10; got them from rainbow and the bag is a gift from a friend. Total cost $20.

DONT accommodate me because I am a Woman

A feminist is defined as a a person who believes that men and women should be treated equally. I just finished reading an amazing book titled "We should all be feminist.
Nigerian writer/speaker Chimamanda Adichie says a feminist is  "A person who believes in the social, political and economic equality of the sexes."

 This world, our culture, and the way we have interpreted the role of a woman had damaged our outlook on who women are, what they are capable of, and what they are supposed to be versus what they are.

My first ever feminist experience took place in elementary school in gym class.  In my city, there is an event called the mini Olympics where every school would pick a group of students to represent them in a mock Olympic contest. It was tryouts week for my school and my gym teacher wanted to make sure to pick the best of the best. I signed up for the long jump and the 50 yard dash tryout. For the long jump each student was to go by themselves. There were 40 students that day that lined up to see if they could be that chosen one. He was to pick one girl and one guy for each the long jump and 50 yard dash. The way it worked was that when someone else did better than you, you were eliminated and you had to sit on the bench and watch. I am not sure of the details of what happened but I can describe my feeling to you of  being the only girl left still in the running after 20 min of the tryouts. This meant that I was going to be the girl that represented the school but for some reason that wasn't enough for me. I wanted to prove that I wasn't just the best girl but I was the best one. I cant tell you where that drive came from to prove myself. I think it was because the boy who had been the best out of all the boys was someone I really disliked. I wanted to prove I was better than him. I asked my gym teacher if we could keep going until there was one winner just for the fun of it.We kept going until he finally won. I was so upset and it seems stupid now but I cried my eyes out in the bathroom after gym class.


 Our culture teaches us the same thing, that the woman is suppose to surrender, and be weak, whereas
the man has to be strong and take control. My father taught me to do whatever I want and taught me that gender doesn't determine your strength and capability but hard work does.
 He had taught me to not sit into the stereotype that has been created for me by the world and so I have not, and not doing so is what makes me happy.


Some may ask why I cried if I won and was the best girl. Wheres why. Before that day, The boy who won had always made comments about girls during recess, negative comments. He had always commented on how girls are not capable just because they were girls and how he goes easy on
me in gym class sometimes because I am a girl. To me at that time his win proved that I was weak because I was a girl and that was devastating because I felt like everything I have lived by my entire life was a lie. I felt like his win went against everything my dad had taught me to believe. Did I lose because I was a girl or because I didn't work hard enough? It made me question

Last month I turned 20, I think it is great that I have made it 2 decades but the best thing about turning 20 this year is realizing that my values and beliefs haven't changed at all. I am that same passionate girl I was all those years ago, but trying to work twice as hard now because I now understand that being a woman has already put me a step behind, and especially being a black female in the engineering industry. Despite my failure in 4th grade that year; from then until now I have had many more victories I think.  I have been so blessed and I am accomplishing things that many men my age cant even accomplish, So now I don't just preach feminism but I act it.

This month is the month to appreciate women. I think every month, and everyday should be women appreciation day. This post is in honor of dedicated to all the woman in the world as well as the beginning of a poem I am writing in tribute of women.


I AM A FEMINIST, but sometimes people take that as be being stuck up. 
I AM A WOMAN, but sometimes people take that as being weak BUT 
 I want people to just treat me as a person, not as weak, or crazy, but passionate, strong and willing. DON'T Accommodate me because I'm a woman

GLORY

             "IT TAKES THE WISDOM OF THE ELDERS, AND YOUNG PEOPLE ENERGY"
Everyday on my way to work I have this song on repeat. I listen to it so much that I know all the words to the entire song. The first time I heard it was when I went to see the Selma movie the day it came out. This song not only gave me goosebumps but it re-inspired me as a social justice leader. It made me cry. I felt so much from this song alone because it painted a picture for what reality is everyday for black people.It made me think of how far we have yet how far we still have to go. It gives us hope that everything that our people went through in the past and what our people are going through now will one day get better! This song touches not just people of color but it overlaps any issue that requires change, faith, and persistence to overcome.

Common is my favorite rapper because he  doesn't try to fit in but just speaks from his heart. His talent is ridiculous in the sense that it forces you to analyze the world we live in. He is truly one of the best artist of all time and I have listened to him since I was 10 years old. About a year and half ago my sister and I went to a common concert at the house of blues in Boston. It was one of the best experiences ever and my very first concert. I am not a big concert person or fan but Common is an exception. What saddened me about the concert was that someone with so much talent that has the ability to change lives wasn't as high stream as someone like Jay Z. Common doesn't just speak for himself he speaks for the people and to me that is more powerful than speaking about yourself or how wealthy and fly you are. John legend is all to me the most talented male singer out there right now. together the best rapper alive and the bed male singer have left a mark. Being African American means always having to prove yourself. "They say stay down and We stand up" is my favorite line in the song Glory. One thing I always say is that life is unfair, but it isn't about dwelling on the injustice but its about working to try to fix it, it is about working to defeat it and to deal it together as a people.

 Today these two men won Oscars for this amazing song. They have proved that being a leader means doing what is meaningful to you and to others, doing what you are passionate about no matter what.  Common has worked hard in this career and although he wasn't always the artist on radio repeat and isn't as rich as some other main stream rapper, he stayed true to he was and what his purpose was. It is safe to say that he has made it, that they have both made it; I haven't had tears of joy in a long time and tonight I had them. They have taught us that anything is possible it you stay true to who you are, and work hard. God is Good.