Started From the Bottom Now We... Where?

I'm sure most of us have heard Drake's song "Started From the Bottom." If you haven't, all you need to hear to get the basic sentiments of the song are the first couple of lines:

"Started from the bottom now we here
Started from the bottom now the whole team f-ckin here..."

Now, obviously this song was meant for Drake to reaffirm his status in his career, "here" most likely meaning its height. What puzzles me is everyone's reception and recycling of the phrase. Every so often, I'd see a plethora of pictures on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram with people at clubs, parties, or other normal settings with "started from the bottom no we here" in the caption. At that point I think to myself, where's "here"?
I understand "here" is relative for everyone so there will be varied perceptions of where "here" is, but we need to look at the bigger picture.

As far as we and "here" are concerned, we are mostly still in the hood, we are still a minority, we are still major victims of gun violence, we are still being racially profiled and discriminated against in subtle and not-so-subtle ways, we are still struggling up the corporate ladder, we are still rooted in an educational system that is failing our children especially in Philly and other urban youth...

From the looks of it, we are still at the bottom, maybe a ring or two up the ladder, but still far from the top.

Drake's "here", as well as many other artists', seems to be centered around money, cars, clothes, lovers, etc. By all means, if having these things make you feel like you're at the top, so be it. However, don't be fooled by the notion that having pretty-looking things or living an over-the-top lifestyle means you've made it. Too many people have bought into this without realizing that  being "hood rich" makes you perpetually poor.

My highschool teacher told me "No matter what point you reach in your life, never feel like you've already arrived." There's always work to do. Although we've seen some positive, incremental changes, as a whole, there's little progress.

At this rate, will we ever make it to "here"? To the top? Will we ever just destroy the whole hierarchy of who's at the bottom or top all together? Maybe not. As long as there are people who are striving to advance, there will always be people getting stepped on in that process. Human nature.

I don't expect everyone to have the same aspirations. I don't expect us to not want/have those nice things at one point. But there are so much of us stuck at the bottom while many are swallowed up in materialism thinking that puts them on top.

So instead of taking pictures in fancy clubs and clothes, just think: As a people, as a "team", are we really "here" yet?

Serendipity

These last couple of weeks, I've been feeling like my life has shifted a gear and now I'm speeding right through it. So many things have happened and I've met so many people in such little time. I like this. It is a bit stressful but it just feels so wrong to be stagnant. I've been obsessing over two major projects I want to get started here at Penn and trying to get things started on my own. In the midst of all of this, I realized a deep rooted passion in offering my aid and service to people in anyway possible. It's riveting. I literally feel a rush in my veins when I talk about making a difference in my immediate community. So, in addition to my projects, I decided to create a natural hair blog to act as a reservoir of black women in their most beautiful form. I want it to be a platform for us to express ourselves. We're growing and expanding. We may not be the majority just yet, but it's a step in the right direction. I'm deeply captivated by the beauty of Black women and honestly, a bit biased to natural hair. Ever since starting my journey nine months ago, it was bound to happen.  

I'm so happy I didn't let my initial fears stop me. I kept worrying about its success and how different it may not be from others. Thank God I didn't let that stop me. I enjoy giving people the opportunity celebrate themselves. We all need to be uplifted by each other without question from time to time 

While leaving my exam for work yesterday, I was approached by a man who turned out to be a veteran and also a photographer. To my surprise, he asked if he could take pictures of my natural hair because, like me, he appreciates the radiance of natural haired women. Needless to say I was elated and agreed. It's just so funny how perfectly timed this was. Thanks to him, I've thought about more ways to celebrate natural haired women (and thought more deeply about pursuing modeling ;)). 

These last few weeks have presented me with so much. I've learned not to question why things happen and to sort of accept it for what it is. I've listened to my instincts and been more in tune with my body. I've put fear behind me. I've been painfully nostalgic but extremely driven too. I can't even complain about the stress because the feeling of fulfillment exceeds that. These are the first few nights I've stayed up past four o'clock because I'm passionate about something (those who know me know my love for sleep so this is a big deal!). 

So I know this is an old and tired saying but it deserves to be said: do what you're passionate about! No amount of money will ever compare to the feeling you get of doing what you love

Careless

"You fill me" "with" "a yellow" "delight"

"Cordial blues", " &antsy greens"

"Delicious sunshine" "leaking" "from your palms"

"My aura" "laps" "it up" 

"Licking" "the pearly pinks" "& the" "precious purples"

"We wrote our love notes" "on clouds"

"They hung" "in the air" "then floated away"

"So" "we wrote new ones" "in the stars" 

"&we" "laid together in" "grass heaps"

"Purring at the moon"

I'm Doing Summer Vlogs!

Thought I'd try something different to see how creative I could get. Trying to keep it to a "June challenge" kind of thing but I'll go where ever the spirit takes me. My prof told me that poetry comes in all kinds of forms. Video shall be a new form for moi. 

YouTube: Shakeleseaton 

Happy vloggin'