S3E3: REREAD- There is Medicine in Your Creativity and Art

[00:00:00] Hi! Welcome to Verbal Tea, The Journaling Podcast where we focus more on our own inner voices than the voices of those around us.

[00:00:08] I'm Globe, your host, and each month we explore topics through journal entries based off of journal prompts that I come up with in our monthly blog.

[00:00:16] You can ride along with us and check out those journal prompts by visiting the website that is linked in our show notes.

[00:00:23] The focus of this month is called our Conquer and Comfort series.

[00:00:29] This month we are focusing on what we have overcome and healthy ways to continue to strengthen ourselves and soothe ourselves.

[00:00:37] I didn't think this month would be complete without featuring one of my favorite episodes, one of my most comforting episodes.

[00:00:45] And it's featuring an amazing person, you guys, okay? Let me tell you.

[00:00:52] Before I filmed this episode, I had a breakdown. I did. I had a breakdown. I was overwhelmed.

[00:00:57] And I, but I just had to keep pushing through.

[00:01:01] When I tell you the conversation I had on this episode with this person uplifted me and that I've replayed this.

[00:01:09] As a host, I've replayed this episode so many times and it really just centers me so much.

[00:01:15] This episode is about how art is connected to our healing.

[00:01:20] This episode features a guest that is not only a survivor, but a lifetime healer.

[00:01:26] I really hope that this episode does for you what it did for me.

[00:01:31] Thank you guys. Keep focusing on thriving instead of surviving and enjoy.

[00:01:36] Hey guys, welcome back to the tea party.

[00:01:41] As you guys know, it is National Poetry Month.

[00:01:46] I entitled this one, Suburban Pain.

[00:01:50] Kill, put, stand, believe!

[00:01:53] So we are keeping in the spirit of creativity and honoring the creative in you by discussing the power of creative expression.

[00:02:02] And today I have an amazing guest.

[00:02:14] This person is a creative.

[00:02:17] They're a magician, a healer, you name it.

[00:02:20] They make waves in a room, every room that they're in and in rooms that they aren't.

[00:02:25] And I am so excited to discuss creative expression and your purpose and passion with Lady Speech.

[00:02:35] Hey guys, hey!

[00:02:39] Hi!

[00:02:40] Hi, I'm so happy to have you on.

[00:02:42] I can't say it enough.

[00:02:43] I'm so glad that you're here.

[00:02:44] Well, thank you so much for inviting me.

[00:02:46] It's a pleasure to be here.

[00:02:48] I love the subject matter.

[00:02:49] I love the format of the show.

[00:02:51] And it is an honor to be interviewed and sit with you today.

[00:02:55] Thank you so much.

[00:02:57] It is an honor to have you here.

[00:02:59] I guess we'll just get right into it.

[00:03:03] What is your relationship with journaling?

[00:03:06] You know, journaling itself has been an on and off thing for me.

[00:03:10] It's not something that I go to all the way because I create in other ways as well.

[00:03:15] But it is just something that's been here for me throughout the years in order to help me to work through a particular space that I'm going through or just to verbally vomit because that's what you need to do sometimes.

[00:03:26] It's always been a safe space for me.

[00:03:28] So it's a space that I can return to whenever.

[00:03:31] And because part of my creativity is being a writer, I don't often go to it.

[00:03:37] So it's just there for me when I need it.

[00:03:39] So I love that.

[00:03:40] And I love how you keep referring back to being a writer because our art almost is kind of journaling as well.

[00:03:47] It gives you that portal.

[00:03:48] It gives you that energy to work through transitions and feelings as well.

[00:03:53] Yeah, it does.

[00:03:54] And I'm someone who has always been transparent in all of my writings.

[00:03:59] There's always me in it.

[00:04:01] Even if I'm writing something that's fiction, I'm always going to take that opportunity to express something about myself or to express what's going on inside of me.

[00:04:08] So all of my work ends up being some type of journal entry.

[00:04:12] And to some degree, I'm expressing a piece of my truth in there.

[00:04:15] So that's why I don't ever feel pressured to journal formally.

[00:04:20] And if I do feel called to it, it's something that can just happen naturally and I don't have to force it.

[00:04:26] Right.

[00:04:26] Some people need structure.

[00:04:28] That's me.

[00:04:29] I need the structure to consistently honor my feelings because when I write, I end up creating.

[00:04:35] And that's a way to make sure I keep that healthy relationship with it.

[00:04:39] But other people, they live and breathe it.

[00:04:41] And so they're getting it out in healthy ways without it.

[00:04:46] And I like to entertain the idea that journaling isn't just, hi, this is day 36 on the island, blah, blah, blah, blah.

[00:04:54] It is just being honest, being honest and not having an audience for a moment with your feelings.

[00:05:01] Mm-hmm.

[00:05:01] It's interesting.

[00:05:02] I've been around since the inception of social media.

[00:05:05] So I've watched how social media in the beginning was that.

[00:05:09] There were so many folks who were using it as a personal journal.

[00:05:13] And I know I did.

[00:05:14] Like, I look back on, I've kept my Facebook, the first one I've had, because I like going back to see.

[00:05:19] And a lot of people demonize what they wrote.

[00:05:21] I don't.

[00:05:21] Like, I was a younger person.

[00:05:23] Like, I wrote what I wrote on there.

[00:05:25] But I appreciate it.

[00:05:26] And I did treat things like, I wasn't as deep.

[00:05:31] Well, actually, that's not true.

[00:05:32] I had times when I was, I did go deep.

[00:05:34] And, but no matter what, like, it was something that, it was beautiful in the beginning of it because we were just regurgitating.

[00:05:42] We were just speaking from our space.

[00:05:45] People weren't really trying to keep up with each other yet.

[00:05:47] But it wasn't a competition yet.

[00:05:50] So, like, I love looking at people's earlier, you know, earlier tweets, earlier Facebooks, earlier social media, because it tended to reflect.

[00:05:59] Now we're in a different space in it.

[00:06:01] But yeah, in the beginning, kind of people were treating it as such.

[00:06:04] So.

[00:06:05] Oh, definitely.

[00:06:05] It became one of mine, especially because I migrated from MySpace.

[00:06:10] And that was definitely our, that was a scrapbook.

[00:06:13] That was a digital scrapbook.

[00:06:15] MySpace was special.

[00:06:16] It was.

[00:06:17] I kind of missed like the, I don't have access to those old accounts because I'm like, man, what I was writing, what I was thinking, the music, the fact that they had me coding.

[00:06:27] MySpace added that you're coding.

[00:06:29] Listen, we were all fluent in HTML and that's insane.

[00:06:34] We were.

[00:06:36] That was the time.

[00:06:37] But yeah, it has evolved.

[00:06:38] It used to be, this is how I'm feeling.

[00:06:40] These are my favorite people right now.

[00:06:43] This is the song I want.

[00:06:44] This is my anthem right now.

[00:06:46] These are my favorite colors.

[00:06:47] Mm hmm.

[00:06:48] And we were so intentional in a different way back then.

[00:06:52] Mm hmm.

[00:06:52] It was, it was.

[00:06:54] Everything evolved.

[00:06:55] But that was definitely a golden hour.

[00:06:58] Truly, truly.

[00:06:59] Mm hmm.

[00:06:59] They tried to bring the songs to Facebook, but.

[00:07:02] It didn't.

[00:07:03] It wasn't comparable.

[00:07:05] No, it wasn't.

[00:07:07] I think I put mine on there one time and realized that people had to actually play it.

[00:07:11] Yeah.

[00:07:12] I'm like, no, I used to force people to hear anytime they clicked on my page.

[00:07:16] Mm hmm.

[00:07:16] Mm hmm.

[00:07:18] Mm hmm.

[00:07:20] Well, that I love that we just talked about social media because yes, it is definitely

[00:07:24] and I do still use it as a journal now, but it's after I've spent time with my thoughts

[00:07:29] and I'm like, I'm saying this just to hold myself accountable.

[00:07:33] Yeah.

[00:07:33] Yeah.

[00:07:33] For this thought, this space, this intention, it's just, it helps hold me accountable and

[00:07:39] tethers me.

[00:07:40] Yeah.

[00:07:41] Yeah.

[00:07:41] I do the same.

[00:07:42] I still use it as such.

[00:07:44] Like definitely, you know, we mark it on there.

[00:07:45] We do what we have to do on there, but I pride myself and I'm really proud of the fact

[00:07:50] that like people who really know me that know that that's who I am.

[00:07:53] Mm hmm.

[00:07:53] It's not a character on, on that space.

[00:07:55] So, um, I still very much use that to go, uh, and just communicate what I'm going

[00:08:01] through in my thoughts.

[00:08:01] And again, it's, it's a good, especially when they started rolling out the Facebook

[00:08:05] memories, like that it's a good space to be like, that's where I was four years ago.

[00:08:09] That's what I was thinking three years ago.

[00:08:11] That's where I was at one year ago.

[00:08:12] So it's really good for me.

[00:08:14] I like seeing my own evolution through that space.

[00:08:18] Yeah, same.

[00:08:18] I love it.

[00:08:19] I, I started my, I have my old profile, but I started my current one when I was pregnant

[00:08:26] for the first time.

[00:08:27] And so seeing how much I've grown since then, and it was right before that big brain

[00:08:32] leap at 25.

[00:08:33] So it's a magical to look at the memories and I don't hate it.

[00:08:37] I don't cringe.

[00:08:38] I'm just like, wow, that's where I was.

[00:08:40] Yeah.

[00:08:41] Yeah.

[00:08:41] We have the tendency to demonize like those things, but if you can look back and it's

[00:08:46] different, that's the point.

[00:08:47] It's growth.

[00:08:48] You know, I don't think I'd be satisfied with myself if I didn't shift and change.

[00:08:52] If I've always been posting the same things, there's been no forward movement, but I really

[00:08:56] enjoy being like, that was that era.

[00:08:58] That's what I was thinking.

[00:08:59] And that's what I was going through.

[00:09:00] Those, these were the things going on behind the scenes.

[00:09:02] So again, it's just a good marker for growth and I appreciate it for that.

[00:09:07] Yes.

[00:09:08] And I, I think people, even if they're trying to put on a facade, they can still look back

[00:09:13] and go, this is what I thought it was important to broadcast.

[00:09:17] And they still know where they were.

[00:09:19] So it's still valuable to valuable to them as well.

[00:09:23] Agreed.

[00:09:24] Agreed.

[00:09:25] I know we kind of went on a social media tangent, but I did just want to say that it is a real

[00:09:30] place and it's as real as you make it.

[00:09:31] I've been seeing a lot of conversation about people being genuine on there.

[00:09:36] And it is what you make it.

[00:09:38] Yeah.

[00:09:38] I, I've met friends.

[00:09:40] I moved cross country and had to start from scratch to make friends.

[00:09:44] And I made friends locally and on other places of the country that have flown to celebrate

[00:09:51] my children, to celebrate me and my marriage.

[00:09:54] Like it's real.

[00:09:55] It's what you make it when you're, when you post who you are.

[00:09:58] It really is.

[00:09:59] I absolutely agree.

[00:10:00] I think that if you cultivate a space of, um, jealousy of competition, it's going to

[00:10:06] end up being that.

[00:10:07] Um, but if you could, whatever comes to space you cultivate.

[00:10:10] And I think it's really important, especially as marginalized people to do that.

[00:10:13] I've always been, I've never been a follow for follow person.

[00:10:15] I've never been, even my friends.

[00:10:17] There's a lot of, there's a few of my friends.

[00:10:18] I'm like, I love you in real life.

[00:10:20] You are really wild online and I respect that.

[00:10:23] And I am not trying to police you, but I'm not trying to see that every day.

[00:10:26] Like that doesn't fill my cup.

[00:10:28] That doesn't make me feel good.

[00:10:30] I'd rather just be with you in person.

[00:10:32] So I think it's very important if you have any type of marginalization, um, in order to

[00:10:37] continue to maintain yourself is to curate your feed, to curate your, uh, to curate those

[00:10:43] things.

[00:10:43] There's a lot of people like, why don't you follow me?

[00:10:44] I do this.

[00:10:45] Like, if I look at your thing, your space and you are super fat phobic, you're anti

[00:10:49] black, you're, um, xenophobic.

[00:10:51] Like I'm, I'm not about that life.

[00:10:53] Or even if you're none of those things, but you never uplift trans people.

[00:10:56] You never uplift, you know, people outside of you.

[00:10:59] You never uplift anybody else.

[00:11:01] Like you're anti black woman, you're anti femme.

[00:11:03] Like I can't with that.

[00:11:06] Like, and it doesn't mean that you make one mistake and I X you out because systematically

[00:11:11] we are all transphobic.

[00:11:12] We are all homophobic.

[00:11:13] We are all anti black, no matter where you are.

[00:11:16] Black people are anti black, you know, um, uh, homosexual people are anti gay.

[00:11:21] Like it's part of the system.

[00:11:23] So it's not a one and done thing.

[00:11:26] Right.

[00:11:26] It's about like, are you aware or do you practice self accountability?

[00:11:31] Do you pack practice self reflection?

[00:11:33] Do you practice, uh, self awareness?

[00:11:35] Are if it's brought to your attention, are you willing to grow?

[00:11:38] Are you willing to change?

[00:11:39] Um, are you willing to challenge yourself, um, in that space?

[00:11:43] So again, in order to continue to maintain myself, because I have also the flip side of

[00:11:48] that is you will get attacked.

[00:11:49] Like I live a very, you know, polarizing life and I'm fine with it.

[00:11:53] For the most part, I have a lot of peace, but it does cost to be yourself.

[00:11:57] It does cost to say what you want to say and it does cost to live unapologetically.

[00:12:02] So that's also the thing.

[00:12:04] And I avoid, I've avoided a lot of the strife because I curate my space because I just do

[00:12:10] not allow anybody in my space.

[00:12:12] I do not have as many problems as a lot of other people.

[00:12:15] I still go through my fair fair, my fair share of, uh, whatever's, but like, I, I'm very

[00:12:21] clear that the amount of hate that I have gotten is not of the amount that a lot of my

[00:12:27] same friends who do a lot of the same things that I do have gotten.

[00:12:31] Um, but again, I've, I've been as careful as I can be about the curation of my space.

[00:12:35] So.

[00:12:36] Of course you do have to be militant about it.

[00:12:39] You do.

[00:12:40] And it's not to discard people.

[00:12:42] It's just to honor yourself.

[00:12:44] Mm hmm.

[00:12:46] And it could just be that space because not everyone posts how they are.

[00:12:50] Some people reduce themselves to avatars online and you know that, and you love that person,

[00:12:55] but you know, like this isn't a representation of who you are as a whole person.

[00:13:00] I can't consume this kind of content from you.

[00:13:03] I just can't do it.

[00:13:05] Exactly.

[00:13:06] And I think if more of us did that, we would be able to help our friends, help our people

[00:13:10] be able to stand up in an authentic way.

[00:13:12] Mm hmm.

[00:13:13] Stand up in more of a, of a genuine way.

[00:13:17] Yeah, I agree.

[00:13:18] And you can just, you can be like, I know you're better than this.

[00:13:21] I just, I know it.

[00:13:23] I know it.

[00:13:23] But if this is what you want to do, these are the kind of people you want to talk to on

[00:13:26] here.

[00:13:26] We can compartmentalize.

[00:13:28] There are many facets to us.

[00:13:30] Mm hmm.

[00:13:30] Mm hmm.

[00:13:32] Yep.

[00:13:32] I agree.

[00:13:34] That's a great segue.

[00:13:36] It's just, you can't talk about journaling anymore without talking about social media.

[00:13:40] It's impossible.

[00:13:41] Yeah.

[00:13:42] And they're intertwined.

[00:13:43] And I think especially with the younger generation, they're going to be doing more of this online.

[00:13:47] They're going to be doing this more of this publicly.

[00:13:50] So the things that are, they're intrinsically linked at this point.

[00:13:53] So.

[00:13:55] I agree.

[00:13:56] But I will say the reason I started this podcast is because we just, we journal instantly

[00:14:02] now.

[00:14:03] And I think there's beauty to it, but there are also a lot of perils and we do a lot of

[00:14:09] disservice to ourselves without, if we don't spend that alone time first.

[00:14:12] Yeah.

[00:14:13] I agree.

[00:14:14] Then you just need time to, I think the, what social media has taken out is that process.

[00:14:18] Like at least when you're doing it by yourself in a, in a, in a pen and paper, um, there's

[00:14:24] more thought required.

[00:14:25] And, you know, in, in regards to either sharing it or even just writing it, just the active

[00:14:29] writing on a piece of paper, like that paper once filled is, you can't do anything with

[00:14:35] that anymore.

[00:14:35] Like you can throw it away, but it's there.

[00:14:37] What's there is there.

[00:14:38] And so there's, I think there's a lot more mindfulness where you can just click and

[00:14:42] delete, you know, I think there's a more frivolous, a more frivolousness and a less

[00:14:46] thought process that happens sometimes.

[00:14:49] Um, but with that, the physical journaling, you had to just have more intentionality.

[00:14:54] And, um, I think that's a big thing that is missing a lot.

[00:14:57] People kind of express from their first emotion and that could be a really beautiful thing.

[00:15:01] Oftentimes it is.

[00:15:03] And oftentimes if you are not emotionally regulated or emotionally balanced, that's actually

[00:15:07] a bad thing.

[00:15:08] Um, so it's a gift and a curse.

[00:15:10] It's a gift and a curse.

[00:15:12] Definitely.

[00:15:12] And what the way social media is going, they want us to respond emotionally.

[00:15:16] All the time.

[00:15:17] So it really does kind of cripple us from having that full process before we type or respond

[00:15:24] because they're literally trying to engineer us to just go with the gut.

[00:15:29] Yeah.

[00:15:30] And you see that in the rise of, uh, hate bait.

[00:15:33] You see that in the rise of race bait.

[00:15:35] Like I very rarely these days, I was quicker to respond to some of those things.

[00:15:40] I'm very rare to respond to those things these days.

[00:15:42] And if I do, I take my time.

[00:15:43] Um, I make sure that I intellectually think out everything and I weigh and I try to go

[00:15:48] through that person's content to gauge whether or not like, is this person rage farming?

[00:15:53] Is this person actually speaking from an ignorant perspective?

[00:15:56] Do they feel like they want to be taught?

[00:15:58] What is that?

[00:15:58] What is the cost of what I, of my response?

[00:16:02] What does it cost to me?

[00:16:03] And also what is my response going to do if I put it out there?

[00:16:06] You know, it's these days I ask myself a series of questions before I do that.

[00:16:10] And some days it is like spirit is very much like you have something to say and it's valuable

[00:16:15] and people would resonate with it.

[00:16:17] And if it has value, if it helps me to express myself, then I'm going to say something.

[00:16:22] If not, we're going to just keep it pushing and move on.

[00:16:24] You know, I'll communicate it in my private journals and keep it pushing.

[00:16:29] Yeah, same.

[00:16:30] I am.

[00:16:30] I used to be, I was young on social media.

[00:16:34] So of course I was just leaping and everything, especially during the Mike Brown time and all

[00:16:38] things like that.

[00:16:40] And going to high school in the suburbs, it was just in my face.

[00:16:44] But as I got older, I'm like, not a lot is happening.

[00:16:48] Nothing, no real impact is happening.

[00:16:50] I'm just fighting with people and that's not what I want to spend my leisure time doing.

[00:16:55] So I will ask people, what was the purpose of you saying that to me?

[00:17:00] Do you want to have a conversation or are you just getting your fix?

[00:17:04] Mm hmm.

[00:17:06] And, and it's really changed things.

[00:17:08] My page has become so much more peaceful in the past few years.

[00:17:11] Mm hmm.

[00:17:13] Mm hmm.

[00:17:13] We got to have that discernment.

[00:17:15] Yep.

[00:17:16] And it takes time and it, you know, nobody's perfect.

[00:17:20] Yeah.

[00:17:20] So sometimes the spirit moves you or your emotions move you and you, you say something, but you

[00:17:25] could still look back and be self-aware, like, okay.

[00:17:27] Yeah.

[00:17:28] Yeah.

[00:17:29] And I mean that those things are going to happen as humans just as long as we are mindful

[00:17:34] and not controlled by those things.

[00:17:36] Right.

[00:17:37] Controlled.

[00:17:38] Like, I'm not going to log in just to go in on strangers.

[00:17:42] Yeah.

[00:17:42] This is not what, where I'm at.

[00:17:44] Yeah.

[00:17:45] Cause there's people who do that.

[00:17:46] You know, there's a lot of people who trolls and I saw something the other day and it was

[00:17:50] obviously satire, but like, I was like, this is actually what it is though.

[00:17:54] And a lot of capacities, like it was this guy who had all these computers up in this screen

[00:17:59] and basically being a professional troll and he's just saying shit he doesn't believe in.

[00:18:03] He's just going on all these people's statuses and he's just saying the most wild stuff and

[00:18:08] walking away and then laughing as people are going off.

[00:18:11] And, and it was obviously a skit, but I was like, that is what people are doing.

[00:18:16] Like that's also people you're arguing with some people who they don't believe anything

[00:18:21] they just said.

[00:18:22] They're just feeding from your energy.

[00:18:25] They're just feeding from, they don't care about your response.

[00:18:29] They're not here to educate.

[00:18:31] And I value my time.

[00:18:33] I value who I am.

[00:18:35] I value, you know, my skills.

[00:18:36] I value what I have to bring too much these days to waste that on someone who is not interested

[00:18:42] in changing growth, education, expansion.

[00:18:44] You know, if you just want to argue, you can argue with yourself.

[00:18:48] Yep.

[00:18:50] Honestly, that's what I say.

[00:18:51] Like, you know, argue with yourself, argue with the facts.

[00:18:54] You have the day that you're meant to have.

[00:18:58] Yep.

[00:18:58] I'm not arguing with you.

[00:19:00] I'm not arguing with you.

[00:19:03] No.

[00:19:04] But yes, exactly.

[00:19:06] And that's, it's going to be amazing when we look back and when we're even older and

[00:19:11] looking at the conversations we've had.

[00:19:14] I don't know if you've had it now where people will respond or react to your comments

[00:19:18] from like years later.

[00:19:20] Mm hmm.

[00:19:20] And you're like, wow, I was really on one in that comment.

[00:19:23] Like I really ate with that or.

[00:19:25] Mm hmm.

[00:19:26] Wow.

[00:19:26] I really spent too much time on this.

[00:19:28] Mm hmm.

[00:19:29] Mm hmm.

[00:19:30] And again, it just shows us another example of where how far we've come and where we

[00:19:34] have.

[00:19:38] Yeah.

[00:19:40] Yeah.

[00:19:42] Yeah.

[00:19:42] Well, I'm actually having an interesting space with that.

[00:19:44] Like I've had several pieces of content and things go viral over the years.

[00:19:48] And my there is a video that went extremely viral after Roe versus Wade.

[00:19:55] And I basically very simply was like the only play that white women in America have

[00:19:59] is to listen to black and indigenous women because it is through your leadership.

[00:20:03] And it is through the what you have your work that we are back here.

[00:20:07] And we're in this position, like 53% of white women voted for Trump.

[00:20:11] Like you guys are actively upholding things that go against you.

[00:20:15] They go against us.

[00:20:16] They go against everybody.

[00:20:17] And that's your only play.

[00:20:18] Right.

[00:20:19] Like if you study politics, I said nothing out of pocket or wrong.

[00:20:23] Right.

[00:20:23] I did not call white women stupid.

[00:20:24] I did speak to the political facts of what's going on and where we have.

[00:20:29] That video went viral.

[00:20:31] It got into the hands of so many incels and racists and things.

[00:20:35] And even like a couple of big conservative, like I had to not search my name on YouTube

[00:20:41] for a while because I was getting duetted and people doing all kinds of think pieces.

[00:20:46] And I still get that.

[00:20:49] That was two years ago.

[00:20:51] Oh, man.

[00:20:52] I logged on TikTok the other day and this intel was like, aren't you that lady who said she

[00:20:58] hates me right now?

[00:21:00] On a motivational post.

[00:21:02] And I'm like, first and foremost, duality.

[00:21:05] Like I actually speak about a lot of different things.

[00:21:08] Yeah.

[00:21:09] Actually, I never said I hated white women.

[00:21:11] I did call white women out for being for the position that we are and their stance

[00:21:15] and feminism and how that's gotten us here.

[00:21:18] But yeah, it's just hilarious.

[00:21:20] Like I've never turned off comments to something.

[00:21:22] But like a year and a half after I was getting I was still catching grief.

[00:21:26] I had to go back to that video and turn off the comments.

[00:21:31] Like, yeah, no, we're good.

[00:21:32] You guys be quiet.

[00:21:35] Like it is what it is.

[00:21:36] Be mad with your mama.

[00:21:36] Go read history.

[00:21:38] Go read history.

[00:21:39] You mad at the history.

[00:21:39] You not mad at me.

[00:21:41] You mad at the messenger, but I'm just speaking fix.

[00:21:43] Right.

[00:21:44] And you didn't say anything really hateful in the video.

[00:21:47] It was really clinical like that.

[00:21:49] This is the literal truth.

[00:21:51] I was like, we're here because I was like this ruling isn't about us.

[00:21:55] It's be you've done held up so much like that.

[00:21:58] No, it's about you.

[00:21:59] It's about the birth rate with white women is dropping.

[00:22:02] And that's a problem for white supremacists.

[00:22:05] It's about the fact that y'all are not falling in line, even though you are their prized possession.

[00:22:10] And y'all hold up the agenda of colonization and white supremacy on your backs and in your hands and with the ways that you raise your sons.

[00:22:18] Like this is what it is.

[00:22:20] And these are the cold, hard facts about this.

[00:22:23] We can't skate around that.

[00:22:24] The black maternal rate is insane.

[00:22:26] The black maternal death rate is insane.

[00:22:29] Okay.

[00:22:29] And the indigenous death rate is insane.

[00:22:32] Okay.

[00:22:32] Like if had you been paying attention to these issues, had you thrown your full body behind black women and us not dying in childbirth, had you thrown your full body around missing and murdered indigenous women, you we wouldn't be here.

[00:22:47] We wouldn't be here because the bottom would have been strengthened.

[00:22:50] And we all could have come together and really helped to thwart this and not only thwart it, but push new agendas forward.

[00:22:58] So, yeah, it is.

[00:23:00] It is one of those things.

[00:23:01] And you know what that is?

[00:23:02] That counts as a journal moment.

[00:23:03] That video happened right when I heard the news.

[00:23:06] I was walking out of the nail salon after getting my fucking toes done.

[00:23:10] And I got that news and was like, um, welcome to World War three, as we know it.

[00:23:15] Like, what the hell?

[00:23:17] And I flipped my phone open and was super raw.

[00:23:20] That was one of those videos.

[00:23:21] I didn't take the time.

[00:23:22] I just was like, no, we're going to speak.

[00:23:24] It's important that I speak exactly what I feel.

[00:23:27] It's important that I document this exact moment of hearing this news.

[00:23:32] It's important that I communicate my, my frustration, my anger, and my ancestral pain.

[00:23:38] Like it was very important to me to communicate all of those things.

[00:23:41] And I did.

[00:23:42] And that's why it caused such the sensation that it caused because it was really raw.

[00:23:47] And there was no sugar attached to that.

[00:23:50] Like I'm a Libra.

[00:23:50] We like to put a little honey on everything.

[00:23:52] Like, now this time you don't get the full spanking.

[00:23:55] I'm no sweetness.

[00:23:56] Like, this is just the raw truth of the situation because we're in trouble.

[00:24:00] Like, I'm not going to be nice when we are in trouble, you know?

[00:24:04] So it was history.

[00:24:06] It was one of those moments where like, you got to be prepared to pay.

[00:24:09] Cause whoo, the level of hate I got for that.

[00:24:13] But I stand behind it.

[00:24:14] I'm going to stick beside her.

[00:24:15] I'm going to stick beside her.

[00:24:17] But we, we appreciate that.

[00:24:20] All of us appreciate people who just voice our deep, deep feelings in a way better than

[00:24:26] we could.

[00:24:27] And I just remember, I remember when I heard that news, I couldn't, I couldn't come up

[00:24:31] with the words.

[00:24:32] I was just like, yeah.

[00:24:36] Yeah.

[00:24:37] And everything I had to say was not great.

[00:24:39] It was, I was reduced to like fourth grade in my mind.

[00:24:43] I was reduced to like fourth grade.

[00:24:45] That's how I felt.

[00:24:46] Yeah.

[00:24:46] So it was refreshing to see your video and some other people just saying the hardcore

[00:24:51] truth because I knew it would not come out right when I said it.

[00:24:56] And I appreciate that.

[00:24:57] And that's the other importance of journaling is for those moments is like sometimes, and

[00:25:01] that's the beauty of social media is there are those times when like we are feeling what

[00:25:06] everyone else is feeling and we have the words.

[00:25:09] And so it is our responsibility to communicate that.

[00:25:13] And I knew I was feeling that indigenous woman were feeling that I knew like the frustration

[00:25:16] that immediately descended down on me.

[00:25:19] I was thinking of every single one of my activist friends.

[00:25:21] I was thinking of every single woman that I love.

[00:25:23] I was thinking of every single person I've been involved with.

[00:25:26] I was thinking of every single trans person who I know I've helped through abortions.

[00:25:29] Like I was, I was thinking about all that.

[00:25:33] It was just like, I'm all, I'm, this is my name.

[00:25:36] I almost speak on it.

[00:25:37] I got the words that they didn't send me into silence with this song.

[00:25:40] They stand me in the anger.

[00:25:41] It's time to speak up.

[00:25:42] I gotta speak up.

[00:25:43] So sometimes we do, we are able to, you know, carry the words of others so that we can

[00:25:49] make it through that moment.

[00:25:51] Yeah.

[00:25:52] And that kind of leads us into an actual journal entry.

[00:25:56] I was, I, this is what I love.

[00:25:59] This is why I love journaling because once you spend so much time with those thoughts,

[00:26:03] it opens up a floodgate, a floodgate of conversation and epiphanies.

[00:26:08] Um, but when it comes to your purpose, how has creative expression helped, helped you realize

[00:26:16] your purpose?

[00:26:19] Um, well, I can just read what I wrote.

[00:26:21] Uh, I found that every time I express myself creatively, I came home to myself that much

[00:26:28] more.

[00:26:28] I found the more that I express myself publicly, the more people resonated with my story.

[00:26:33] I've always been at home on stage and on microphones and in front of people and performing

[00:26:36] in front of people.

[00:26:37] I've always felt most myself when I was creating the first major show I did where I featured

[00:26:42] my own art and proceeded to get a standing ovation was at brother Jeff's Eagle tripping show

[00:26:47] right before I turned 18.

[00:26:49] At that point I had been in the poetry scene for a while.

[00:26:52] Um, but I, I had been reading my own poetry, but I had never been invited to perform my own

[00:26:56] work, like really, really perform.

[00:26:58] I had been a part of like high school productions and things like that.

[00:27:02] So I had never given my whole self to the stage the way that I gave myself to the

[00:27:06] stage that night.

[00:27:07] I'd been performing for a while at that point, but I'd never let myself tap into what I knew

[00:27:11] I could really do until then.

[00:27:13] That was the night that I came alive.

[00:27:15] That was the nights where everything clicked.

[00:27:18] That was the night when my magic woke up and my ancestors were with me.

[00:27:22] And I experienced the greatest pleasure up to that point I'd ever felt in my life.

[00:27:26] That is the night I knew that I was sent, what I was sent to the planet to do.

[00:27:30] That was also the night when my life changed forever.

[00:27:32] I was kicked out of my family by my father and all I had was myself and my art.

[00:27:36] And I used those two things to build for myself a new life and my empire.

[00:27:41] Um, so yeah, creativity has, you know, it definitely helped me to step out into the world of fully,

[00:27:49] a fully functioning person.

[00:27:51] And it helped me to, it was a great thing to ground myself in when I was figuring myself

[00:27:56] out, finding myself, raising myself, surviving.

[00:27:59] Um, yeah.

[00:28:01] Wow.

[00:28:02] That was beautifully written.

[00:28:03] Of course.

[00:28:03] I'm not surprised.

[00:28:04] I knew it would be, but that's, that's so beautiful.

[00:28:08] So it wasn't even your first time hitting the stage, but like your first time, like you said,

[00:28:13] giving yourself to the stage, it helps you just tap more into you and you still get that.

[00:28:18] Now you still get a clear, more clarity on yourself and your spirit.

[00:28:23] Mm hmm.

[00:28:23] The way you perform.

[00:28:24] Yes.

[00:28:25] It is also the first place where my magic really came out.

[00:28:28] I didn't understand who I was as a medium.

[00:28:29] It was a priestess who actually saw me performing at a conference that I was at for Yifa that

[00:28:34] I had just initiated into.

[00:28:36] And she was the one who came and actually broke down my process.

[00:28:39] Like I remember her watching me and I was, I was inciting a very, um, purposeful reaction

[00:28:46] and intentional reaction in, in them.

[00:28:49] I wanted to impress them.

[00:28:50] I wanted to give them this gift.

[00:28:51] I wanted to, um, offer this gift up to my old Isha.

[00:28:55] And so I came with my best and it was her who she, I saw her get up during my performance

[00:29:02] and like run, um, across the back and then run to the, like, where the side of where I was

[00:29:08] going to come off of the stage.

[00:29:09] And like, she waited there for me and she was the first one to be like, you are a medium.

[00:29:14] Like she kind of, she broke down my gifts and was like, this is where it comes out.

[00:29:17] Like I watched you, like, we all watched you like get possessed.

[00:29:21] We've all what we, this, she just ran my process down.

[00:29:23] And that was the moment I was like, oh, I get it.

[00:29:26] Like I, I get it now.

[00:29:28] Like I get what I've been doing the whole time.

[00:29:30] Um, and I didn't realize that.

[00:29:31] So yeah, the stage was, uh, integral to not only my artistic process, but it was very integral

[00:29:36] to my mystical process as well.

[00:29:39] That's awesome.

[00:29:40] Both all of your purposes.

[00:29:42] I know I introduced you as a magician and healer and all of that because it's true.

[00:29:48] And that's what you give off through the screen.

[00:29:51] Uh, and I've only had the pleasure of interacting with you or witnessing you through the screen.

[00:29:56] And that's, that's what you give off.

[00:29:58] So I'm so glad that you were able to share like the aha moment about that.

[00:30:04] Thank you.

[00:30:06] Of course.

[00:30:07] Um, so my next question is out of all of the, uh, prompts, which one stuck out to you the

[00:30:12] most or which one did you kind of feel you spent the most time writing about?

[00:30:18] Uh, they were all kind of, um, profound to me in different ways.

[00:30:26] I think I probably spent the most time writing on the first question.

[00:30:30] What was, which was what inspired you to write poetry, but they all kind of really tweaked

[00:30:34] me in, um, in different ways.

[00:30:37] So yeah.

[00:30:38] Yeah.

[00:30:39] Well, what inspired you to write poetry?

[00:30:43] Well, I'll read what I wrote and then we'll go from there.

[00:30:45] Um, my father taught me how to read when I was three.

[00:30:48] I discovered the one and only poetry book I've ever known my father to own around the

[00:30:52] age of seven, between five and seven.

[00:30:54] I can't remember exactly when.

[00:30:55] Um, I fell in love.

[00:30:57] I began writing poetry in middle school.

[00:30:59] I started to write poetry to express my suppressed emotions.

[00:31:02] I was being abused physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

[00:31:05] I'd already been extremely abused and raped as a child already at that point.

[00:31:11] So I was in a situation where I wasn't able to speak to what was going on with me or what

[00:31:16] had happened to me.

[00:31:17] So poetry became my outlet.

[00:31:19] Poetry became a way to get the pain out of me.

[00:31:21] Poetry became my haven and my escape.

[00:31:23] Poetry became my bridge to personal empowerment.

[00:31:26] Poetry became my temple and my altar.

[00:31:28] Poetry was the first place I shine.

[00:31:30] Poetry was the place that I worship.

[00:31:32] I was inspired to write poetry in the same energy that my ancestors created.

[00:31:36] Blues, jazz, rock and roll, hip hop, reggae, and so much more.

[00:31:39] To heal myself, to express myself, to find a reason to keep going.

[00:31:43] To create and to find hope.

[00:31:45] I was inspired to write poetry because if I didn't, I would have died.

[00:31:48] So I just did what black people do.

[00:31:50] There was no poet.

[00:31:51] There was no, um, there was no help after enslavement.

[00:31:57] There wasn't any therapy.

[00:31:58] There wasn't any check ins.

[00:31:59] Um, the reason why we are global culture, especially as the formerly enslaved, because

[00:32:04] we had to make it.

[00:32:06] Um, I don't know.

[00:32:07] Kai, well, I can't remember his last name, Sient or whatever.

[00:32:11] He is recently gone viral in the past couple of days because he was saying that black Americans

[00:32:16] don't have any culture.

[00:32:17] And everybody's clapping back at him.

[00:32:19] But I'm like, the culture that you consume from America is mine.

[00:32:23] Yes.

[00:32:23] It's mine.

[00:32:24] That's what you, you, you are actually doing very black American things that you called

[00:32:28] American.

[00:32:29] That that's my culture.

[00:32:31] Yep.

[00:32:31] You know, if black American culture is Louisiana culture, it's Colorado black culture.

[00:32:35] It's New Jersey culture.

[00:32:36] It's it's, we have in everywhere.

[00:32:38] There's black people in this space.

[00:32:40] We have an individual thing.

[00:32:42] And the greatness about blackness is like it unites.

[00:32:45] I've gone to Louisiana and I feel right at home with those black people.

[00:32:48] I go to Texas and I feel right at home with those black people.

[00:32:51] And even like, because I'm an American black person in my culture is written on everybody's

[00:32:56] faces.

[00:32:56] I can see my face in London, black people.

[00:32:59] Yep.

[00:32:59] I can see my safe, my, my space, my safe face in Brazilian black people.

[00:33:04] Um, so I did what I, I did what black people do is we didn't have any, anything

[00:33:09] except for our art.

[00:33:10] You know, hip hop was literally created from black and Afro Latinx youth who crack was

[00:33:16] deposited in the neighborhood.

[00:33:18] Like it was deposited.

[00:33:19] There was, it wasn't there.

[00:33:20] And then one day it fucking was here.

[00:33:22] And so, and then all the resources gotten taken away, like the, the, the gyms and them

[00:33:28] job resources and things of that nature.

[00:33:30] So they literally created hip hop, a whole culture, four elements, all these rules they

[00:33:37] created to insulate themselves from what was going on.

[00:33:40] And it ended up being a way for people to make money and people to release from block

[00:33:44] parties, the different things of that nature.

[00:33:46] It created billion dollar industries, several billion dollar industries, you know?

[00:33:51] So I, um, me reaching for art when I didn't have access to therapy, when I didn't have access

[00:33:58] to any healers, when I didn't have access to, uh, anyone who was going to save my life is

[00:34:04] a very black thing to do, is a very African thing to do.

[00:34:07] And so, um, I just stepped right in line with my ancestors.

[00:34:11] When I discovered I could write it, um, I wrote it and that allowed me to continue to be here.

[00:34:18] Wow.

[00:34:19] First of all, thank you so much for sharing the entire entry.

[00:34:23] Oh my gosh.

[00:34:24] That's such an honor.

[00:34:25] And it's so beautiful.

[00:34:28] And thank you for staying true to that, staying true that because that is what we do.

[00:34:32] We create, even if we can't dance, we still, we still find a way to create because we, we came with nothing.

[00:34:39] And then somehow took over everything.

[00:34:42] We're, we're leaders.

[00:34:44] Um, and that's what poetry is for a lot of us.

[00:34:47] I know it was for me as well.

[00:34:49] It was a place to, um, get my feelings out that I didn't know how to express to anyone else.

[00:34:55] I didn't feel anyone wanted to hear them.

[00:34:57] Um, it was my safe space.

[00:34:59] My, that was my first version of freedom, which is within those pages.

[00:35:06] Yeah.

[00:35:06] Um, the first place you were unpoliced, the first place you could just be your full self.

[00:35:12] Yep.

[00:35:13] And that's why I had to use this as an excuse to just cover creative expression in poetry because it's been so powerful for me.

[00:35:20] Um, I, I said in my, when the first allotment of the series that my poetry, I've never really performed much of it.

[00:35:28] Um, it's always been personal for me, but I gravitate toward people who are able to put it out into the world.

[00:35:35] And I still, I feel so seen, um, I feel so seen, feel so heard when I do it.

[00:35:41] And even when it comes to like standup comedy, comedy is so subjective, but when I can tell when it's someone's first time up there and I'm just marveled at the fact that they're up there.

[00:35:53] Yeah.

[00:35:54] Even if I don't even like their jokes, I'm still excited for them.

[00:35:57] I, I just feel it deep in my soul.

[00:35:59] Mm-hmm.

[00:36:00] This joy that they, they found a way to get up there and express their, what they have because they spent time writing that.

[00:36:07] Yeah.

[00:36:08] And you can never discount that.

[00:36:09] Yeah.

[00:36:10] Yeah.

[00:36:11] And like, and as writers, we know what it takes behind the scenes to, you know, create something organically and to put it out there.

[00:36:19] It's, it's a lot.

[00:36:20] Like I commend any performer who does it cause it's a very vulnerable thing to do.

[00:36:24] And especially in this world we live in now where people are way unhinged with the way that we react to things.

[00:36:31] It's a brave thing to do.

[00:36:33] Right.

[00:36:34] I would argue that even being your authentic self online is a, a brave thing to do.

[00:36:40] Yes, it is.

[00:36:42] That's why a lot of people don't do it because that's a lot of you don't do it.

[00:36:46] Like, yeah, I have a, a, a tick tock mutual and the other day she, or they put up a, just a friends thing.

[00:36:54] And it was a comment that they were responding to and they rarely respond to those things, but they were just having a moment.

[00:37:01] And they were like, they even acknowledged, they were like, I'm just having a day.

[00:37:04] And this comment found me on the right day and I'm having a really hard time with it.

[00:37:08] And they commented on their looks.

[00:37:10] And my, this person has had a lot of surgeries due to disabilities and birth defects and different things of that nature.

[00:37:16] Um, and so there's been a lot of re they've been going through reconstructive surgery since they were a child.

[00:37:22] And so they look like these last few surgeries really put them more in mainline, uh, or mainstream Western, um, beauty standards.

[00:37:32] You know, they've, they've always been beautiful to me and they're beautiful to their people, but like, it is what it is.

[00:37:38] And like, also this surgery, the surgeries, the disability, it impedes their regular life.

[00:37:44] So it wasn't just like, you know, cosmetic surgery, but the person compared what they looked like then to what they look like now.

[00:37:52] And even as someone who adores themselves and they work very hard on their self love, it was hard.

[00:37:58] Like they just happened to be having a day and they saw that and was like, God damn, like, I'm just existing out here.

[00:38:04] And it's rough.

[00:38:05] And like, even though they intellectually know, like they don't take that stuff personally a lot.

[00:38:10] Um, they know not to address it a lot.

[00:38:12] They know not to look at it a lot.

[00:38:14] They know intellectually that is not who they are, but it costs.

[00:38:19] So that's not going to stop them from showing up.

[00:38:22] I know I checked their account today.

[00:38:24] They're, they're making things and they're back to feeling good.

[00:38:27] And of course we all dogpiled on them.

[00:38:29] And it's like, we love you.

[00:38:30] Like, you don't deserve this.

[00:38:31] People are really shitty.

[00:38:33] And I'm sorry, they just caught you at the right day.

[00:38:35] Like we all have those days or, but just don't internalize this.

[00:38:39] Like keep pushing, you know?

[00:38:40] So it costs and it, that's why it's a, it's a brave thing every single time you do it.

[00:38:46] It's true.

[00:38:47] And people, but people see it and that's what motivates me to continue to be myself.

[00:38:52] I have, I sometimes I feel I have more people in my inbox telling me, thank you for posting

[00:38:58] this than reactions or, or, or engagement on the actual post.

[00:39:04] Yeah.

[00:39:06] But I mean, that means that I'm being fair to my purpose, being fair to myself and doing

[00:39:11] whatever I'm called to do.

[00:39:13] People think that you, your calling has to be this big grandstand thing where you're on

[00:39:18] stage or leading people.

[00:39:20] But really when we are being honest and being vulnerable in those moments we're called to,

[00:39:25] that that's stepping into your power.

[00:39:28] It really is.

[00:39:29] And we're even noticing that uptake, that change, like where we're at politically, emotionally,

[00:39:34] financially, like I've never really considered myself an influencer, though.

[00:39:38] I do know that I fall in that space and in that, you know, that space.

[00:39:42] Um, but I don't see myself first as that, but we are, people are starting to name the fact

[00:39:48] that like celebrity culture is dead and dying, which means also influencer culture, which mimics

[00:39:54] that other culture is also dead and dying.

[00:39:57] And it's people craving authenticity.

[00:40:00] Um, even in the, like the magical world, there was like this last couple of years,

[00:40:03] there's been, you know, the last 10 years, a lot of people did this as aesthetics.

[00:40:07] They didn't really, they, the crystals were fun.

[00:40:10] Oh, I want to wear robes and listen to, you know, dirty, dirty, didgeridoos.

[00:40:15] And, um, but it was aesthetics.

[00:40:17] And then when shit got hard and shit hit the fan, they abandoned it and go back to traditional

[00:40:22] Abrahamic religions, um, because it was treated as a fad.

[00:40:26] And it's like, you know, it's, it's, it's not a fad.

[00:40:28] This is something you have to fully entrench yourself in and decolonize and really get to

[00:40:33] the root of it and decide to do this for yourself.

[00:40:35] Like, you know, so it's, it's, we're in a space right now where a lot of the fads of

[00:40:42] things are fading and people are truly actually craving authenticity.

[00:40:47] And a lot of people don't know how to do that.

[00:40:49] That's the, the, the, the, the not good thing of some people with social media is that they

[00:40:53] were indoctrinated into spaces of fakeness and they do not know what to do to be real.

[00:40:58] And there are those of us who very much have been that all the time, um, who are ready

[00:41:04] to, who get, who are going to get their shine because of that, because more than perfection,

[00:41:08] people just want to see a regular person, you know, like, yeah, they like the, the, the,

[00:41:12] be shiny, wear your clothes, do your glitter.

[00:41:16] But also like people are having a hard time paying rent.

[00:41:19] So like, no, nobody wants to see your perfected all the thing all the time.

[00:41:23] Like nobody wants to see that.

[00:41:25] Like, are you having a hard time?

[00:41:27] Are you going through anything?

[00:41:27] That would make me feel better.

[00:41:28] Like, not that I need to see people in misery, but it's like, are you living your life?

[00:41:34] And is it on par?

[00:41:35] Can I take something from that to like help me keep going?

[00:41:37] Cause there's an awful lot that makes people want to get off the planet right now.

[00:41:42] Right.

[00:41:42] And then, so it doesn't make any sense to present yourself as something that might intimidate

[00:41:47] people or make you seem inaccessible.

[00:41:49] Yeah.

[00:41:50] And that's why a lot of the celebrities and influencers are struggling.

[00:41:53] Like people don't want to see a bunch of these expensive hauls anymore.

[00:41:56] That's congratulations.

[00:41:56] If you can go shop at Gucci, um, folks can't pay the rent.

[00:42:01] I don't want to see your Gucci unboxing if folks can't pay the rent.

[00:42:04] And again, I'm not mad at that.

[00:42:05] If you are in a good position and you can afford it and you should be able to show it off

[00:42:09] and do things of that nature too, but also be mindful.

[00:42:13] And if you're doing that, please don't build a following off that.

[00:42:17] Now ain't the time bruh.

[00:42:18] Folks can't eat.

[00:42:21] Like literally people cannot eat.

[00:42:25] People cannot guarantee that they'll be able to sleep in their same bed tonight and then

[00:42:29] not be out on the street from the sheriff.

[00:42:32] Like those are real things that the average person is going through.

[00:42:36] So when these finance gurus are like, Oh, you gotta, you gotta give money to make money.

[00:42:41] And it's like, what money is there?

[00:42:42] Yeah.

[00:42:43] What money is there to give?

[00:42:45] Like it's been eight, it's been nine months and I have not spent less than $50.

[00:42:49] Actually.

[00:42:50] No.

[00:42:50] The other day I spent $34 and I had to stop and be like, what is going on?

[00:42:56] I've only spent $34 at the grocery store today.

[00:42:59] I don't ever walk out.

[00:43:00] It's been seven months, nine months since I walked out without spending $50.

[00:43:04] And I don't be getting more than full five things.

[00:43:08] I'd be getting maybe six things.

[00:43:12] Half of that be produce.

[00:43:15] It is expensive.

[00:43:17] Don't even get, we just had, my husband and I just had a long conversation about grocery

[00:43:21] shopping because he didn't even know the amount of thought I put into it.

[00:43:25] I'm like, you figure out all the car stuff.

[00:43:27] That's you.

[00:43:27] But the groceries is like calculus.

[00:43:30] I promise you.

[00:43:31] Yeah.

[00:43:31] It's like, okay, we gotta go here for this store.

[00:43:33] Cause you can get this, this, this free.

[00:43:34] Yep.

[00:43:35] Then we gotta go over here because we can get this in bulk, but then we gotta go over

[00:43:38] here.

[00:43:38] Cause this has the best prices and this, this, this, like, and then you gotta break out your

[00:43:42] coupons and then you gotta make sure you have a card and then you gotta like, well, what day do you

[00:43:46] do they have these?

[00:43:47] Like if you want to make it happen, captain, you've got to put in a little bit of that

[00:43:51] work.

[00:43:51] That's just where we are right now.

[00:43:53] Right.

[00:43:54] Extra labor to eat because the labor that we actually do to get paid for it compensated

[00:44:01] isn't even feeding us enough.

[00:44:03] Exactly.

[00:44:04] It's ridiculous.

[00:44:05] It really is ridiculous.

[00:44:07] It's like a, this reminds me of when I was just getting used to my, my body, it changed

[00:44:12] after my son and I would look at all these moms.

[00:44:16] I would legit, you know, search fitness moms.

[00:44:18] It's like, Oh yeah, you can do this because you can build a gym in your garage.

[00:44:25] You have all the time of the day because all your kids are older.

[00:44:28] You just drop them off or you have your grandma or their grandmother watching them all the

[00:44:32] time.

[00:44:33] This isn't feasible for me.

[00:44:34] No, I'm not going to pay for your Patreon for your workout routine.

[00:44:38] Cause it's not sustainable for me.

[00:44:39] Exactly.

[00:44:41] Exactly.

[00:44:43] Exactly.

[00:44:43] No.

[00:44:43] But they're like, Oh, you can do it.

[00:44:45] Anybody can do it.

[00:44:46] Another cat.

[00:44:49] Yeah.

[00:44:50] In theory.

[00:44:51] But in practice.

[00:44:53] No.

[00:44:54] Not everyone has the same 24 hours.

[00:44:57] And I wish more people understood that because there are so many people that deserve so much

[00:45:03] more grace than we're giving them.

[00:45:05] Yeah.

[00:45:06] Agreed.

[00:45:07] Agreed.

[00:45:08] Agreed.

[00:45:10] Oh, well, okay.

[00:45:11] I love, I really do love how this is talking.

[00:45:14] We keep going into social media and this is why I wanted to do this podcast so much.

[00:45:20] I just have to take a segue.

[00:45:21] This is why this exactly is why, because when you spend time with the concepts and then you

[00:45:28] focus on discussing that, you realize that you're in there and you're, you're having epiphanies

[00:45:35] and understandings that you haven't even really given yourself credit for because everything's

[00:45:41] connected.

[00:45:42] We talked about money last month and ended up talking about currency and how generational

[00:45:48] wealth is more than just earning enough money for kids to be provided for.

[00:45:54] Mm-hmm.

[00:45:56] This is why things like this concept, this podcast is important so that we in the middle of all

[00:46:02] of this fakeness and wildness, there's still, you know, goodness to be found.

[00:46:06] And that's a really, a big reason why I still show up.

[00:46:09] Like I see a lot of content from creators that are like my numbers, suppression.

[00:46:14] And I've been at this so long.

[00:46:15] I'm like, I don't care.

[00:46:16] There's going to come a moment where I get shadow banned.

[00:46:19] There's going to come a moment where I say the controversial things.

[00:46:22] Even the other day, I put up a simple status.

[00:46:25] Iran has entered the chat.

[00:46:26] And then as soon as I posted it, I was like, oh yeah, you're going to get shadow banned

[00:46:29] for the next five days.

[00:46:33] Because you said Iran.

[00:46:34] I know how this works and I didn't delete it.

[00:46:36] I was like, well, it looks like we just going to get shadow banned for the next five days.

[00:46:40] Yeah.

[00:46:41] Because that, I stood on business.

[00:46:42] That's my, I'm watching what's going on in the world.

[00:46:44] Like I saw what happened.

[00:46:47] So I will call it and keep it pushing.

[00:46:51] But yeah, it's important for me to continue to stand up and be authentic so it can be found.

[00:46:55] And I also understand this is a, I'm leaving a legacy.

[00:46:58] I could go away today and my words are going to live for a very long time because I left them there.

[00:47:03] Yep.

[00:47:03] Because I left the presence there.

[00:47:06] This is why I don't get rid of, I don't like getting rid of profiles.

[00:47:09] Like if you want to start a new profile, start a new profile.

[00:47:11] But I do believe in leaving our truth there and our essence there, good, bad and ugly and in between.

[00:47:16] Even when I make mistakes on videos, like last year I had something go semi-viral on TikTok.

[00:47:22] As someone who is gender fluid and pansexual, I said something where I was affirming one of, I was affirming my pre-op trans lovers and friends.

[00:47:35] And I really thought that I was not being offensive.

[00:47:40] And so I said what I said and it split down the middle.

[00:47:45] I had many of my, you know, even former trans lovers and friends being like, no, I understand exactly what you were doing.

[00:47:51] I feel included.

[00:47:52] I feel uplifted.

[00:47:54] And I was speaking to, I was naming them and speaking to my specific attraction and giving them love.

[00:47:59] Because I think a lot of times post-op trans people are fetishized and like that's the goal.

[00:48:07] And I was making the point of like, I'm being public and saying you can love a trans person wherever they're at in the transition.

[00:48:14] And I do.

[00:48:16] And I happen to love all of it, but I love wherever you are.

[00:48:20] And if you aren't going to get your genitals shifted, that is not, that doesn't like mean anything to me.

[00:48:24] I think you're beautiful.

[00:48:25] I think you're sexy, whatever.

[00:48:26] So a lot of trans people were like, yep, I appreciate that.

[00:48:30] Like, thank you for naming it and saying it the way you did.

[00:48:33] I feel affirmed.

[00:48:34] And then I had a lot of trans people being like, I feel like that was objectification.

[00:48:39] I feel like, you know, that wasn't right.

[00:48:41] And I, and I use no excuses.

[00:48:43] I listened to all of that.

[00:48:44] And I was like, all right, well, as a gender fluid person myself, who, and a lot of people,

[00:48:49] those definitions, I fall under that umbrella as well.

[00:48:52] As someone who is pansexual and have been a part of the community for a very long time,

[00:48:55] I take responsibility for my words.

[00:48:57] My intent did not match my impact.

[00:49:00] I acknowledge that there are a lot of people who have, who were empowered by that.

[00:49:05] So I cannot discount that.

[00:49:07] I cannot discount like this was my point.

[00:49:09] And there are a fair amount of trans folks who got that and who received that in love.

[00:49:14] Right.

[00:49:14] I'm also not going to deny the fact that there are a fair amount of trans folks who did not

[00:49:17] receive that in love.

[00:49:18] And they felt as if they were objectified.

[00:49:21] And that is never my point.

[00:49:22] That is never my point to make you feel like that is never my point to make you feel like

[00:49:27] I don't want my words to feel like that.

[00:49:29] So I genuinely apologize.

[00:49:30] Like my intent did not match my impact.

[00:49:33] I never took down another video though.

[00:49:34] I'm not going to.

[00:49:35] And I was very clear that I wasn't going to take that down.

[00:49:38] And I was like, because this is because I am not going to just leave the apology up.

[00:49:42] This is going to be a learning experience for everybody.

[00:49:44] And I stand on business.

[00:49:45] I said what the fuck I said.

[00:49:46] And I admit it when I said it.

[00:49:47] And I also see where, how that got interpreted crazy.

[00:49:51] And it's not for me.

[00:49:52] If you were hurt, it's not for me to tell you your feelings.

[00:49:56] It's not for me to be like, well, I didn't mean that.

[00:49:57] So you don't get to be hurt.

[00:49:58] I don't get to do that.

[00:50:00] I know that it wasn't my intention to hurt you.

[00:50:02] And I don't get to tell you whether you're hurt or not by the things that I say.

[00:50:05] So I take that responsibility and I apologize.

[00:50:07] And I made amends in the way that I made amends.

[00:50:10] And like, that ended up going viral in a lot of capacities.

[00:50:15] And it got used a lot because people were like, that's how you fucking take accountability and apologize.

[00:50:19] Like, they didn't run from that.

[00:50:21] Like, they didn't run from who they did.

[00:50:22] They also explained themselves articulately.

[00:50:24] They didn't.

[00:50:25] It wasn't.

[00:50:25] I wasn't offering any excuses and also was clear about where the fuck I was coming from.

[00:50:30] And also clear about this is fucking nuance.

[00:50:32] And also, we do need to have this conversation because why are you fetishizing post-op trans people?

[00:50:37] And why can't we just show love?

[00:50:39] Like, if you love a fucking trans woman and she has a penis, that's what the fuck it is.

[00:50:42] Like, goddamn.

[00:50:43] It's not that hard.

[00:50:45] Really?

[00:50:46] Why are you?

[00:50:47] Come on.

[00:50:48] Learn how to have sex.

[00:50:49] Because that little body part bit is not going to stop you from nothing.

[00:50:54] It's really not.

[00:50:55] It's really not.

[00:50:56] It's not.

[00:50:56] Like, whatever people got going down on there, if you know how to fuck, if you know how to get down, nothing that they have going on.

[00:51:02] It's going to work.

[00:51:04] It's going to be a maximum pleasure.

[00:51:06] So can we not?

[00:51:07] And can we actually talk about it's okay to love all bodies?

[00:51:10] It's okay to just, like, open that up and do what we have to do.

[00:51:14] So it ended up doing what I wanted, which was opening up that conversation.

[00:51:17] And especially as a black person, we got to have a lot of that, those conversations in spaces where...

[00:51:23] And as someone who is cis presenting, I was able to enter the chat in a way that there were some cisgendered people who were like, oh wait, what?

[00:51:31] Like, and they were able to enter in the conversation and get educated and were able to dispel some things and break down some things.

[00:51:38] But then also, I was able to model for them like, hey, I offended some trans people.

[00:51:43] It's just as easy as saying, I'm sorry, I didn't realize, I apologize, what can I do to make amends?

[00:51:50] Like, it's that simple.

[00:51:51] You don't got to take the shit personally.

[00:51:53] I didn't get on there and like, all of my lovers are trans!

[00:51:56] I didn't definitely do that.

[00:51:58] Made a mistake, bro.

[00:52:00] Sorry.

[00:52:02] Right, you're human.

[00:52:03] And if it's out of love, then respond in love.

[00:52:07] Yeah, and literally that's all it took.

[00:52:09] Like, I didn't do this out of maliciousness.

[00:52:10] So, and I don't take y'all coming at me as malicious.

[00:52:13] I take it as you being a human being, speaking to another human being.

[00:52:16] And I also recognize that I have a fair, a good, a good following.

[00:52:21] So I do have something of a responsibility to listen when I offend part of that following.

[00:52:28] I think there's a lot to be said about not deleting the offense, you know?

[00:52:33] Mm-hmm.

[00:52:33] Keeping it all up there.

[00:52:35] Because it seems like erasure.

[00:52:37] A lot of times people put a lot of labor in there.

[00:52:39] So when you're deleting the learning moment that can teach a lot of other people, and you're deleting their labor.

[00:52:47] You're just discarding it, all of it.

[00:52:48] Yeah.

[00:52:49] And like, you don't show your work.

[00:52:51] I have a problem with a lot of gurus and guides speaking from a place of superiority.

[00:52:57] How did you get here?

[00:52:58] How did you get here?

[00:53:00] How the hell did you get here?

[00:53:01] You're so divine and you know so much, but you did not start out like that.

[00:53:06] You were ignorant and stupid and maids and said some dumb shit.

[00:53:09] So how did you get there?

[00:53:10] Like for me, that's the how I got here moment.

[00:53:13] These are the, I really enjoy when people can say like, I remember this growth spurt.

[00:53:19] I remember because you used to post like this and then you post like this and then you do this and then you do this.

[00:53:24] People can point to my eras and I'm like, I love to see it.

[00:53:27] I love to see it.

[00:53:28] It makes me happy.

[00:53:29] And people aren't, they don't ever demonize.

[00:53:32] People aren't like, you were so stupid back then.

[00:53:34] People are very much like, no, you were coming with the heat then.

[00:53:37] Like I thought you were the bees knees then.

[00:53:39] I thought you were smart and intelligent and doing it, but to see how you've grown and to see the other places you've taken it.

[00:53:45] Like I love that.

[00:53:46] I live for that shit.

[00:53:47] I live for that shit.

[00:53:48] Yes, darling.

[00:53:49] Tell me how, how much I've grown.

[00:53:51] Tell me how tall I am spiritually.

[00:53:53] Tell me.

[00:53:54] Cause y'all I'm never going to be able to be congratulated on being six feet physically.

[00:53:58] So tell me I am 20 feet tall spiritually.

[00:54:00] Tell me how far I'm from.

[00:54:02] Yes.

[00:54:02] And I think it also, for me, it keeps me graceful and it keeps me optimistic because I'm like,

[00:54:09] this is where I was.

[00:54:10] I'm a preacher's kid.

[00:54:11] So I've come a long way as far as tolerance.

[00:54:15] And so when I have those conversations with my parents, I keep that in mind.

[00:54:19] Like I came from this and I was way younger.

[00:54:23] So we can have this conversation in love because I know you.

[00:54:27] Yeah.

[00:54:28] And we are getting places.

[00:54:30] Imagine that.

[00:54:31] Mm hmm.

[00:54:32] Mm hmm.

[00:54:33] Mm hmm.

[00:54:35] But I'm, I love this.

[00:54:37] This is just organic conversation.

[00:54:38] I love it so much, but that is really the, the power of your purposeful creation is that

[00:54:44] you do that.

[00:54:45] You open, you open up that Pandora's box for transparent conversation about growth, about

[00:54:51] healing and impact.

[00:54:53] So that's exactly why my husband said, you should just shoot your shot.

[00:54:58] It just, just ask them.

[00:55:00] I love it.

[00:55:01] I love it.

[00:55:03] Yes.

[00:55:04] Um, okay.

[00:55:05] This is my last question.

[00:55:07] Um, for as a purposeful creative.

[00:55:09] And I came up with that term.

[00:55:11] I, that was that term by the way, because that's how, that's how I see you.

[00:55:16] Um, has your goals.

[00:55:18] If you have any, like, have your goals changed over time with your art?

[00:55:24] Um, I'm gonna read what I wrote and then we're gonna go from there.

[00:55:27] I said, yes.

[00:55:28] Yes.

[00:55:30] So when I first began to create the purpose of my art was to save my life and to add medicine,

[00:55:35] joy, love, beauty, humor, and power information and peace to the planet and to the lives of

[00:55:41] others.

[00:55:42] The, and that mission remains art has saved my life.

[00:55:45] Art saves the people around me.

[00:55:47] Art has saved my friend's life.

[00:55:48] Art has saved strangers life.

[00:55:50] Um, my mission will remain the same.

[00:55:53] I will use it to heal myself.

[00:55:54] I'll use it to connect with and bring medicine to others.

[00:55:57] So it's the exact same mission that it always was.

[00:55:59] You know, I've always recognized that it saved my life.

[00:56:02] Oh Lord.

[00:56:03] Here.

[00:56:04] Oh, the mission is the same because I really wouldn't be here.

[00:56:20] And I did not see my worth until I saw that stage and until I was reflected back to me.

[00:56:29] And like, my people are only here because of jazz.

[00:56:34] They're only here because of the blues.

[00:56:36] They're only here because of chain game music.

[00:56:39] They're only here because of the art of our food.

[00:56:43] They're only here because of our songs that we sang to each other and the prayers that

[00:56:49] we prayed over each other and the beautiful altars we made in the forest.

[00:56:54] And the beauty and the art that we brought to things that were so devilish, the way that

[00:56:59] Christianity was given to us was so fucking devilish.

[00:57:03] And we brought God to it.

[00:57:06] Like, yes, they gave us something full of the devil.

[00:57:09] Like, you do not use the religion to enslave a people, a person to kill and to slaughter

[00:57:14] over hundreds of years.

[00:57:17] And think there's anything beautiful in that.

[00:57:20] Like, there is nothing when you use that to steal from the earth.

[00:57:26] And the fact that like, we took those things.

[00:57:30] And we made and we infused.

[00:57:32] It is the art of our spirits and our souls.

[00:57:36] And it is an honor to take my place in that.

[00:57:40] It's an honor to use these things to guarantee my own black life, understanding that that was

[00:57:47] what guaranteed my people before me.

[00:57:49] It was a lifeline that we regurgitated out of us.

[00:57:54] We were, we never, they never could take it.

[00:57:57] They could not rape it away from us.

[00:57:59] They could not sell it off from us.

[00:58:01] They could not separate that.

[00:58:03] Like, when we had nothing, we always had our songs.

[00:58:06] We always had our stories.

[00:58:08] We always had our braid patterns.

[00:58:11] We always had our quilting patterns.

[00:58:12] We always had these recipes in our bones.

[00:58:15] And so I have understood from a very long time that this was our anchor.

[00:58:23] And once they gave it to me and they allowed me to save my own life with it, and they taught

[00:58:29] me how I could help other people recognize how they could save their own life with it.

[00:58:34] That has always been the mission and it will always be the mission.

[00:58:37] You know, it's not ever about likes.

[00:58:40] It is always about little black girls and little black boys being able to see that they can

[00:58:46] move past their situations.

[00:58:48] It's about, even if you don't ever move past it, you could, you could sing your way through

[00:58:53] it.

[00:58:53] You can dance your way through it.

[00:58:57] And you can have some medicine, you know, whether or not if, even if you can't find any

[00:59:03] medicine outside of you, there's no therapy.

[00:59:06] There's no one to help you.

[00:59:07] There's no one to listen to you.

[00:59:09] You were born with such great medicine.

[00:59:13] You were born with such great medicine.

[00:59:15] And if you can tap into it, you can use it to save yourself.

[00:59:20] And that's really all that matters to me is that not only we're saving ourselves, but

[00:59:25] we're healing.

[00:59:25] And it did that for me.

[00:59:27] And I promised it.

[00:59:29] And I promised myself and I promised my ancestors, if I made it past a certain age, that I would

[00:59:34] always give this to them.

[00:59:36] And I would always give it back to the world.

[00:59:38] And I would always give it to myself.

[00:59:40] So that has been the mission from day one.

[00:59:44] And it'll be the mission until the day that I die.

[00:59:48] I just want to give you a big cyber hug right now.

[00:59:52] Thank you.

[00:59:55] That's beautiful.

[00:59:56] And it aligns with everything I know and feel about you.

[01:00:02] You, you just bring so much light, so much light and magic.

[01:00:06] So just, and magic is not always, you know, butterflies and rainbows, but it is powerful.

[01:00:12] You are a force and you really tapped into that.

[01:00:15] And I really appreciate you being so vulnerable with us on this podcast and so honest and empowering

[01:00:21] and enlightening.

[01:00:23] This has been a really, a really great conversation.

[01:00:26] We're going to have to have you back on again for another set of topics because this was, this

[01:00:32] was gold.

[01:00:32] Thank you so much.

[01:00:33] Thank you.

[01:00:34] And thank you for following your purpose and path.

[01:00:36] I think this is a very important platform in that a lot of people are going to advance

[01:00:41] and be able to relax to and learn from and just take a reprieve from life from.

[01:00:46] So thank you for following your purpose and path and, and uplifting and holding the legacy

[01:00:51] that we have been given by our ancestors to utilize our voice, to utilize our resources,

[01:00:56] to help ourselves and to help each other.

[01:01:00] Yes.

[01:01:00] And on the line of that, that is really the, the purpose of verbal tea.

[01:01:04] I know it sounds like it could be a shady pop culture podcast, but really it's about tuning

[01:01:10] into our inner voices, especially as marginalized people.

[01:01:13] So much of who we are and what we think about ourselves are from voices that aren't ours.

[01:01:18] And so it's so important.

[01:01:19] It's an active revolution just to tap into your own voice and let that lead you.

[01:01:25] Yeah, exactly.

[01:01:27] So congratulations to us for uplifting our ancestral legacy.

[01:01:32] Seriously.

[01:01:33] And I mean, they deserve it.

[01:01:35] They did so much.

[01:01:36] I can even, I've done it on the page.

[01:01:38] I've gone into tangents about gospel music and how it just gets me right here.

[01:01:44] And I think that speaks to the transcendence of like, they weren't singing like that before

[01:01:48] we came along.

[01:01:49] And like the way we just put our funk on that shit, the way we, you know, gospel music,

[01:01:54] no matter what your denomination, like it will be guaranteed to move you in some way,

[01:01:59] shape or form, especially if it's coming from us.

[01:02:00] So yeah, like they, everybody has their views on Christianity and things like that because

[01:02:07] it was branded as this really cruel thing to keep us down.

[01:02:12] But when you hear gospel music, you know, that's not what they're singing to.

[01:02:16] You know, exactly.

[01:02:17] You know it.

[01:02:18] Exactly.

[01:02:19] And you could feel it.

[01:02:21] I feel gospel music like in my blood.

[01:02:23] I feel it.

[01:02:23] It runs through me.

[01:02:25] And I just, it's hard to express that to someone that isn't us.

[01:02:31] And, but they feel it too.

[01:02:34] Yeah.

[01:02:35] They feel it too.

[01:02:36] They do.

[01:02:37] They do.

[01:02:38] Well, before I let you go, I did want you to just get on your podium one time and we're

[01:02:45] going to introduce our next segment, something to sip on.

[01:02:54] All right.

[01:02:54] So when it comes to purpose, creative expression, and just being truthful with yourself, what

[01:03:02] is something you would like to leave our listeners to sip on?

[01:03:08] You know, one of the jobs that I do is the job of a death doula, which means I walk with

[01:03:14] people at the end of life and I help to usher them into the next space.

[01:03:18] And I want to tell you and remind you that the longest moment of your life is the moment

[01:03:24] before you, right before you die.

[01:03:26] That is the moment where, and it doesn't matter how you meet death.

[01:03:30] It doesn't matter if you come to it in old age, if you have a terminal illness that you

[01:03:34] make a slow walk towards it.

[01:03:36] If it happens fast, you have this moment where everything comes to you, where your, your whole

[01:03:43] life is here.

[01:03:44] And you won't remember the frivolous things, but you will remember every pertinent moment

[01:03:53] you didn't speak up.

[01:03:54] You remember every, every time you didn't, you wasted time on people who didn't love you.

[01:03:59] You will remember every time you refuse the company of those, uh, who love you.

[01:04:06] You do not know when that moment is going to be.

[01:04:09] So you take every moment to understand how you feel to the best of your ability and you

[01:04:14] express yourself because there will come a time when we, there is no do over.

[01:04:18] There will come a time when you cannot backtrack.

[01:04:21] There will come a time when you can't say what needs to be said.

[01:04:24] So you need to speak it.

[01:04:26] You need to speak your truth.

[01:04:27] You need to, to, to sing your song.

[01:04:29] You need to write your things.

[01:04:31] You need to express yourself.

[01:04:33] Um, you need to put it out there because you matter because it matters because even if not

[01:04:39] no one sees it, you will have imprinted yourself in the universe.

[01:04:42] You will have imprinted your voice.

[01:04:44] You will have imprinted your energy and that the universe will keep it and it will do something

[01:04:50] with it.

[01:04:50] You will have, it will do something with your words.

[01:04:54] It'll do something with your thoughts.

[01:04:56] So say the things, express yourself.

[01:05:00] Do not, especially as marginalized people, you know, express your anger, express your deep

[01:05:08] grief in the healthiest ways possible.

[01:05:10] Take it to the arts, take it to the earth for those two things will bring it back to

[01:05:15] you wrapped in the most beautiful and useful of gifts.

[01:05:20] Um, you will do nothing but regret those moments right before you leave.

[01:05:26] Hmm.

[01:05:26] And if you want to have the most peaceful transition ever, express yourself.

[01:05:33] If you want to have the most peaceful, you know, transition ever say what needs to be said,

[01:05:38] do what needs to be done.

[01:05:40] So that when it is your time to join the ancestors, you can do so without turmoil.

[01:05:45] You can do so without fighting and you can do so without regret.

[01:05:49] You can just meet your new life and your people with freedom and with peace.

[01:05:57] Wow.

[01:05:57] Amen.

[01:05:58] Honestly, that, that's a prayer.

[01:06:01] That's a, that's wisdom.

[01:06:02] And I'm definitely absorbing and taking that in as well as I needed to hear that today.

[01:06:10] Hmm.

[01:06:10] Well, thank you so much for giving me the time and the space and the platform to speak

[01:06:15] and for being safe space to be vulnerable.

[01:06:17] Thank you for just honoring your path and your purpose and doing what spirit said by having

[01:06:23] and hosting this amazing podcast.

[01:06:25] And I know this is going to do nothing but continue to grow and be amazing as you, you know, continue.

[01:06:32] Thank you so very much.

[01:06:34] I can't, the gratitude is just abundant.

[01:06:36] I am so grateful for the conversation we've had, um, for just you even taking a chance and connecting with me.

[01:06:43] Um, and I do want everyone to know where you would like to be found so that they can continue to support you and follow you and be led by you.

[01:06:53] Yes. Well, thank you very much.

[01:06:55] You can, um, see what I'm doing from current events.

[01:06:58] You can book a session with me at my website, which is ladies speech.com.

[01:07:02] I am on YouTube under a lady speech.

[01:07:04] Sankofa.

[01:07:05] I am on Tik TOK with, um, lady speech.

[01:07:08] Sankofa.

[01:07:08] I'm also on Instagram as well as at the lady speech experience.

[01:07:12] And you can find me via Facebook.

[01:07:15] Um, am I with my artist page or my public page, which is ladies speech, my Facebook and my Instagram have booked me buttons that will lead you to my website.

[01:07:24] So that's how you'll know you're there.

[01:07:26] There's at least no lie.

[01:07:28] Seven scammers that are imitating me.

[01:07:31] I actually, my official account, cause I just got back on Instagram is not the one that has the most followers on Instagram.

[01:07:37] So you just have to cross cross reference.

[01:07:39] Um, but my Tik TOK, you'll know it's my Tik TOK cause that has 500,000 people on there.

[01:07:45] Um, so that's got the most followers.

[01:07:47] So my link tree is in my website and actually you can get to everything via my website.

[01:07:51] So if you just remember ladies speech.com, you will get to all of my official social media.

[01:07:57] Perfect.

[01:07:58] And then we will put it in all the show notes.

[01:08:00] So if they are, they just are, uh, visual learners, they can go ahead and click on it.

[01:08:06] So we'll put that in the show notes for you guys as well.

[01:08:08] Awesome.

[01:08:09] As you know, you can follow verbal tea at verbal tea on anywhere you stream podcast, and you can follow us on social media at verbal tea time on Instagram and Tik TOK.

[01:08:19] So until next week, you guys express yourself, be true to yourself and have a great rest of your week.

[01:08:25] Bye.

[01:08:25] Bye.