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January - Ice Cream Detroit - 2nd Avenue
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As a small business owner, microentrepreneur, freelancer, or in between, the idea of grants can be enticing. Someone giving you money to help make you more successful? Who wouldn't want to apply, right? But the truth is, coming from a grant writer, the process can be brutal. It can be exhausting and frustrating, and sometimes, you may feel like you're writing into the void. The grant world is very competitive and its equally about getting to know people as much as it is about your application and narrative. Most people don't know where to start and end up quitting before they get their first win, I certainly have felt like giving up. Then there's the other side. If you're an experienced grant writer, you'll constantly get questions about your success rate, your fees being too low or too high, and if you're doing this as a part of your 9-to-5 life, it can really be exhausting. I write all of this to say, getting grants is a possibility, you just have to work for it, and that work may look like more than just applying and closing your eyes.
Every year I say I'm going to blog at least once a month, and does it happen? Of course not. Even worse. I didn't even blog once last year. I had a draft but it got lost somewhere in the shuffle of my everyday life. In my defense, last year was a lot. My dad passed and honestly it really just felt like a blur after. Birthdays, holidays, all of it. But this year, I'm going to take this task seriously. So, here we go.
In the time of Spotify Wrapped, Apple Music Wrapped, and Dating Wrapped on TicTok, I present to you, my 2024 Books Wrapped. These are books that have filled my 2024 and I hope you are Enjoy.
1. Revisiting a 2021 read, The Guilded Ones by Namina Forna. I highly recommend picking this one up if you're into Fantasy/Sci-Fi. 2. I just knew for sure I'd recommended this author before, but I can't find her on the list, so coming in at number 2, Children Trilogy (Books 1, 2, and 3) by Tomi Adeyemi. 3. How could I let this year pass without reccommending you read my books?! Number 3, The Rebel Factory Series by Germaine Pentsil. 4. My first love of writing came from my love of poetry, so I couldn't let this list not have a book of poetry. My first rec for you at Number 4 is woke up no light: poems by Leila Mottley. 5. With a look a what's ahead, of course I'd recommend something to give you perspective on what's happening in the world. Number 5 is Be A Revolution: How Everyday People are Fighting Oppression and Changing the World—and How You Can, Too by Ijeoma Oluo. 6. Coming in at number 6, Harlem Shuffle by Colsen Whitehead. 7. The Collected Poetry of Nikki Giovanni. Rest in Peace to a literary GIANT. IDL, My Soror. 8. Stories from the tenants downstairs by Sidik Fofana. 9. With a significant upcoming Mayoral race, I thought it was a great time to revisit this book and I think you should too. Whose Detroit? Politics, Labor, and Race in a Modern American City by Heather Ann Thompson. 10. Another heavy hitter, but definitely one of my favorites, Heavy: An American Memoir - by Kiese Laymon. 11. Sometimes you need a little murder mystery to distract you. That's why I picked up this book again this year, and you should too. Chocolate Covered Murder by Necole Ryse. 12. Closing it out with Lorna Simpson Collages by Lorna Simpson. Where do I begin? When I started this, my goal was to blog at least at the end of each quarter, and as we can see, that didn't happen lol. One of my biggest things is to work on my consistency when it comes to my personal projects, thoughts, and ideas. I think that's one of the biggest lessons I've learned this year in terms of sticking to getting better. I have to come to terms with the idea that I am truly my biggest and most harmful critic, and once I get over that hurdle, I can keep creating. Not to say that everything will come out perfectly, but I did it, and that's what will be the biggest success. Also, as I'm sitting here writing this, I'm also realizing that writers block can bleed over into other areas of your life and really stifle your growth and development. When I feel stuck in my writing, I feel stuck everywhere else and it's hard to get going. So, here is my rambling thoughts of other life lessons I've learned throughout this year...
2. Sometimes you have to do things by yourself. If you want to travel, go eat, have an adventure (safely), don't wait for someone to join you and miss your opportunity. 3. The way society behaves and responds to Black women today, sometimes your best is the best, even if everyone around you doesn't recognize or value it. 4. It's okay to just move on. 5. Motivation is good but consistency is better. As we come to the end of March, I sit and reflect about what I've learned this year and how its shaped my plan moving forward. These first three months have been filled with taxes, lots of questions, illness, frustration, constant evaluation, planning, sleeping, and working my butt off.
Lesson number 1: I do not need to try to finish everything at once, and I'm doing myself and my clients a disservice trying to multitask instead of focusing. Lesson number 2: There is always something to learn. Lesson number 3: When people are frustrated, they will say and do anything to throw you off. As long as you have facts on your side, you can always push forward toward the truth. Hey everyone! I'm back with new recs. These books are ones that I've picked up throughout the year and are finished or somewhere in between the pages. I hope you enjoy.
Looking for an independent place to shop new and used books? Check out ThriftBooks! Sign up for ReadingRewards using my code and when you spend $30, we both get a free book! #ShareBookLove January 2023
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Here's to a prosperous 2022, full of knowledge, growth and happy reading!
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It's January 3rd, 2021. And as I sit here, the realization hit me, I hate New Years. Now I know you're thinking "what is this girl talking about?" And if you know me, you're probably thinking "Lord, what she bout to say now?" But, let me explain. I am very big on growth, exploration and self improvement, and I believe that it's something that should continuously happen, there is no mountain peak. I'm also realizing the amount of pressure that myself (shoutout to therapy) and my peers put themselves through to be great. Now I'm not blaming millennials, but I do think that the immense pressure that we put ourselves under to make a big course correction or correct bad habits at the top of the year does nothing but set us up for failure. Think about it. None of us are strangers to imposter syndrome and we're always looking for ways to put it to bed, but somehow it creeps up on us when we least expect it. I think NYE resolutions are actually a tool that can lead to the waking of the IS beast, because if we don't achieve those milestones, we start to self-attack. Do I think we should move through this life without goals or points of change? No. I do think that we need to remove the stress and pressure around New Years change and give ourselves more grace and room to reset. Especially after the hell of a roller coaster that we had in 2020. You can be successful, your life can be meaningful, you can create change and enjoy life while doing it. But, take the time to step back and lift up some of that pressure to do everything full speed at first. Give yourself a moment to breathe and assess your path forward. It is something that I'm actively working on, and let me tell you, it's not easy. But I am actively working to lift up myself from the world's weight.
I hope you do the same. Happy New Year. |
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