November 2024 – Write 2 Be

I’d like to think I’m someone who goes after all of my dreams, but the reality is that I’m not. I’ve had so many dreams that I never even tried to attain, all because I let the words of a woman who was supposed to be my biggest supporter in life halt me in my tracks. Growing up my mother used to tell me all of the things I would never be able to accomplish and somewhere along the way I started to believe her and it then became my own belief.

I can’t blame her completely because at a certain age one would think that I would have been able to tune her out, but I never did. Her words always lingered in the back of my mind and with every no, and every rejection that came my way, I started to think she must be right. That the dreams I had were pointless all along. I mean, you tend to think the people who are supposed to always believe in you and your abilities and tell you to shoot for the moon are your parents right? So, what they say must be true, right? I know I always make sure to tell my daughter that there isn’t anything she can’t do if she puts her mind to it. Because you aren’t supposed to run around crushing your child’s dreams. The world is already going to try and do that anyway.

The reality is I did not have that kind of parent who fostered and nurtured my creativity, and I don’t really know why that is. Only she can answer why she purposely tried to tear me down instead of build me up. I realize now, perhaps far too late for it to make a difference, that you should never let someone else’s opinions of you and what you can do alter what you know and believe for yourself. Even if it’s family. I could be so much more than I am right now if I had only let my own belief in me overshadow my mother’s disbelief in me.

The reality is that I am where I am in life because I lost faith, in myself and in the purpose that I believe God has for me in this world. Too many times I let what someone else said or thought I couldn’t do take away my power to even try. I am a big believer in the fact that once you have made yourself aware of where you need to improve things, that awareness will then provide you with the strength you need to take actions that will make things better. As much as I don’t like change, I know that one change I must make is to stop letting the hurtful words of others, family or not, linger in the back of my mind and dictate what I believe about myself.

I know me. I know who God created and what He created me for. I know that He did not bring me through everything that I have been through to just give up and because I know that there are people far older than I am who have pursued dreams that others also thought to be impossible, I know that what I want is not out of the realm of possibility. It doesn’t matter that one person tried their hardest to break me and break my spirit. I may bend but I will not break. I didn’t come this far to give up now.

For anyone who has let other people’s harmful words affect the way you feel about the visions you have for your life, it’s not too late to change that. Don’t give anyone else power over what you know your purpose is. They say that hurt people, hurt people, so maybe that is the excuse for those who have tried to diminish other’s ambitions, but you don’t have to let them succeed in their goal by believing a single thing they have to say. Misery loves company but you don’t have to be the company that misery is seeking to keep.

Until next time… #BeFearless #BeMindful #BeResilient

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Jimmetta Carpenter

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I would say this feels like 2016 all over again, except this feels much worse. I have been trying to figure out how to convey what I’m feeling into words all night and all morning and to say I am deeply saddened, thoroughly disgusted, and extremely terrified would be a gross understatement. Maya Angelou has a famous quote that says if someone shows you who they are, believe them. He showed us who he was, and I believe him. Now the vast majority of American people have showed me who they really are by voting this vile, disgusting, trash human being into office.

Let’s tell the truth right here and right now. It was never about Biden’s age because that man is about to be the oldest President this country has ever had. It’s not about the economy because world renowned economists have said that man’s economic plan for his second term will likely send this country into an economic downward spiral. It’s the racism and misogyny of it all. The people in this supposed great country would rather put a rapist, twice impeached, CONVICTED FELON, in office then elect a more than competent, highly capable woman of color. But y’all want us to just move on from that like it’s nothing.

People chose to put money over human rights. You felt better under Trump’s economy, but apparently you’re forgetting that his economy was the one he inherited from Obama. And because the amazing things Biden did for this economy will only start to take effect and be felt more in the next four years, once again you will be fooled into thinking that somehow it was this man’s economic plan that did it and just disregard what Biden actually did for this country. When your daughters, wives, sisters, and mothers, have their healthcare put in jeopardy because of this man’s stance on women having autonomy over their own bodies, just remember this is what you wanted.

I am worried about mine and my daughter’s rights. I am worried about our healthcare. I am worried about our quality of life being people of color in this country. I am worried about my friends who are also people of color. I am worried about my friends who are in the LGBTQ community that they won’t feel safe anywhere they go. I am worried for my friends who are immigrants or have loved ones in their lives that are immigrants. I am worried about my friends with varying disabilities, that they won’t be able to have the heath care that they not only need but deserve to have. Frankly, I am worried about this country as a whole.

I am a fighter so I know that I will get to a point where I can move past this despair that I feel to my core. However, that is not where I am at today, right now, and in this moment. Today I am feeling discouraged, I am feeling let down, and I am feeling all kinds of betrayed. I am feeling disgusted, I am feeling enraged. And I am going to let myself have these feelings today, hell maybe even tomorrow, or the rest of the week.

That said, the fight is definitely not over, and as the woman who should have been our next President said over the course of her campaign, ‘When we fight we win’ and while that win may not come for another 2 years (mid-term elections for Congress) or even another 4 years, the fight is only just beginning. We have so much more work to do to make this country what it should and could be. Stay strong everyone.

Until next time… #BeStrong #BeBrave #BeDetermined #WhenWeFightWeWin