Tag: journey

It’s Just a Bend in the Road

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Being an entrepreneur has its ups and downs and in the beginning it tends to come with a lot more downs than ups. Unless you are extremely lucky or just know all of the right people, you will more than likely be working at trying to get your name out there and get to that place of true financial comfort in your entrepreneurial status for quite some time. 

I think when I decided that I wanted to own my own business and pursue creative entrepreneurship I was naïve in thinking that just a year or two would be the magic number. The truth is, there is no magic number. I mean I’ve been at this for more years than I care to admit and honestly I’m still not there yet. I will say that I’ve come a very long way and in the past year and a half I’ve come even further than I imagined and that was because I did something that wasn’t comfortable for me.

I started a YouTube channel (link is below) and when I did I had no idea just how much it would change things, and I don’t really mean in terms of money (because I’m not yet making anything with that channel- yet), but in terms of pushing me past my comfort zone. It’s enabling me to reach people I might not ordinarily be able to reach, gaining a writing support system that I didn’t realize I needed, and making me more comfortable speaking on camera which will go far for certain future endeavors I have planned down the road. The lessons I have learned and the community that I have gained in having this channel is priceless.

Striking out on your own is hard. It’s oftentimes a thankless effort to have a creative business because quite frankly, a lot of people don’t treat creative businesses the same as they do other non creative businesses. You will have days where your hope starts to fade and your resolve to hang in there weakens. You’re wondering what it’s all for if it hasn’t happened yet. Don’t give up.

Your journey will not be obstacle free and this is definitely not for the faint of heart. Keep in mind that the road to your destination is full of curves and if you’re feeling stuck right now it’s not because it’s over, but rather you’ve hit a bend in the road. You can’t see to the other side right now but I promise you, if you keep going beautiful things are coming just around the bend.

Until next time… #BePatient #BeHopeful #BePersistent 

Jimmetta Carpenter 

Writer/Editor 

https://write-2-be.com/

http://write2bemagazine.com/

https://www.amazon.com/author/jccarpenter

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

https://www.facebook.com/Write2BeMagazine

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJCCarpenter

https://www.write2bematters.com

https://twitter.com/jcladyluv 

https://twitter.com/write2bemag 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPU35EkFSbuxgekCp4LfI5g

Side note:  I have a new Author Newsletter that I would love it if you signed up for http://www.tinyletter.com/Author_JCCarpenter

Another Side Note: If any of you would like to buy me a coffee and donate to my creative endeavors then please feel free to https://ko-fi.com/authorjccarpenter

The Numbers Don’t Always Tell the Full Story

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They say that numbers don’t lie and I think to a degree that is certainly true but I don’t believe you get the full picture of anything when you are solely looking at the numbers. I released my novel out into the world last Friday (https://www.amazon.com/author/jccarpenter) (yes on the 13th, I know) and I was asked by a couple of different people if I had checked out the numbers yet to see how many people purchased my book on the first weekend of its release. I simply said ‘no, it’s not the most important thing so I’ll look at it later.’

Now I don’t mean that to suggest that I don’t care whether or not people buy my book because I absolutely want people to not only buy the book, but to like or even love the book. When I say that it’s not important I mostly meant that I had to manage my expectations and to do so I had to see the bigger picture of what mattered.  What mattered the most to me was getting it out there, for starting to ball rolling on what I intend to be a very lengthy publishing career where I roll out at least two books a year if not more.

What matters is that I can say that I am a published author and people can go and look at what I produced and what I am very proud of. What matters, maybe more than even those things, is the people who may have been afraid to put their work out there, who actually read my blogs or watch my YouTube channel and see that I’ve done it and feel motivated and inspired to do the same. If I can be a light on someone else’ dark journey, that to me matters more than just about anything. There is so much that I want to do with my writing career but above anything else is to be an inspiration to others.

I am not going to lie and say that I don’t want to sell a ton of books and have people love them as much as or even more than I do but my purpose is always to affect someone else’ life in some way, even if it’s just in a tiny, miniscule way. Don’t we all just want to make a difference? Isn’t that what we are all walking this earth for, to make an impact on other people’s lives?  Just in releasing my book I have been sent messages on Twitter, through email, and Facebook about how inspired people were that I just didn’t give up, or how proud they were of me. That means more than any analytics report.

In this life we can’t always rely on the numbers to convey the impact we have on one another. The numbers don’t calculate the fire you may light under someone else simply because you didn’t give up on your dreams. The numbers don’t take into consideration that person who reads something you wrote and came acroos just the right words that they needed to get the help they’ve been too proud to ask for. The numbers are just that, numbers. They don’t determine the heart of a person or the impact one leaves behind on another.  So don’t focus so much on the numbers that you forget about the purpose of why you’re doing everything that you’re doing in the first place.

Until next time… #BeBold #BeMindful #BeMotivated

Jimmetta Carpenter 

Writer/Editor 

https://write-2-be.com/

http://write2bemagazine.com/

https://www.amazon.com/author/jccarpenter

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

https://www.facebook.com/Write2BeMagazine

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJCCarpenter

https://www.write2bematters.com

https://twitter.com/jcladyluv 

https://twitter.com/write2bemag 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPU35EkFSbuxgekCp4LfI5g

Side note:  I have a new Author Newsletter that I would love it if you signed up for http://www.tinyletter.com/Author_JCCarpenter

Another Side Note: If any of you would like to buy me a coffee and donate to my creative endeavors then please feel free to https://ko-fi.com/authorjccarpenter

I’ll Clap For You While I’m Waiting

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I saw a post by one of my friends on Facebook the other day and it just had such a great message and in that message there’s a bit of a lesson. It read “Until it is my turn I will keep clapping for others.” It goes in line with the theory that we should be lifting people up and not waiting for them to fall.  I truly believe that if you can’t learn to celebrate the wins of others than you will never truly win when it comes to your endeavors.

I don’t mean that you will never get a victory of some sort in your life but just question to yourself, how can we expect good to come to us in our lives if we are secretly hoping and wishing that other people fail so that we can take their place. And whether you know it or not, there are people sitting in the corner just waiting for you to fail. Those would also be the same people, at least I have found, that are also constantly wondering why nothing good ever happens to them.

I’m not going to sit here and pretend that when I was younger, in my late teens, maybe early twenties, that I didn’t get slightly jealous of other writers who I may have thought were not quite as talented as me who were getting major book deals and opportunities that I thought I would have been getting at that age. However, looking back now, those same people who got those early wins are also people who I have never seen a second book from and who are now trying to ‘find themselves’ because they didn’t know what to do with the success they had that early on. I think I would’ve been one of those people. I think that I would have not known what to do with success at that point in my life and that it was in my best interest that I had to work a little (okay a lot) harder to get any kind of acknowledgement. 

I stopped being jealous of other people’s wins somewhere in my mid to late twenties because I realize that there is enough room for all of us to win. There doesn’t have to be just one winner or one successful person. I don’t have to be jealous because someone is getting a win at the right time for them because I know that my turn will eventually come, when it’s time for it to come. I celebrate the wins of everyone because whether they know it or not they are lighting the path for me to come behind them and when it is my turn I hope I light the way for someone else. 

I really think that we have to learn to cheer on those on the journey alongside us because in a sense when they win so do you. You learn something from their win, you gain wisdom from their win, and you are motivated to push harder by their win and that in itself is the prize.  Clap for your brothers and sisters racing this race called life beside you because there is room for us all to cross that finish line.

Until next time… #BePositive #BePersistent #BeMotivated 

Jimmetta Carpenter 

Writer/Editor 

https://write-2-be.com/

http://write2bemagazine.com/

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

https://www.facebook.com/Write2BeMagazine

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJCCarpenter

https://twitter.com/jcladyluv 

https://twitter.com/write2bemag 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPU35EkFSbuxgekCp4LfI5g

Side note:  I have a new Author Newsletter that I would love it if you signed up for http://www.tinyletter.com/Author_JCCarpenter

Another Side Note: If any of you would like to buy me a coffee and donate to my creative endeavors then please feel free to https://ko-fi.com/authorjccarpenter

When the Journey to the Dream Gets Frustrating Just Keep Praying for Strength

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The way my determination is set up, I can’t quit! That sounds like such an obvious statement right?  I know you’re probably saying of course you’re not going to quit! People don’t just quit on their dreams! Oh but you would be surprised how many people I see give up right before they get everything they wanted. Being an entrepreneur or a self-employed creative individual is extremely hard work and it is not for the faint of heart and there are so many, many days where you are going to want to quit, you just can’t.

I had one of those days last week where I really was just like “I put a lot of work into all of this and I have not begun to see the results I need to see by now and maybe it’s just all for nothing” and that thought process can really alter your level of effort sometimes if you let it. By the end of that day of feeling like that I ultimately decided that I was not going to be the real life version of that cartoon character drawing where you see the little man picking his way underground and he gives up just before breaking through the wall to the other side. Also in the same cartoon drawing there’s a mirror image of the man picking his way and that little man actually makes it through to the other side of the wall. And why is that? That would be because he didn’t give up. I was not going to be the one who got so close and gave up right before the moment I achieved what I wanted. 

As all of you here know I have been at this for a long time and the scope of what I want to do overall with my writing and my brand is vast and I get frustrated sometimes when I see people doing something similar to what I’m trying to do and they make a huge mark for themselves in such a quick time but then I also know that I will look for some of those same names a few years later and nothing and what I’m going for is longevity and longevity takes time. 

I have created products that I’ve been working on creating for the last couple of years now and finally they are out there in the world and I’m not seeing what I want to see yet but I know that it is going to take time. The only question is am I willing to wait and of course the answer to that is yes.

I have a book coming out in August (well it’s actually the re-release of my first novel) and I want it to do well but am I going to get the support I am hoping to get? I don’t know the answer to that. I do know that I have several more books to put out after that and that if I quit on the first one, the others will be most likely doomed before they even get out there. 

I suppose the point of this post is to remind those of you out there with your big dreams and your ambitious drive to be your own boss and to make doing what you love your source of income and your job that it’s going to take time. Time in which you are you going to have to put an extreme amount of effort for what is going to feel like not nearly enough support for what it is you do and what you bring to the table. 

Time in which you are going to be the only one who sees the bigger picture of what it is you’re trying to accomplish. Time in which the dream is not going to make sense to anyone else and you will have the people who say they love and support you telling you to give up, that it’s not worth it in the end. Don’t listen to them! Those are the people without dreams at all or the one’s who stopped short of breaking through and just gave up. I know you are going to get tired and frustrated and even angry, but just don’t quit! You’ll never get there if you do!  You just have to keep praying for strength when the journey to the dream starts to get frustrating.

Until next time… #BeFearless #BePersistent #BeInFaith

Jimmetta Carpenter 

Writer/Editor 

https://write-2-be.com/

http://write2bemagazine.com/

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

https://www.facebook.com/Write2BeMagazine

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJCCarpenter

https://twitter.com/jcladyluv 

https://twitter.com/write2bemag 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPU35EkFSbuxgekCp4LfI5g

 

Side note:  I have a new Author Newsletter that I would love it if you signed up for http://www.tinyletter.com/Author_JCCarpenter

And if any of you would like to buy me a coffee and donate to my creative endeavors then please feel free to https://ko-fi.com/authorjccarpenter

Be Grateful Standing In Your Present

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Photo Credit: Risa Rodil |www.risarodil.com

“You can’t wait until life isn’t hard anymore before you decide to be happy.”

~Nightbirde 

The news has been really heavy lately and it feels like if there isn’t one thing then it’s another and you might think that it would make me less optimistic and less hopeful. You would be wrong. I used to think that it was a load of crap when people said that if you get your spiritual walk in life on track then everything else will fall into place. I just didn’t think that it could be as simple as being consistent with my daily devotionals and daily spiritual motivation along with my long and extended daily talks with God plus a healthy dose of manifesting the life I want. I, as usual, found that I was wrong.

In a time where things are definitely not certain and the world is at its highest level of chaos that I’ve seen since probably 9-11, I have to say that I have never felt more at peace in my life. And it’s not that I have anything figured out (because I assure you that I do not) and it’s not that I have become suddenly successful and have stepped into complete financial security either (because that definitely has not happened yet). I can only say that my peace comes from knowing that God already has everything worked out for me in whatever way he needs for it to happen in order for me to fulfill the purpose I am here to fulfill. 

I heard the above quote from a young lady who auditioned for America’s Got Talent and who is currently suffering with a terminal cancer in which she was told that she only has a 2% chance of survival and her attitude about it was that “hey it’s not 0% and I’m going to live while I can” and I loved her outlook.  She basically pointed out that you can’t just keep waiting for the day things get better because they might not and then what.

It’s the same when you are working towards accomplishing your dreams the way I have been aggressively doing so (and sometimes not as aggressive as necessary) for what feels like forever now. There are good days when I seem right on the cusp of something big about to happen and then other days where I am acutely aware of how far away my goals truly are. It doesn’t matter how many bad days I have, I can’t just give up and stop now. I can’t just throw in the towel on my dreams because of the hard days that I have along the journey.

The way I see it (or at least how I see it now that I have grown and matured lol) is that the hard days are going to be so worth it when I reach the actual goal. And even then, I’m just going to create another goal and extend the journey. As long as you are given another day to breathe on this earth you have to be grateful for each day that you get and be happy no matter how hard the day was because you are here, and you are present, and God is giving you another chance each day he wakes you up. Don’t squander the time you have here by dwelling on how hard the day may be. Be thankful that you are alive to get through the tough days so that you can better enjoy the good ones that are surely to come.

Until next time…#BeBold #BePresent #BeGrateful

Jimmetta Carpenter 

Writer/Editor 

https://write-2-be.com/

http://write2bemagazine.com/

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

https://www.facebook.com/Write2BeMagazine

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJCCarpenter

https://twitter.com/jcladyluv 

https://twitter.com/write2bemag 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPU35EkFSbuxgekCp4LfI5g

Side note:  I have a new Author Newsletter that I would love it if you signed up for http://www.tinyletter.com/Author_JCCarpenter

And if any of you would like to buy me a coffee and donate to my creative endeavors then please feel free to https://ko-fi.com/authorjccarpenter

When One Chapter Closes…

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For the last week or so I’ve been doing last minute prepping details for my daughter’s high school graduation. It’s been a mixture of things from frustrating (just because of the tediousness of all the details), and exciting, and of course extremely emotional. Even though my daughter technically turned 18 on the first day of May I knew my actual job wasn’t really done until she successfully walked across that stage and received her high school diploma.

And yes, of course I know that a parent’s job is never actually done, but from birth until high school graduation is one really long chapter and once it closes the next chapter is going to look a bit different. I know this next chapter is going to be me parenting an adult child. I have to balance knowing when to trust that I raised her well enough to make the right decisions for herself and her newly adult life while knowing when to covertly sneak in and steer her in the direction I know is best for her but still making her think it was all really her choice lol.

I’m laughing but not really because isn’t that what we do when you strongly advise them to do something, giving them the benefit of our experiences. After that we just cross our fingers and hope they make the right call and that if they don’t make the choice we would’ve made, pray that your child is right and you are actually wrong because then that means they will be okay.

I am praying that I did a good enough job and that I instilled in her what she needs to make the decisions that will make her journey, not easy, but worthwhile.  I don’t know how this new chapter of parenting and this brand new chapter of adulthood for my child is going to go and I wish I can say I’m one of those people who embrace the excitement of finding out along the way but you guys know that I am not that person lol. 

I just pray that this next chapter for her will be everything that she wants it to be and that I will be able to be there for her in the way that pushes her forward and motivates her because I didn’t have a mother that cheered for my dreams and that supported my creative endeavors. I didn’t have a mother that I could even go to for advice about how best to follow my dreams so I have tried to be that for my daughter.

I just hope that I did my job well so that she can walk her journey with confidence and assuredness that she can, in fact, have everything that she dreams of, as long as she’s willing to put in the work for it. Graduation day is tomorrow and thus this chapter will be closed and a new one can begin. I’m just crossing my fingers and I’m going to cheer her on the whole way through.

Until next time… #BeBrave #BeEmpowered #BeFearless

 

Jimmetta Carpenter 

Writer/Editor 

https://write-2-be.com/

http://write2bemagazine.com/

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

https://www.facebook.com/Write2BeMagazine

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJCCarpenter

https://twitter.com/jcladyluv 

https://twitter.com/write2bemag 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPU35EkFSbuxgekCp4LfI5g

Side note:  I have a new Author Newsletter that I would love it if you signed up for http://www.tinyletter.com/Author_JCCarpenter

And if any of you would like to buy me a coffee and donate to my creative endeavors then please feel free to https://ko-fi.com/authorjccarpenter

Slow and Steady Makes the Journey Worthwhile

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I would be telling the biggest lie I’ve ever told if I said that I wasn’t one who was hoping to write something spectacular and hit it big immediately and become rich within the first five years of my writing career.  As you may have guessed, that has not happened. Not only have I not hit it big in name recognition or notoriety but I am so far from rich it’s not even remotely funny. In fact I’m going to let you in on a little secret (that’s not really so secret if you’ve been paying attention lol) but I am not even all that financially stable. I am literally just getting by, and barely.

Where am I going with this, you ask? Simply that sometimes quick and easy is overrated and slow and steady really is the right pace we all should be going. I have had so many experiences, both good and bad, along this journey that is my writing career and there was a time that I would have wished all of the struggles I’ve had away but I realize in doing that I would wish away all of the experiences I’ve had with them. Some of those experiences, especially the bad ones, strengthened me and made me into a much better writer and while you never stop growing as a writer, those experiences were vital.

I think that once I get to the level of success that I am striving for (the first level anyway), I will be far more grateful given all of the long, hard, and oftentimes depression filled years that it took to get me to that place. I have recently launched a few things and am moving closer to re-releasing my first novel with it’s new cover and releasing my poetry books, all while working on new novel projects as well and I am so excited for the day when I can say I have like ten published books (because that day is coming lol).

I think most of all I will look back on this slow (depressingly slow) and steady journey and be thankful that everything didn’t just speed by so quickly and that it wasn’t an easy road because as I’ve said here before, I don’t believe that anything worth having is ever going to be easy to obtain. I want a long steady and very successful career as an author, one with a legacy I can pass down to my daughter and I think maybe that means that the journey needs to be long and steady as well. We would do better to remember that it’s not about how fast you get to where you are going, it’s about making sure that you actually get to where you’re going and hopefully as prepared as you possibly can be. Faster isn’t always better.

Until next time… #BeGrateful #BeDiligent #BePatient 

Jimmetta Carpenter 

Writer/Editor 

https://write-2-be.com/

http://write2bemagazine.com/

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

https://www.facebook.com/Write2BeMagazine

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJCCarpenter

https://twitter.com/jcladyluv 

https://twitter.com/write2bemag 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPU35EkFSbuxgekCp4LfI5g

Side note:  I have a new Author Newsletter that I would love it if you signed up for http://www.tinyletter.com/Author_JCCarpenter

And if any of you would like to buy me a coffee and donate to my creative endeavors then please feel free to https://ko-fi.com/authorjccarpenter

The Patches in Our Quilts

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I was listening to an old Tyler Perry acceptance speech that talked about his grandmother’s quilt and how at first he was ashamed of the quilt his grandmother had left him because it wasn’t appealing to the eye. He spoke about learning how to eventually appreciate the patches in his grandmother’s quilt because he had to come to realize that every patch that went into making the quilt she left him told a story of an area in her life and her quilt was the overall story of her life and she was leaving that to him. Initially he hadn’t even understood the enormity of the legacy she had left him. It made me think about whether or not we always understand the value of our patches.

I have often at different points in my life of course, felt shame for some tough lessons I had to learn the hard way. I’ve felt regret for opportunities that I have been too afraid to take and for decisions that I couldn’t take back.  Now that I have just crossed into my forties and I have spent the last few years growing both spiritually and mentally, I have come to believe that those moments in my life that I used to want to take back have made me who I am, for better or for worse.

While I would have loved not to have learned some of the lessons I’ve learned the hard way I wonder if I would have ever learned them otherwise.  Would I have ever been pushed forward without the hardships that I’ve had? If I hadn’t been knocked down so many times would I have developed the tenacity and persistence to be able to keep getting back up and pushing harder for what I want?

All of our experiences in life give us something to take into the next phase of our journeys’. They prepare us and toughen us up for what will undoubtedly be a bumpy road to the success you’re striving for.  The failures that you’ve had in life are not what you should dwell on because those failures mean that you actually tried. One thing is for certain and that is that you can’t succeed at anything without ever having tried. 

My mistakes are what have strengthened me and they are patches in my life’s quilt. I am very proud to sew them together and see just how far I’ve come even if I still have quite a ways to go.  I hope to be able to pass the quilt of my life down to my daughter so that she can then be able to know my story. Perhaps she will add her own patches to the quilt to pass down to her kids in the future.  Everyone needs to be proud of the patches that they have in their quilts and not just proud but understand the value in every single patch.

Until next time… #BeBold #BeFearless #BeGateful

Jimmetta Carpenter 

Writer/Editor 

https://write-2-be.com/

http://write2bemagazine.com/

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

https://www.facebook.com/Write2BeMagazine

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJCCarpenter

https://twitter.com/jcladyluv 

https://twitter.com/write2bemag 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPU35EkFSbuxgekCp4LfI5g

We Can’t Judge Someone Else’s Walk

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When someone dies, celebrity or otherwise, there is always a slew of prayers and condolences going out to the family and a wave of Rest In Peace’s throughout social media. It’s the ordinary person’s way of expressing their sadness for the loss of life and I think it’s wonderful that we show that expression of sorrow and compassion for the family and friends that are left behind. What I don’t understand is those who will judge that person’s lifestyle and assume to know what their relationship may or may not have been with God (thus making ignorant claims that the person isn’t going to heaven because of the life they’ve lead) as if they were somehow privy to all of their private moments.

One’s relationship with God is their own and seemingly private and I think that it annoys me when people quote parts of the bible without remembering some of the other crucial parts of it. Now I will admit that I can not quote nearly any of the bible other than some of my most favorite scriptures but I know that in the bible it makes it clear that God loved both sinners and saints equally and that he is unbelievably forgiving to those who have been deemed “unredeemable” to the rest of the world.

I don’t make a practice of trying to figure out what someone else’s relationship with God is, for one because I’m still working on strengthening my own. I know that each person will have their own special bond and only God knows what’s in someone’s heart. I just question where some get the nerve to judge the life anyone has lead and determine for themselves where they are going when their spirit leaves this earth. I also distinctly remember the bible saying (and I’m paraphrasing here) ‘judge not, lest ye be judged’ so I think that we should spend more time concerning ourselves with our own walk in life and making sure that what we’re doing is what we perceive is the right thing to do for us and our own journey, spiritually, personally, and professionally. 

We spend far too much time judging other people for things that we can’t possibly know and frankly for things that have absolutely nothing to do with the path that we are currently on. I think I spent far too much time myself, in my younger years, worrying about what everyone else was doing in relation to me, instead of just focusing on my journey, and what I was doing and how I was going to get to where I needed to be. We get sidetracked trying to determine what other people are doing with their lives and where they might go at the end of it and really it’s not for us to say.

When we lose someone, or when someone we love or admire and are inspired by passes on I would hope that we focus on the wisdom they imparted and on the gifts they gave to the world (I don’t mean material or monetary gifts) and how they enriched our lives. I would hope that the worst things or mistakes we’ve ever made in our lives would not be the way that others judged the legacy that we leave behind. We should always strive to remember the best that someone had to offer this world, never the worst.  I hope that you always think before you judge the walk of another person.

Until next time… #BeMindful #BeEncourged #BeGrateful

 

Jimmetta Carpenter 

Writer/Editor 

https://write-2-be.com/

http://write2bemagazine.com/

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

https://www.facebook.com/Write2BeMagazine

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJCCarpenter

https://twitter.com/jcladyluv 

https://twitter.com/write2bemag 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPU35EkFSbuxgekCp4LfI5g

We’re Not Always Going to Like What We See, But We Still Need to See It

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Before this year even started it was dubbed the year of perfect vision. It was supposed to be the year of clarity and clarification and of people leveling up in their lives. Then the world came crashing to a halt and between the Corona Virus that hit us like a tanker truck and the police brutality that has had a shiny spotlight placed on it which has led to social unrest that we haven’t seen the likes of possibly since the civil rights movement, people are just exhausted: mentally, physically, and emotionally.

We’ve essentially been on lockdown for the better part of this year and have had protests and marches to try to combat racial injustices across the country simultaneously. On top of that we’ve lost so many people as well as influential celebrities this year, some to COVID-19 and some to other illnesses like the most recent loss of Chadwick Boseman (Black Panther) which hit really hard for the black community and especially our younger black children who finally got to see a superhero on the big screen that looked like them.

Even with all of that I am still willing myself to see the positive somehow because it doesn’t do any good to dwell and sit in the negative. 2020 may have not been the clarity and clarification that everyone thought we were going to get this year but I implore you to see just how this has actually lived up to the year that people thought it would, it just didn’t look the way that people thought it was going to. I think that if people truly think about what they gained from this year instead of solely focusing on what they might have missed out on or lost then you may be able to see it the way I see it.

Obviously I’m not saying that we should have had the record number of deaths that we have had since COVID-19 hit us because in my mind nobody’s life is ever expendable. However, the lockdown that has transpired in light of COVID-19 has not only slowed some people down who might have needed to slow down a bit, but it also gave something to all of those people who I hear say they would spend more time with their family if only they had the time.

Well during the lockdown, unless you were a frontline worker, you had nothing but time to spend with your children and your loved ones and to focus on so many things that you would have ordinarily taken for granted. For writers with full time jobs who were sidelined due to the lockdown, you then had plenty of time to actually sit down and write the book that you always claimed you never had time for.

Also, during the lockdown, I’m not sure if you all are aware of this, but the hole that was growing in the ozone layer actually had a chance to shrink because everyone was at home and the earth could finally breathe. I read reports from people who lived in places where the air was normally foggy say that the air was actually clear for a change. For the first time in years Spring actually felt like Spring and not just an early Summer.    

In terms of the social unrest, I think that 2020 has highlighted a racial problem this country has that people had either started to believe had gotten better, or their eyes were just closed to the reality of the fact that there is a different American experience for a different set of people in this country. It’s not a reality that is new (especially if you are black in America), it is just a reality that people are actually paying more attention to now. 2020 didn’t bring about these realities, they did however, make people more aware of them.

This year may not be everything that you planned for it to be but that doesn’t mean that it didn’t make some things clearer for a vast majority of people. Hopefully it made it clearer to people what is more important. That there are things that we take for granted and that we have a chance to turn around so that we can refocus on what matters. I hope it made it clear how much damage we have done to this earth, that staying home and essentially not being outside in the world starts to actually heal some of the climate issues that we have been having for a while now. I hope that it peeled back the curtain on the fact that there are two American experiences happening here when there should only be one and maybe people can finally do something about the problem that they were closing their eyes to before.

It’s true, 2020 has been a hell of a year, one like no other, and it’s been hard. Everything that is hard and rough is essentially going to teach us something. The question is are you going to only focus on all that went wrong with this year of perfect vision or are we going to truly see the things that we had already been taking for granted for far longer than we should have been. Our vision was made clear this year, it just wasn’t what we had wanted to see. God always opens our eyes and gives us the ability to see what we need to, but he never said that what we would see would always be pretty. Until next time… #BeFocused #BeMotivated #BeGrateful

 

Jimmetta Carpenter 

Writer/Editor 

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