Hey Curlfriend, I think they like you!

Dear Young Black Girl, 

To the one who is in love with words. Who’s particular about what she says and is sensitive to the words of others because she knows the volume words carry. You understand their impact. You’re particular about the way things are worded. It must hit your ear correctly. A level of vocabulary should be sprinkled in. You want to control how conversations go, because you’ve already written the responses in your head. You’re passionate. You love words. You love books. When books are made into movies, you feel as if they’re ruined. The picture you’ve created in your mind can never be matched. The complete story is never told. You watch film and television differently. You listen to the words and remark on the passion behind them. You think about the writing team and how they crafted this project. You feel off. You feel abnormal. You’re particular and thoughtful. You overrhink and retrace. No one watches movies like you. 

You picture a world where you’ll be a praised author. Pulitzer Prizes and New York Times Best Selling stickers will surround you. You’ll be held among your favorites, those you’ll name your children after: Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, Arna Bontemps. You love Black authors, you’re so passionate about your craft that you are determined to name your children those names, along with Harlem, in memorandum  of the Harlem Renaissance. You then realize that print is dying. When have you seen anyone read a book or discuss them frequently? No one is in rave about a good book anymore. They are talking about Netflix series or movies. Your love for words goes beyond print however. You love the words of Rod Serling and Steven Spielberg. You feel a particular closeness to Spike Lee and Issa Rae. 

Issa Rae changes the game for you. She’s awkward. She’s funny. She writes. She has vision. When you see her, you see yourself. She started with a blog, and birthed a web series. She now makes relatable content on an HBO series and the people of the world love her. She makes it real for you. This dream of creating  and making a difference. This dream that you surpressed with Biology classes you hate, and internships you don’t enjoy. But what you love, what excites you, what entices you, what frees you: words. Words are your dream. You dream of being surrounded by them. You dream of people engaging with your words. It brings you joy to know that people are reading when you write. 

I want you to know, your dream is real. Your dream is valid. You can write books. You can write for television. You can create movies. You can create change. If ecology, and physics can’t excite you. If you look forward to thesises and 10 page papers, it’s ok to let go of mediocrity and take a leap of faith on your gift. If you wrote your first story at 7 and your middle school teacher read it years later and told your mother it should be published, baby girl it should have been published. You’ve had signs to take your leap of faith and you ignored them. So if you needed Issa Rae to be your green light, let her be that. Take this moment where you are reaching people to realize: You are good at what you’re doing. Keep it up. 

One day you will be a successful author. You will accomplish your dream. No more self doubt, no more withholding. 

Thank yall for reading, commenting, and going through life with me as I figure it out. 😘