Loneliness sucks.
I have been lonely before.
You do not have to be alone to be lonely. In fact, growing up I was surrounded by a big, blueberry picking, summer camp fire burning family, yet, I still felt lonely.
Why?
No one understood my world.
No one in my family, my immediate family, or my extended family shared my feelings and thoughts about my life, about being adopted.
We would pack up our car, drive to Maine, and I would stand out like a sore thumb. I would swim in lakes, trying to never touch the ground, so the leeches wouldn’t bother me, and I would bail hay as I grew older with my cousins on their farm, but it was also just me living a lonely summer. (one after another)
It was not just lonely then, it is lonely now.
It is lonely to try to explain privilege to folks, family, or friends.
To be honest, during the pandemic, I lost the ability to be around certain friends who are white because of their own ignorance, racism, and lack of awareness.
As a Black woman who was raised by a white couple, who also did not understand such concepts, I have had to learn tough concepts later in life, be ridiculed for not knowing, and I have done non stop work on deconstructing my racial identity.
I have had to unpack the whiteness that was placed on me, shed my privileged attitudes and entitled ways of carrying myself and reTHINK how I move in space.
Will you consider doing this too?
If you want to know a bit more about what I am talking about, read about this month to month session I am hosting, right here. (time sensitive, so click asap)
The more white folks get on board, the more understanding, change, and growth can happen.
The past and present life of Americans, both Black and White, hold challenges. I am not here to prove one over the other, but if you live in this country as a white person, and care about me, or other Black lives, I invite you to sit with other white folks committed to change, and let transformation take shape.
It is not enough to live around, work with, serve, or “love on” black and brown people. That communicates, “I am willing to be around but in the power position,” vs “Yes, I will intentionally invest in my own racial identity development, so I do not harbor hate, known or unknown in my life and home.” So be more than a black square poster.
If you want to change your life, just with one small step, show up.
I am looking for at least 10 more people to join this discussion based event.
P.S. if you are looking for more ways to connect, click my link tree here.
I’ve been a bit under the weather, with my first bout of COVID, but promise to reply to each email when I can!