Tag: confidence

Slam Sundays: You Will Never Be Pretty

source: www.rapgenus.com
source: rapgenus.com
The sting of those nasty words can last a lifetime. Be careful what you say, especially to those young, impressionable minds you are charged with raising.

I personally have always found the term ‘pretty’, when applied to me, to be rather insulting. As in, “just pretty??!?”. Ok, so I have a healthy level of self-confidence, bordering on being downright vain. I swear to you it’s not my fault – it’s genetic. I come from a long line of terribly vain people, a whole family of people who will swear up and down that we are made solely from “beautiful genes”.

A wonderful example of this was the time I was walking with my uncle into a mall. Looking at his muscular calves, I happened to notice they were smooth as a babies bottom. Being about 9 years old at the time, my inquisitive nature was in full bloom. “Uncle?”, I asked, at the top of my lungs, I might add, “how come you shave your legs?”. Now, being part of my conceited family, there was no hushing, or lowered tones. Nope. Instead, he answered just as loudly, “You see these sexy, muscular calves? They are irresistible…and when I want the women to come and fawn around me, all I have to do is this!”, and he stuck his calf out, and pointed with both hands…in the middle of the parking lot, clearly disrupting traffic.

So, since that isn’t even a rare example of one of my family members, or a vanity situation, it’s no wonder I subconsciously deem myself to be above simply “pretty”. Like how, whenever someone tells my mom that her daughter is beautiful, she says (more…)

Slam Sundays: Proud to Be ME – Whatever That May or May Not Be

Source: http://www.funnyjunk.com

This slam poet will knock your socks off, and boy am I happy to introduce him to my slam series with such a bang! This Black History Month, I’ve been on a journey of discovery. Not just to either learn or to reacquaint myself with the history of black people within North American Society, but to explore in-depth the issues that a black North American faces in today’s world. In this process, which I have shared with you step-by-step, I have also gotten a chance to learn a great deal about the many, many opinions you guys have, and the variety of reasons behind those thoughts and opinions. I am always so honoured when you choose to share a little piece of yourselves with me. Not only am I getting the chance to share in your insight, but you often give me a chance to further reflect on whatever topic of discussion we have at hand that day. So thank you all for that, and I look forward to hearing from you all on the rest of this journey.

So back to this Slam Sundays featured artist. His name is Boonaa Mohammed, and I have had the pleasure of seeing him perform in person. His style, his flow, are smooth as butter. But more importantly, there’s a raw, genuine honesty to his (more…)