Six Ten AM

There’s something both daunting and necessary about embracing life beyond youth. George Bernard Shaw once said, “youth is wasted on the young,” and he may have been right. We spend so much time wishing for things we’d change about ourselves or dreaming of what we could become. The irony is, we’re often so eager to grow up that we don’t realize we’re living in a time we’ll later long for. I don’t know if you can relate, Reader, but being in your 20s has to be one of the most bizarre phases of life. It feels like those transitional years between 8 and 13, when you’re trying to make sense of everything.  Except now, it’s not just about crushes, first kisses, makeup, and boybands… or is it ?  It feels like an amalgamation of childhood and adolescence merging with the confusion of young adulthood. So many of us are experiencing real love, devastating heartbreak, new interests, school, work, marriage, babies—the pandemonium is both overwhelming and exhilarating. Sometimes, it tickle...

This post discusses the sensitive topic SA A few years ago, I bought myself a pair of vintage Tommy Hilfiger jeans. If you’ve seen them, you know how cool they are. They were also my first new pair of jeans in over five years. Don’t judge; the texture of denim isn’t my favorite.   About a year later, they served as a painful reminder of a terrifying night sitting at the back of my closet. And since then, I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve worn them.  When you’ve been in any kind of danger where a man is the perpetrator, the warning bells never change, at least in my experience, and you just always know. I was given a ride from my sister’s friend’s house after an already uncomfortable evening by a family friend of theirs. Well, at least I think he was.  I felt my hackles raising and alarm peeking through my eyes, setting me tense from introductions alone. I think it was his smile. Very slimy and very familiar. Very reminiscent of the first man that ever vio...

 By Sharon C. Cooper  Summary: Morgan Redford, known for her privileged and carefree lifestyle, wants to make a meaningful difference by helping young adults aging out of foster care. She sets her sights on a property perfect for this cause, only to find her competition is ex-boyfriend Drake Faulkner, a Los Angeles real estate developer. Both are determined to win, but the eccentric owner insists they compete in a series of challenges. As tensions rise and past emotions resurface, Morgan and Drake must decide if they can stay focused on the prize or if their rekindled attraction will get in the way. My thoughts: In this book, the insertion of TikTok and reality elements feels jarring, detracting from the overall narrative. I’m not a fan of real life things in novels. I want to escape reality, not face it in literature too. The characters’ tendency to (literally) stumble through situations rivals that of Bella Swan, which is meant to be charming but often falls flat. While my d...

I’m in a bookclub with 5 lovely intellectuals, we have a bookclub called ‘On the Same Page’ and as someone with poor memory (brain fog and baby brain…I know, double homicide) and anxiety, I resorted to putting down my thoughts and feelings on our read of the month in my notes app. So I’ll be sharing my notes with you guys, perhaps you’ve read the books too and want to share your thoughts :) 

This post discusses sensitive topics including sexual abuse, victim blaming, and manipulation. Unless you’re Patrick Star, you’ve probably seen what’s been all over social media lately about Diddy— or whatever he goes by now. The man’s got fifty’leven names. First of all, let me state this: one thing about me is that I keep up with pop culture. I’m also… chronically online. There are some recurring takes that I just can’t seem to get behind, mainly because they defy common sense. Also… let’s not start throwing words like “defamation” around. Everything is public record and in court documents, so there’s no need for ‘allegedly.’ The proof was in the baby oil— I mean, pudding. Let’s talk about the Black man’s legacy first. And before anyone gets defensive, hear me out. The first example that comes to mind: R. Kelly. When he was finally found guilty, the outcry about freeing him and the claims that his conviction was part of some agenda to destroy the Black man’s legacy were deafening. It...

Motherhood is a spectrum, especially with the wide range of emotions you can experience in an hour alone. With all that in mind, there’s nothing quite like the ‘mommy police.’ Unsolicited advice is universal in parenthood, particularly in a society that infantilizes young adults while expecting them to be fully grown. It’s annoying, predictable, and utterly exhausting. What frustrates me most is the assumption that because I’m young, I don’t know what I’m doing. I welcome advice when I ask for it, but the assumption that I’m clueless simply due to my age is infuriating. I research, I prepare, and when I knew I was having a baby, I absorbed everything I could to avoid starting from zero. So, when people discredit the effort I’ve made, believing their way is better, it gets under my skin. Having children or having been where I am doesn’t mean much to me. Your experience doesn’t have to be my reality. You may have been a parent, but that doesn’t automatically mean you did it well or that ...

Recently, I asked my close friends how they’ve been healing their inner teenager. I thought I’d already begun that process when I was in therapy, but honestly, I couldn’t have been more wrong. Now, I’m left stumped, trying to figure it all out. I’ve ‘mellowed’ out a lot, though (that was a recent description of me that tickled me a bit. I’ve never thought of myself as mellow). I’m not as angry as I used to be—it takes too much energy, and I just don’t have the time to focus on people who probably never cared about my feelings in the first place. It’s a strange kind of clarity that comes when you realize you no longer need to hold space for people who’ve contributed to your misery.  For so long, I tried to be the bigger person, to maintain relationships with people who actively chose to align themselves with my bullies. People who made me feel small when all I ever did was defend them. But I’m done with that. I don’t owe anyone who has caused me pain any more of my niceness or sympa...