Create

“Go into the arts. I’m not kidding. The arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable. Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven’s sake. Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem. Do it as well as you possibly can. You will get an an enormous reward. You will have created something.”
- Kurt Vonnegut
via (swiss-miss)

A Pep Talk for You

This video may just be the best thing that has happened to my week. 

From Kid President to you. Enjoy.

D.

Out to Beautiful, Be Back Never

This post is a long time coming. I wrote this piece a couple weeks back as I reflected on some things. I share these things because I believe in honoring my truest self. To the ladies out there, this is for you. That you may know Your Beautiful is who you are right now and that you always remember to honor it daily. To my brothers, that you may understand and continue to show love and respect for every woman's Beautiful in your lives. To my friends, my girls, this is the result of you keeping me in check. Thank you. Read, listen, reflect. 

From me to you.

D.

Out to Beautiful

Somewhere in the last six months I lost something, or rather I gave that something up. The thing you ask? - My Beautiful. You see in the last few months I've been adjusting to life after school and all that that has entailed; moving to a new city, meeting new friends, making profound self discoveries and making equally profound mistakes. The experiences I've had thus far have been humbling and entirely full of God's grace. But I've realized in the last couple of days that I seem to have lost, misplaced, no, given away My Beautiful to the place know as My Insecurities.

You ask, Girl, what is your Beautiful?  My Beautiful is something I've carried with me for a long time, even before I was born. It was given to me by my mother and God, and the multitude of great women and men in my life. It’s been passed down from generation to generation in the passage from childhood to womanhood. When I was younger, my mother taught me that absolutely nothing and nobody could take My Beautiful away, and that it was entirely my own responsibility to take care of it – to look after it. She taught me to be wary of the mirrors and glittering lights in life for they often lead you to confuse your exterior circumstances for Your Beautiful. You see, I learned that My Beautiful is not validated by people, make-up, clothes, soft whispers or the "right" words. I learned that My Beautiful is solely loved by me and that I alone am its keeper and protector. Those lessons have guided me throughout my life. Caring for My Beautiful has kept me from being moved by lingering glances, misleading advances, and vanity – most of the time. I've sought to nurture it with the mercy of God’s love, the milk of his redemption, and the confidence of these Ugandan hips. At times when I've failed My Beautiful, abandoned it for the New Thing- the glittering vanities of beauty and attention- I seek forgiveness; my apologies bathed with I love you’s, reminding it that it is, was, and will always be loved.

What I've realized as I survey these last couple of months is that I have found find myself, a growing woman, walking around without My Beautiful; that I've given it away to pursue the trivial vanities of attention and affection. These are the mirages that inhabit the land of My Insecurities, where beauty is bottled up in a pretty face, the number of likes on a picture, or how many times my phone number is exchanged. Where getting attention matters more than honoring my heart. My Insecurities is a place where good enough is validated by other’s words or opinions. Here, words are bought cheap and given effortlessly.  It’s a sick place for it lacks one thing. Truth. So with God’s help, I don’t go there often.

Please understand. I know full well were my beauty lies. Ultimately it was given to me by an outcast on a bloodied cross. He is the author, finisher, and perfector of my faith and My Beautiful. Sometimes though, it takes realizing the illusions of My Insecurities and the disappointment that comes with those illusions to recognize the necessity of honoring and safe guarding My Beautiful. Now, I’m doing just that, seeking forgiveness from My Beautiful. And as I take back My Beautiful from the place of My Insecurities, I embrace my truest beauty and all of my glorious imperfections. I see the mirages of My Insecurities for what they are: sad attempts to taint My Beautiful and hinder me from living the wild life I've been called into. Ha! Thank God it’s been a short lived detour. So I’m packing my bags. I’m leaving the place of My Insecurities and I'm taking My Beautiful with me. And I aint never coming back to this place again. 

Doris Sempasa

ps. This may have also  been inspired while jamming to some India Aria. She'll get you.

A regular man...

bold enough to dream an incredible dream. Today we honor you, your whole life, and every step you took so that we might be here.

source: pinterest via web

Love on a Sunday Afternoon

Give a look at the brilliance that follows. Film by Jamila Glass. Choreography by Adam Parson. So in love with the beautiful brown cast.This video, to the tunes of Janelle Monae's Say You'll Go. My Sunday afternoon perfection.

Love D.

Listening to Now - Oddisee

Just what I needed to start the weekend. Stumbled upon this song in the credits of a video I watched recently and immediately fell in love. This song has that Sunday Morning type of vibe. The artist is DC native and Sundanese American Amir Mohammed  el Khalifa. Anyway, check it out if you know whats good!

Music for your weekend.

D.

New Depths

This quote says everything...so excited to see what depths and heights God brings me to this year.

2013. It's officially here, and I am so excited to take in all that this year has to offer. Lots of people start the year with resolutions of what they want to do, achieve, or improve in the new year to come. I'm not so much about that, since I end up dropping whatever it is I've set out to do 3 weeks into the year. This year I'm making one promise...to go deeper. I want to love deeper. I want to explore this life to the fullest. I want to get wrecked by God's love. I want to be bold and meet new people, do new things. But even if I fail, even if I don't do all that I anticipate for this year, I want to at least say that I went all in this year. I put myself out there. I let people know who I was -all of me. That's what I want out of this year...to be ever present and taking every opportunity to live the amazing life I've been called into. Are you in?

Here are some things that I am seeking/praying for this year:

1. Diligence as I study and prepare to take my MCAT in spring. 
2. Exploring my home town of Slidell/ New Orleans, Louisiana. Meeting new people and gaining a new appreciation for the town that raised me.
3. Finding a spiritual and life mentor to help me walk through this new phase of my life.
4. A trip to India and Cambodia to explore God's love for his people. To experience the work that great people are doing to promote health and education for young girls in these countries.
5. Doing more -exercise, eating well - to take my body seriously
6. Listening better
7. Mentoring youth around me so they realize their power to do great things
8. Recognizing that I can feel the gravity of God's love everywhere - even better when you experience it whilst on top of a mountain or falling through the sky. (adventures to come!)
9. Remembering the insane amount of grace God shows me, and giving that to others without hesitation.
10. Trusting God in the process of who is making me to be and all the great things and people he has in store for me to share this adventure with.

The best is yet to come and I am so ready.

D.