Signed, the birthday girl xoxo

Thank you so much for all of the birthday love yesterday! I am so grateful that God allowed me to see 22 years of age. I would not be here without his grace and mercy. [Thanks to my family for the mass texts and emails. Thanks to my friends for surprising me lastnight with a lil' party. Thanks to Lea for my cake shaped like something unsavory and thanks to the Audster for working with my crazy friends to surprise me lmao. You guys are great!! ] Let's see what 22 has in store for me :)

happy belated birthday, stevi.

OH ! i turned 21 on sunday. i would tell you all about it, but ... you know. anywho, i want to thank everyone who wished me a great day, showed love, or simply gave me a little thought. it was greatly appreciated :)

i don't know what TWENTY ONE means exactly, but i can sense that this marks a different chapter in my life that will exceed anything i did before. I am finding so much peace with life - all of the triumphs, joys, tragedies & everything in between. God is allowing me to see things in a new, vibrant, enlightened way. I'm just so grateful. I love myself and i'm feeling like the world is my playground. (i wonder if i sound extremely crazy, lol...nevertheless, i have never had so much clarity).

I also want to acknowledge my sister Samantha who passed away. I thought about her a lot on my birthday and i wish she could have been here to scream at me through the telephone. I'm going to use her legacy as a constant internal reminder to cherish everyday and accept nothing but the absolute best for myself.

HBD to me indeed .

20 years , whoa . God is good .

by the grace of God .

in art class 101, my professor told me, "never erase . just keep going ." whenever i drew a line too long, or made my curves too wide, my professor was right over my shoulder to yank the eraser from my fingers . "no erasing.. the picture will come together ."

who knew i would use that same blueprint for my life . after all, aren't lives just canvases ? when we're born, we all have white surfaces on which to make our mark . i like to think we add color to a huge white surface of nothingness . no mistakes yet made, no lessons yet learned, no love yet had, no kisses yet sunken into , no loss, no joy, no waves of anxiety, no ecstasy, no guilt, no redemption ... no inevitable marks made .

some people finger paint through life, smearing colors until they like what they see . some people sketch lines on their canvas for a more structured, disciplined style . some people embrace Van Gogh's style, swirling and throwing color & recklessness until they reach some unattainable high [mind you he cut off his ear & sent it to his lover as a sign of his affection] . but i digress ...

as i approach my twentieth birthday tomorrow, i reflected on what my professor taught me . i reflected on my style of canvas collision . when i was younger, i was a charcoal artist . i made BOLD, strong lines that stood sturdy in a foundation of my parents . charcoal is known to smear; however, if you know what lines you want to make ahead of time ...you don't have to worry . i never did . for the past couple of years, i went through a watercolor phase . color and water are so hard to control . everything running around my canvas . adversity, emotion, drama run'eth over : it was like trying to catch air . Oh but NOW , i'm doing my acrylic paint thing . don't quite understand ? just watch ;]

regardless of the artistic medium applied to your life, just remember what my professor told me, "never erase, just keep going ."
[RIP khalifah muhammad, you painted brilliantly .]

ahhhh ! happy birthday bestest :)

my bestfriend . kyle christopher morgan . i love you sooo much & have a great day ! we go MIA on each other from time to time , but regardless ...i know i can depend on him and imma always be there for him . people didnt want us to be friends from the beginning, but nevertheless he stood by my side ! even with all these sus females and drama and hard times ... we still cool :) & to be honest, only my bestfriend would ask me if i wanna get turnt at 11:30am for his birthday haha . youre so talented and smart bestest and i hope and pray for you constantly . keep pushing forward 'shlizzle' lol . ily bestie & i appreciate everything you have done for me ...furreal :)have a good one !!

sweet 19 .

okay, imma little late but so what lol .



welp ! had a great time on my nineteenth birthday . friends from elementary, day camps, sisters, spelman sisters, sisters of spelman sisters, high school friends, brothers, UCLA sissies, cousins and all of the above . i love them <3>