jamilah LEMIEUX

#MiniMilah: that's a little baby

Thu, 02 May 2013 16:37:20 -0400

the worst shame so far, however, came when #MiniMilah got fussy on a walk and i knew i wouldn’t be able to get her to an appropriate place to feed. we had no choice but to stop in the ATM lobby of a chase bank. i had a bottle of breast milk with me, so i didn’t have to pull my boobs out for once….

#MiniMilah: do you know what today is?

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 17:16:23 -0400

#MiniMilah: do you know what today is?:

naimafreedom:

it’s #MiniMilah’s 1-month-birthday!

i sorta accidentally celebrated this on friday, because she was born on a friday and so four fridays, in my mind, equalled a month. but someone corrected me. math is hard, her dad will have to teach her that, i am not even going to try to do that shit.

…

#MiniMilah: the night i went on breastfeeding strike

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 12:54:10 -0400

#MiniMilah: the night i went on breastfeeding strike :

naimafreedom:

i am breastfeeding, which is something I decided to do for many reasons. actually, just for two: it’s best for the baby and it helps you lose the baby weight.

sn: it doesn’t even feel right calling it “baby weight.” it should really be “cookie weight” or “au bon pain weight” or “kraft macaroni…

#MiniMilah: cry it out.

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 14:35:35 -0400

#MiniMilah: cry it out. :

i am blogging baby pics and mommy (mis)adventures at a new tumblr!

naimafreedom:

today, i tried the “cry it out” sleep training method, in which you ignore the impassioned cries of your beloved child and confirm her belief that you stopped caring about her the moment you cruelly evicted her from her comfortable womb home.

after 10 minutes, MOMMY could no longer take it. i…

Happy 2-week-birthday to the youngest in charge, Naima Freedom!

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 16:26:02 -0400

Happy 2-week-birthday to the youngest in charge, Naima Freedom!

.02 on "Bow Down" (#minuswell)

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 12:50:00 -0400

Quick thought about “Bow Down”- I wish I had written it or that someone else had. I like the production and the hook. I dont mind profanity. I like the taste of curse words. And I like the hip-hop inspired boasting in theory. But Special Ed rapping about having a place in the shade and Cascade was fun. Millionaires rapping to audiences of poor folks about being richer than poor folks is not as fun. I feel the same when Bey tells her lessors all her accomplishments. Her name is a resume. She could have the hook from her husband’s “What More Can I Say” play every time she exits a room and it would be like “Yup, pretty much.” When even your haters can run down your entire resume and admit that it’s impressive, you don’t need receipts You ARE a receipt.

But that doesn’t mean it can’t be fun for her to boast and talk shit like everyone else. It just, for me, would have been cooler for “Bow Down” to be more anthemic than personal. A song for everyone who just wants to tell some weak MF to bow in the presence of greatness, even if that’s the greatness of someone who makes $30k and can walk into their local corner store without being recognized.

Plus, the part about being in the Willie D. video was kind of funny. I sorta get it as a nod to the screw music on the track because of the Texas connection. But it read like a classic Buppie girl grasping at a ‘hood pass. You don’t need one, ma. The ‘hood loves you! Plus, you were in the video at 14 because your dad was hustling to get his girl group put on, not because you were sneaking out the house to go roll with the thugs. I used to stay up late and listen to the Boot Camp Clik, but I wouldn’t say that makes me an OG of sorts. Just someone who liked dirty rap music even in my youth. Like Beyonce. Celebrities: they’re just like us!

There are people who think I shouldn’t curse publicly because I work for an icon brand. (Whoops, sorry!) So I can’t imagine the pressure of being celebrated by the first Black First Family, which puts Bey under the craziest microscope ever. But I do think we can do a nasty, grimy “who’s badder than me” boast track better than this. I’m a good writer, Beyonce. Call me. You can absolutely have the credits, I just need the check.

"I wish that Quvenzhané could enjoy her newfound fame without these hard-earned Black girl lessons,..."

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 11:15:47 -0500

“I wish that Quvenzhané could enjoy her newfound fame without these hard-earned Black girl lessons, but they would have caught her on the block, in the classroom, on the internet at some point even if she hadn’t garnered an Oscar nod. The outpouring of praise and love for the young actress is exceptional, but the disrespect? When you’re Black and female, it is to be expected. When you are self-possessed and in the public eye on top of that? It’s on another level.”

- from “Quvenzhane Wallis Is No Joke”

Black Folks Ain't Never Satisfied

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 09:32:00 -0500

Common is one of my favorite rappers, but he isn’t exactly known for punchlines and bars that become everyday quotations. However, he gave us a line on “The Sixth Sense” that is damn near tattoo-worthy:

If I don’t like it, I don’t like/that don’t mean that I’m hating

Amen and ase.

Not everyone subscribes to the Chicago emcee’s philosophy. Thus, the preponderance of comments along the lines of “Black people don’t like anything! We always gotta complain about something!” in response to any of criticism of anything presented to or by us.

I sincerely believe that if Sarah Palin drove up and down 125th Street handing out watermelon and fried chicken, the offended parties would be accused of hating: “Y’all need to quit because you know you like Crown Fried and somebody was trying to do something nice for you!”

If a “Black” film was released by a famous White director and featured nothing but 175 minutes of an esteemed Black actor saying “Nigga. Niiiiiiigggggga! Nigguh! Nigga!,” anyone who penned a less than 3.5 star review would be a hating-ass hater who would have loved the same movie had Spike Lee or Tyler Perry made it.

A book review that says anything less flattering than “At least she tried to write a book, that’s a lot of work, so good for her. Support it” is just evil, Black-specific crabs-in-a-barrel thinking that keeps us from growing as a people.

If President Obama shut the doors of every HBCU in the country, some Colored person would loudly challenge any protest and say that we need to be glad that we have a Black president in the first place and we ain’t never gonna have another one if we don’t show some gratitude.

There is one noteworthy exception: Black-owned businesses. Somehow, even the same folks who don’t want you to say nothing bad about any book, movie or notable have room in their hearts to find fault in them. Your food came out 3 minutes late at Big Mama’s House of Grits on a busy Sunday? That’s because BLACK BUSINESSES ARE THE WORST. Always and forever.

In all seriousness, while “hating” (finding fault when there is none, being dismissive and biting for no other reason than being nasty) is a real and ugly thing, I don’t know why so many of our cousins can’t engage or understand the value in legitimate criticism, or that it’s quite all right for folks not to like, celebrate or respect everything.

I’m tempted to call it “chitlin syndrome.” When one is used to being fed scraps and given meager crumbs, they might become appreciative of things that other folks would dismiss as trash. Such as, well, chitlins. We don’t get that many movies! You gon’ keep complaining this one and they ain’t never gonna give us no mo’.

How dreadful.

I also think that charges of hating are sometimes easier to lob than, say, a well-reasoned defense against whatever criticism of said movie, songstress, leader, etc. If you don’t know how to engage or understand what the critic has said, you can just brush them off with “Why you mad?” and hope that they go away.

There’s also those misguided attempts at Black unity and solidarity. I’m all about ‘the people united will never be divided,’ but at the point where it requires me to support Chief Keef’s recording career because he is a Black and I am a Black and, thus, I should be compelled to do so? Stop. This. Train.

Honestly, I can’t explain why “Black folks are never happy” is such a thing. However, I can quizzically tilt my head and wonder how is it that these people are unaware of the fact that people of all ethnic backgrounds are critical and thoughtful. Even—-if not especially—- White folks! That’s who wrote the model for living, amirite? Just kidding, but if you’ve never stepped outside Negronia and read newspapers, books and blogs written by White writers, well, you are in for a big surprise: they aren’t much better at being satisfied by every single thing ever than we are.

Don’t folks remember the show “Siskel and Ebert” (later “Ebert and Roper”), where two film critics broke down Hollywood’s latest releases to the white meat? Would a Black version of this show feature 100% “two thumbs up, way up” ratings because “Movies are entertainment and I don’t expect them to be accurate and I don’t care if people walk out the movie believing that they were accurate and, thus, confused about important moments in history” (Django) or “At least he is giving Black people a job” (any Black director ever) or “It’s not that bad! He’s getting better. And Cicely Tyson was in it!” (He Who Shall Not Be Named)?

Thinking is not a bad thing. Criticism is not a bad thing. You aren’t required to like everything. Nor is anyone else. If you think “My Cousin an Nem” is a cinematic tour de force, good for you. However, there is no law requiring all Black people to feel the same about Miguel Nunez’s gripping performance as a former pimp-turned-payday loan store manager, so please don’t call us haters when we don’t like it.

Actually, call me Silky Johnson.

Fire Your Struggle-cist, End the Failed Pitches

Thu, 10 Jan 2013 13:51:00 -0500

Every day, I see pitches and “pitches” and advertisements and “advertisements” that do the project/client as much of a disservice as they would if they were titled “WORST THING EVER!” In the hopes of helping people live their best life and achieve their dreams (or, if needed, find better/more appropriate dreams), here are a few tips from a media professional to help you understand why your mixtape has zero downloads from anyone who doesn’t share your last name or go half with you on that Friday bottle of pink moscato, or why your article isn’t getting picked up by anyone, anywhere:

1) Twitter marketing is a tricky thing. Unfortunately, a lot of folks seem to think that being on Twitter alone is marketing. Perhaps this is why people tweet “Ay yo, follow me!” to their own timeline. They just don’t understand how the whole thing works. More than most other social media networks, Twitter gives you the opportunity to connect with people you may never encounter otherwise, be they ‘tastemakers,’ celebrities, editors or potential fans/supporters.

That said, you are unlikely to bait ANY of those people by sending them unsolicited links to your music, your blog, Kickstarter, etc. It does not matter how high the quality of your work, this tactic simply says “I’m unprofessional and clueless.” You will likely be ignored or dismissed, if not blocked as spam.

If you are seriously about marketing yourself via social media, do some research on effective strategies. I could teach you, but I’d have to charge.

2) If you are calling yourself a publicist and doing online promo for someone else, you absolutely must take the time to learn about what it is you are attempting to do. Take a class, buy a book, study the online footprints of the folks who are doing what it is you want to do for your client. A lot of ‘struggle-cists’ are ruining their clients’ careers before they even begin.

3) Sending press releases to notables and major publications via Facebook inboxes and Twitter is totally ineffective. You are likely communicating with a social media manager who probably won’t pass your inquiry on due to the inept way in which you presented it. There may be some bloggers and small websites that are willing to hear you out, but I will say this as an editor for a major magazine’s website: I’ve yet to accept a press release or pitch that came in that way. The folks who get to my email inbox (which isn’t public info, but incredibly easy to find if you know what you are doing) get there because they understand what they have taken on.

4) Don’t pitch a publication with which you are not intimately familiar. Don’t tell me you haven’t written for anything other than yourownwebsite.blogspot.com and then ask how you can be hired as a writer for the magazine which I am affiliated with. You want to write for a magazine, you need to pitch a magazine editor. And I guarantee you that they are even quicker to send the struggle “pitches” to the junk mail than I am. Do your research. Read the site/print mag/newspaper you want to pitch over and over and over again. Be honest with yourself: Does your writing match the caliber of what they’ve been running? Does this publication typically feature the sort of music you perform?

5) Be you/your client an artist or a writer, the internet has provided you the opportunity to have your own space! Spaces where you can rule, self-promote and (for writers) hone your skills. That would be your professionally-designed website, your Facebook fan page, your Twitter timeline and your other social media profiles. Use them well. Don’t spam, don’t join #teamfollowback. Present yourself in the best light possible—-with good grammar, good pictures and (hopefully) a good quality product to promote.

6) It is highly unlikely that a reputable publication is hiring models via Twitter and Facebook, so please stop sending those beefcake-magazine quality photos to them on social media. Go to a real modelling agency. Don’t set yourself up to be taken advantage of (financially or worse) by some scumbag.

7) There is the language you use to communicate with your cousins and then there is the way you approach someone with whom you want to do business. Inboxing your cousin to say “Please post this on your personal blog” may work; inboxing an editor to say “Please post this article on your website” is not going to work. Yes, this has happened. Multiple times.

8) Posting links to your/other websites on a brand’s Facebook fan page is not effective and may get your banned. Brands and publications use Facebook to share their articles and latest news; they aren’t going to let you attempt to bring attention to your blog or your fan page there. Same thing for comment sections or replying to Tweeted articles to say “Read my blog.” It’s not only rude, it simply doesn’t work.

9) The world of Google is mighty and wonderful. You can learn how to pitch articles to national magazines, how to engage with people on social media, how to write press releases…there is no excuse for getting this terribly wrong other than “I didn’t know what I was doing and I didn’t try to know what I was doing.”

10) Anyone can be a writer, artist or publicist. Not everyone is going to be aprofessionalwriter, artist or publicist. If you have hopped into any of these arenas because it looks easy and you feel like if XYZ can do it, why can’t you…well…don’t quit your day job.

11) Always relevant: If you are reading this, I bet my last dollar that you aren’t a relationship expert. Give it up, turn it loose.

***ETA***

12) Get a professional email address. BookingStruggleRapper@gmail.com is no bueno.

"If perping Kappa Alpha Psi is enough to get you stomped out at homecoming, just imagine how..."

Mon, 10 Dec 2012 12:23:20 -0500

“If perping Kappa Alpha Psi is enough to get you stomped out at homecoming, just imagine how appropriating gang iconography reads to someone who actually lives and dies by it…even if you were actually just trying to appropriate Judaism.”

- Rick Ross: Shook Ones, Pt. 3-My latest for EBONY.com

Sean Fury is living his life like he’s Bobby Brown in 1993...

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 18:26:16 -0500

Sean Fury is living his life like he’s Bobby Brown in 1993 and he does not give a damn what you think! I am here for this. I was born for this. I got time for that.

Flex Mitchell as Michael Jackson, Zoe Saldana as Nina Simone. I...

Mon, 22 Oct 2012 16:55:26 -0400

Flex Mitchell as Michael Jackson, Zoe Saldana as Nina Simone.

I would like to play Dolly Parton some day.

I worked SO hard on this.

Tue, 16 Oct 2012 23:41:01 -0400

I worked SO hard on this.

An Open Letter to People Who I Have Treated Badly (On the Internet and Otherwise)

Mon, 16 Jul 2012 10:52:00 -0400

(Note: I realize this post has been posted a few places out of context, but it refers to behavior that has taken place in my personal life and online primarily during the years of 2007-2010.)

There is often a marked difference between our self-perception and our reality. Who we think we are and who we really are. And who we want to be is often times caught in between the two.

Until recently, if someone asked me to describe myself, I would have included the words sweet, kind, nurturing, sensitive, thoughtful and nice. Though I am quite aware of my razor sharp wit and slick tongue, I would have hesitated to include mean, self-involved, selfish, bullying and cold.

The first list of adjectives describes who I am. The second, things about myself that I like to ignore. The truth? Somewhere in the middle.

While I have received affirmation from loved ones and others about the former, I have always been quick to downplay the latter. “I talk slick when people deserve it,” “I’m not mean, I’m just not a punk,” “I didn’t mean to be so harsh, I’m just stressed out,” “I’m impatient, I don’t suffer fools lightly,” etc, etc, etc.

I have long since made excuses for the fact that I sometimes talk to people in ways that YOU SHOULD NOT TALK TO PEOPLE. This has been an issue since childhood. While it has often been something that I (bizarrely) reserved for the people I love most, since the internet has given me the access to communicate with so many people beyond what I could take in on a face-to-face basis, there have been others who have had the experience of getting an unnecessary tongue lashing from me.

I sat in my therapist’s office the other day sobbing as I recounted the terrible ways in which I spoke to a loved one. I cannot understand how I can became someone who was such a nasty, entitled, self-righteous diva. My therapist is helping me to understand my own behavior and what issues it spoke to and how I can never be that person again.

And while much of my time with her is centering around issues I have had with friends and family and issues I have with myself, that particular conversation made me think about the folks who came across me online during my “Sister Toldja” days and had the unfortunate luck of getting dissed or chided for something as small as asking me to explain something more clearly or for commenting on an article they hadn’t read or for presenting what I deemed to be some sort of small-minded view on something I take seriously.

Who in the hell did I think I was to be mean to strangers without ever considering that someone could be mourning, hurting, suffering outside of our petty internet conversation? What would it have cost me to be more patient? Or to simply ignore someone who wracked my nerves terribly? The world is often a dark and cold place and the only reason I have not succumbed to that is because I have always been surrounded and supported by people who provided warmth and light. I owe it to humanity to radiate the same.

What’s interesting is that after a number of my nasty interactions with people, where I had dressed someone down for something small, is that I would go and CRY. I felt guilty for talking that way. But yet, it took me years to stop.

I’m sure that of the few of you who made it this far in this letter, most of you are confused about what I am talking about. But someone may remember when I had a couple thousand Twitter followers and a notorious attitude. If I ever barked on you, talked to you sideways or anything of the like, I am truly sorry.

For anyone who I was dismissive or flippant towards in high school, college or even in my early New York years, I’m sorry. I’ll maintain that I was typically more nice than nasty in my younger days, but that nasty was something else when it came out. If you ever had to deal with it, I am so, so sorry.

There are people who played a much more significant role in my life and, thus, endured a more significant level of poor treatment. If you are part of that number and happen to be reading this: I love you deeply and I am so, so sorry. Of course, there is more to say to you guys and I will share those words with you when I can.

I want to be a better person, y’all. For me, for those around me, and for the entire world. I will always be “a thorn in the side of the beast,” as my father says. I will continue to rally against sexism, patriarchy, racism and oppression. But I will not hurt people unnecessarily in the process.

28 Days of Awesome: Game Over

Wed, 11 Jul 2012 09:48:00 -0400

I am hanging up the 28 Days of Awesome challenge. I am sad and a little bit embarrassed, but I have to be honest with myself: I am not in the right place to take something like this on right now. This is still a period of deep introspecton for me, but I no longer feel emboldened to do so publicly. Furthermore, the daily task of trying to do something Awesome for myself or others isn’t something I’m really equipped to do right now.

Anyway, thanks to those of you who supported this project while it lasted. Maybe I’ll try again in the future.

Edit: I’m trying to get out of NY for a bit and I set this up in hopes that I can get by with a little help from my friends: http://jamilah.chipin.com/a-much-needed-escape

28 Days of Awesome: Day 10

Thu, 05 Jul 2012 12:15:59 -0400

There are so many days where I feel tremendous pressure. I feel it physically. My breath and heart rate change, there is a tightening in my chest. My entire body tenses. A frantic email from a publicist who is dying to know when her client will be featured on our site. A reminder about a story I forgot about. A writer texting or Tweeting me to get more attention for their work. A phone call from someone who could have sent an email. A bill. Another bill. A to-do list that never shrinks. An email from someone who started blogging last week and wants me to tell them how to make it into a career.

Never in my life have I felt needed by so many people. I’m grateful. I have my dream job (minus the dream salary, but such is the industry I chose). Unfortunately, I am lacking joy, support and a feeling of connectedness. And I don’t ever feel like I have the space to be selfish and put myself first.

Don’t get me wrong, I have great friends, a great family and great sorors who love me. But I just feel very alone in the world for some reason and that coupled with the pressure I feel professionally is taking me to a very isolated and miserable place. One I want to leave sooner than later. It doesn’t matter how many ‘likes’ my articles get on Facebook or how many people tell me I do good work, I do not feel special. I feel like I am more often than not a mere conduit for the needs and goals of others. I feel disposable, replaceable and so unimportant. Kind of an ironic thing considering how many people seem to need me these days, but emotions are not intelligent beings.

Today, I am going to do something nice for myself like buy some shoes or some shiny shit I don’t need. And maybe I’ll find a Groupon for a massage or some self-imporantance.

You may be wondering where today’s Awesome is. It is in owning up to these very damaging and painful emotions so that I may destroy them. Amen.

On Frank Ocean's "Independence Day"

Thu, 05 Jul 2012 11:53:46 -0400

(Upon reading Ocean’s letter) my mind went briefly to the dozens of male singers and rappers who have been dogged by gay rumors over the years. How hard it must be for some of them to sing songs to and about women and if they feel, as Ocean did, that their own lyrics were “written in a language [they] didn’t speak yet.” I then thought about the many brothers I have known from high school and beyond who were also the subject of constant speculation (some of which was confirmed) about their sexuality. Rumor mongers love to focus on who may have put a hand, a mouth, a body part on whom…but what about love? What about the fact that these men were managing the complications of deception, fear and confusion as their hearts and bodies defied what they thought was to be their identities? And all of this while still having to cope with the beauty and trauma that accompanies young love?

Read more

28 Days of Awesome: Day 9

Wed, 04 Jul 2012 13:17:41 -0400

To say my feelings about Odd Future are complicated would be an understatement, but that’s an essay for another day. However, I am heartend by the decision of Frank Ocean to boldly come forward and disclose information about his sexuality. Not sure if he identifies as gay or bisexual as some are claiming (his open letter, to me, implied the former due to the suggestion that he hadn’t known romantic love until he knew it with a man), but either way, this is a big moment for Black popular culture.

I was inspired to write an essay about Frank’s disclosure today and I definitely tip my hat to him in the name of Awesome. Being free, being yourself openly and being honest when those things can all cause tremendous loss professionally and personally? That is Awesome.

On a personal note, I began a much overdue conversation with a friend last night. My talks with people in my life have been so rich lately and I am filled with love for them. There is much work to be done in healing my relationships with others and to myself, but I feel that I am walking in the right path.

Today is about no work, no pain and good times with the people who love me. I am choosing joy.

28 Days of Awesome: Day 8

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 14:29:40 -0400

Today started out rough and kept getting worse, but I decided not to let the challenges and the hurt get the best of me. Woo. Sah.

I got a Tweet from a classmate who I didn’t know well saying that she was fundraising to go teach film in Kenya and today was the last day to donate. Now, because of who I am by nature and the fact that I got a lot of much needed support in a certain national contest last year, I am quick to vote for people for things and to share word of their efforts with my networks when they need cash donations. I wish I was in a position to give more often, but truth is…I’m broke, more often than not. One of my challenges for this month is also to spend some time trying to figure that condition out, real talk. Little comes in, but far too much goes out, ya dig?

Anyway, I figured the least I could do was donate $10 towards the $490 she needed and to share the donation link with people on Facebook and Twitter. Well, in the 20 minutes that followed, I watched her go from needing $490, to just $99 dollars and to being over her goal. That was AWESOME! I am so happy for this girl and so happy to see the power of the internet working for someone trying to do a good thing.

In other Awesome (if not fun) news, I called a bill company that I had been avoiding and made an arrangement that I can handle. Yay. And I’m gonna hit the streets and happy hour it up. Also Awesome.

I can name 100 things I want right now that I don’t have, some of which I can’t have now and others, probably never. Today, I am going to focus on that I do.

28 Days of Awesome: Day 7

Mon, 02 Jul 2012 12:31:00 -0400

Yesterday was not Awesome and I did not create Awesome in my life or the lives of any others. Yesterday was okay, but yesterday night was very, very hard.

What most of you wouldn’t know is that I am going through one of the most difficult times of my life right now and that fact has much to do with why I have started this project. I am hurting to my core these days…shattered in ways I did not think possible…and in many ways, I have no one but myself to blame.

What do you do when you have hurt someone? What do you do when you have been ‘the bad guy?’ That’s not an easy space to navigate. While guilt is important to living in ways that are truly human, it can also be cancerous. Regret can help you to alter your actions in a positive way, but it can also stymie your growth if you can’t heal from wounds that you have caused.

There are days I don’t want to get out of bed and moments where I feel like I wish I’d never been born, or that I have destroyed my future in ways I cannot fix. While I have never given suicide any serious thought, I sometimes feel that I don’t care if I live or die.

This is depression to even someone who has a casual understanding of the illness’ symptoms. And this isn’t the first time I’ve dealt with it. Truth be told, I’m not sure that I can pinpoint a time in recent history in which I wasn’t at least moderately depressed.

As I have travelled toward a healing space, I’ve had a number of conversations with friends, only to be surprised at how many of them have dealt with their own issues with depression. While I certainly wouldn’t wish this pain on anyone, there is a level of comfort that comes from knowing that I am not hardly alone out here. Sigh.

Today is “No Shame Day,” an initiative that was developed by scribe Bassey Ikpi as part of her efforts in de-stigmatizing mental illness. When I was initially asked by a friend to blog today, I ignored the request because I just didn’t want to talk about it. Alas, I don’t think I could have talked about anything else until I did.

The good news: I am in therapy, which I am sharing because I think its important that we encourage each other to take that step and also, because I don’t want anyone to read this and be afraid for me (or to call me—-I hate talking on the phone, sorry). I hope that anyone who needs a little support in getting to/back to Awesome considers doing the same.

So, today’s Awesome is about making peace with my lack of peace and keeping along the road to find it.