Malaika, you did it again! Yay! Congratulations on everything! Seven years and look at all you and Mark have accomplished! Congrats also on the submission! Another major milestone!!! Thank you for sharing your journey and your stories…we need them and you! 😘😘. Your voice and vision inspire me. I believe🙏🏾🫶🏽 (btw, thought of you this weekend as we had guests and we still use your swag bag for guest flip flops as we want our guests to share the love and joy we at your wedding)♥️.
This message made me so happy! Cannot wait for the thank you I’ll have for you when I’m where I want to be with all of this! Most people never have a support as strong as you and I’ll never take it for granted. Thankful for you. Every message. Every moment. Every exchange. You mean more to me than words can possibly express. Love, so much love! 🖤
And sincerest thank you, as always, Ibrahim. It’s the quiet, consistent support of kind souls that changes artists’ lives. For every moment you spend reading my work and standing in as an honest, authentic mirror, I thank you…from the bottom of my heart! It’s everything!
And you inspire me…so incredibly much! It really resonated with me. So easy to get bogged down (and honestly I’ve been feeling that more often than not lately), but there really is power in recognizing the privilege of choice. We got this! Our work matters!
Happy we’re in each other’s lives. It’s certainly not by accident! 🖤
I think it is easy to ignore your closing questions on each post and feel like they are rhetorical and that you don't really want to hear our answers. I honestly sometimes don't even want to answer them for myself, for fear that means that I have to be more truthful than I may be prepared for. But because I believe you are actually trying to build a community here, I think there must be some reciprocity with how much you bear your heart on the page for us. So I have to admit that I don't feel like I'm actually walking in my professional challenge...yet. I think that my season may be one that is inwardly focused on personal pursuits that exhaust me and bring the type of fulfillment you referenced. But I don't think I have found that professionally yet, so it often feels like spinning my wheels, and I am still learning to be ok with that.
I love, admire, and appreciate your honesty, as always! You’re right. They’re honest questions that I hope will facilitate some thinking and introspection but my hope is that they encourage people without feeling like yet another source of stress and judgment.
Thing is, I’m working through similar feelings even when it comes to the writing so I think it’s natural to feel growing pains and even out of sync.
Your awareness though is powerful. As is the support of this space as we all navigate this stuff together. Thank you for reading and for being such a thoughtful contributor always. It’s truly everything!
Your reply is comforting. And my prayer is that someone is watching our transparent dialogue silently somewhere and knowing that it's ok to not have all the answers as you are searching for your truth! Ase.
This is exactly it. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that you never know who’s watching, reading, or being impacted by your honest and truth. May our convo give someone, somewhere peace. 🖤
Malaika, you did it again! Yay! Congratulations on everything! Seven years and look at all you and Mark have accomplished! Congrats also on the submission! Another major milestone!!! Thank you for sharing your journey and your stories…we need them and you! 😘😘. Your voice and vision inspire me. I believe🙏🏾🫶🏽 (btw, thought of you this weekend as we had guests and we still use your swag bag for guest flip flops as we want our guests to share the love and joy we at your wedding)♥️.
This message made me so happy! Cannot wait for the thank you I’ll have for you when I’m where I want to be with all of this! Most people never have a support as strong as you and I’ll never take it for granted. Thankful for you. Every message. Every moment. Every exchange. You mean more to me than words can possibly express. Love, so much love! 🖤
You’ll succeed, no doubt about it! You write so well!! Best wishes, as always 💐📚💐
And sincerest thank you, as always, Ibrahim. It’s the quiet, consistent support of kind souls that changes artists’ lives. For every moment you spend reading my work and standing in as an honest, authentic mirror, I thank you…from the bottom of my heart! It’s everything!
'What a blessing to be tired in the pursuit of a challenge of your own choosing.” !!!! This. IS. SO. GOOD. So true. 🥹
Cheers to your submission! & I CANNOT WAIT to read your short story!!
Happy 7 years to you and hubby.
You inspire me. Xx
And you inspire me…so incredibly much! It really resonated with me. So easy to get bogged down (and honestly I’ve been feeling that more often than not lately), but there really is power in recognizing the privilege of choice. We got this! Our work matters!
Happy we’re in each other’s lives. It’s certainly not by accident! 🖤
I think it is easy to ignore your closing questions on each post and feel like they are rhetorical and that you don't really want to hear our answers. I honestly sometimes don't even want to answer them for myself, for fear that means that I have to be more truthful than I may be prepared for. But because I believe you are actually trying to build a community here, I think there must be some reciprocity with how much you bear your heart on the page for us. So I have to admit that I don't feel like I'm actually walking in my professional challenge...yet. I think that my season may be one that is inwardly focused on personal pursuits that exhaust me and bring the type of fulfillment you referenced. But I don't think I have found that professionally yet, so it often feels like spinning my wheels, and I am still learning to be ok with that.
I love, admire, and appreciate your honesty, as always! You’re right. They’re honest questions that I hope will facilitate some thinking and introspection but my hope is that they encourage people without feeling like yet another source of stress and judgment.
Thing is, I’m working through similar feelings even when it comes to the writing so I think it’s natural to feel growing pains and even out of sync.
Your awareness though is powerful. As is the support of this space as we all navigate this stuff together. Thank you for reading and for being such a thoughtful contributor always. It’s truly everything!
Your reply is comforting. And my prayer is that someone is watching our transparent dialogue silently somewhere and knowing that it's ok to not have all the answers as you are searching for your truth! Ase.
This is exactly it. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that you never know who’s watching, reading, or being impacted by your honest and truth. May our convo give someone, somewhere peace. 🖤