Humpday Update #10 / BaltimoreGirls

Happy Humpday all! This week so far has been pretty insane as I continue to juggle several side projects and work at the same time. Between this blog, the YouTube Channel, the Zine, and a possible graphic Novel, my hands are so full.

But the highlight up until this update was my Sunday with the BaltimoreGirls.

It was an intense event for me. I was in a room full of one of the scariest groups of people I'd care to be around; women. I knew no one, I misread the event, and felt completely out of place for the entire two hours I spent sitting in a chair.

I was an outsider, and as a "county girl" whose idea of "city culture" differs vastly from those of the women in the room; I was so nervous I gave myself a migraine and had to leave. (that and I made the mistake of thinking it was really a 2pm-4pm event and didn't eat...) These women, to me, were the grown versions of the city girls at camp, school, and church who bullied me relentlessly for being different.

Although tense for my entire visit, I was shown that I had nothing to be afraid of.

I stuck out sure, but that couldn't be helped really, I am different.

But every woman in that room was different.

Photo Credit: Dwayne Hazelwood

I was in a place where I was not being judged; no one was pointing and laughing at the "county girl who talked white".

The Founder of Baltimore Girls, Ms. Stephanie Safiyatou Edwards, was magic. Her vision is the simplest and most heartfelt I've ever come across. To show the world the beautiful shapes, colors, and powers of women in Baltimore.

"(Even) if you weren't born here... You came here and decided to make Baltimore your home? You a Baltimore Girl." ~ Safiyatou

I am so positive that this woman is going to change the way people look at Baltimore and the way people look at women. BaltimoreGirls is going to go very far and they are going to change the lives and outlooks of the girls involved as they go.

I plan on spending more time with them If they'll have me. Maybe not in the spotlight so much as I don't think my poor nerves can handle it. :) But behind the scenes, helping to make sure things happen for this group.

I AM a BaltimoreGirl, and I've never been prouder to say so. In just two hours I was changed for the better.

Selective Compassion

So I have written about this topic before. When Paris was attacked, I was ashamed (even of myself) of the way people reacted to this country going through what they did. It was sad and we felt for them. But has anyone else noticed that we only ever feel for these "super power" countries when so many other places go through this everyday? The following is what I wrote after Paris. Every one of us is guilty. We tend not to change the color overlay of our facebook pictures for countries like Afghanistan or Syria. Most of us don't even know that China's youth is so opressed and depressed that they're locking themselves away in their rooms and even killing themselves. No one bat an eye at the college campus in Kenya where 147 people were killed. And the Paris media attention drowned out the suicide bombing tragedy in Beirut one day before. What happened in Paris is indeed a tragedy. But it brings to light how we as Americans pick and choose who to show ou...

Humpday Update #6 / "These Damn Millennials"

I usually try to cover things that are a bit more personal with these updates, so with that said I think I get to rant at least a little. There are several things Iv'e noticed about my own generation that both excite and sicken me. There are those of us who can set our minds to amazing feats and through unrelenting willpower and unconventional means, usually get the job done. Then there are a great many who want everything served up to them, cry when they don't get their way and are for the most part are all talk. At this point in our lives, where all of us are basically adults, we need to stop acting like children and get real about our future. It's already messed up as it is with previous generations going about things the way we are now. They "didn't think it would happen" or "ignored the signs" and now we're faced with things like; no social security for ANYONE in our generation a planet that's killing itself pay that is ...

Humpday Update #15

I've been accomplishing a lot lately. Literally full steam ahead for the past month or so and I can say that it has paid off. My Twitter following is on the rise, as is that of this blog. With so many projects rolling along nicely my first flop hit me pretty hard about a week ago. Please allow me to step into my other self. The me that loves anime, manga, and comics. One of my side projects has been to bring a little taste of real life into what I experience among friends that also enjoy my nerdy indulgences and at conventions. My Facebook page and eventual channel " EchoTV " was to debut with a panel on diversity in cosplay at Otakon 2016; the convention's last year in my home town. When the convention emailed to tell me my panel application for "Cosplaying While Black" was denied, I was angry and wanted an explanation. (One I have yet to receive) In my rejection letter they basically say that they didn't properly go through all submissions ...

_chelsearedd

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