humanity
For better or for worse, relationships reveal the core of the human condition.
The Diary of An Young Black Girl
My name is Janay Tiffany Ealey and I am an eighteen-year-old young black girl who is on her way into the real world who is transitioning into adulthood. My childhood and teenage years have flown by so quickly in my lifetime. The days of my youth have vanished and I don't know how to feel about it. Being a young black girl in this world is pretty terrifying. Moving into the real world means that I have to do everything in my power to stay alive and be alert because the real world can be dangerous at times. You can't trust anyone in the real world because people are capable of doing the most sinister and devious things. I can end up losing my life over a man that I am dating and he has this crazy ex-girlfriend who has been stalking ever since he broke up with and she ends up following me to where I work and she decides to kill me. Things like this can happen and they've already had. I can let anyone into my life and they can be the reason why I won't be able to live it anymore and because of the color of my skin and the gender that I am, there will be so many conflicts that I will face when I become a woman. That's just how I feel. I am a young black girl who grew up in a domestic violence home and was given life from parents who got married when they were young. I am a young black girl who had a mother who was a foster kid and met a man when she was young and that changed her life forever. There are so many young black girls such as me that might have experienced the same tragic events as me. Becoming a woman will be one of the hardest things that I will have to undergo and I understand when a boy becomes a man, it may be much harder because society expects more from a man than a woman but for a woman, it is so much different! Young black girls are more than likely to be overlooked and treated as non-factors in society and are stereotyped so much in this world. I am not the stereotypical young black girl. I am a young black girl who believes a woman (not just a woman but every single human being that is on this planet) should have morals as a person. It is important to have morals because it helps create the behavioral foundation that every human being has. I am a young black girl who other young black girls can learn so much from because I set an example of what a young black girl should be. I think the problem is that these young black girls look to the wrong black women in their lives. They are exposed to the wrong kinds of women in this world. The examples of black women that these young black girls should be seeing as role models are Serena Williams, Michelle Obama, Allyson Felix, Gabrielle Union, Issa Rae, Ava DuVernay, Misty Copeland, Cleo Wade, Cori "Coco" Gauff, and Ibtihaj Muhammad. Not black women like Sukihana and Megan Thee Stallion. When human beings have positive influences in their lives, they understand the power of relationships, connection, and engaging with the world openly. Examples of positive influences other than people are ordinary things such as listening to music, singing, cleaning your living space, acting interested in a conversation, giving people the benefit of the doubt, practicing mediation, and laughter. This will conclude my diary entry of a young black girl even though it focuses on two topics instead of just one.
By Janay Ealey4 years ago in Humans
What It Means To Know Yourself
I am not the girl that people think I am. I should not be dealt with or spoken to as someone who has a disability or a severe mental disorder. I might be a little off at times, but let's get one thing straight, I am not crazy or psychotic. I will not accept false narratives of myself and allow people to tell me what kind of person I am because the only person who knows who I am is me, myself, and I.
By Janay Ealey4 years ago in Humans
Will and Power
“Charlie is looking for someone to write songs. Would you like to join the team?” Sarang said one breezy September evening. The previous weekends, I lay motionless on a sheetless bed as grey clouds invaded my mind, and the weight of agony weighed me down. Every weekend, I tried outwitting the Black Dog; he found me and left me defeated in Syracuse, New York. While swaying to a new tune on Spotify, I would emulate a Sloth. Envisioning an easy escape, I replied, “Yes! I would love to. That would be wonderful.” With glittering eyes and hope oozing out of my heart, I returned to the redbrick dormitory.
By Aishwarya Rane4 years ago in Humans
Changes
Vocal has a new Challenge called Coming of Age. The Challenge asks for a true story which tells of a time, or an event, that caused a change in the writer’s life or viewpoint. A story about something “that changed everything”. For whatever reason, I’m having a hard time with finding a good story for this topic. Until this point, most of the stories I’ve written and submitted to Vocal have been on topics that I could write about without thinking too much with topics that have always been right there, showing up without a lot of effort on my part. It’s not that I don’t have stories to choose from for this most recent Challenge. I have many personal stories about events that changed my views, or shook up my life, changing everything after the experience but I’m not ready to share most of those stories with strangers on the Internet. So, I wrote a list. And I immediately scratched off some of the things on the list, deciding against those stories. Other stories didn’t make it to the list at all, remaining in my brain with a clear “nope” and one of those red circles with a line through it to signify that this story was not to be used under any circumstances. That left me with a short list of about four or five stories that don’t feel too personal but still have potential. Thinking about each topic, one by one, I’m working on how to make the story fit the Challenge, asking myself: how did I feel before the event? How did I feel after the event? How did my life, or my view of life change because of the event? This is the hard part. I can write a short story about significant or memorable events that happened in my life, easily enough. But thinking about how they changed me isn’t something I’ve done with most of the topics that made it through the final cut.
By Cathy Money4 years ago in Humans
Lessons on Freedom
“Being around you, the constant texts and calls, it just gives me so much anxiety. I have panic attacks whenever I think about spending time with you.” I felt horrible saying the words and I wished that I could have rephrased to soften the blow, but my thoughts and heart were already racing. I had to get it over with.
By Chelsea Thatcher4 years ago in Humans
A Fork In The Road
Fork in The Road When I was eighteen years old, I had to make a decision that would define the rest of my life. I wasn’t aware at the time how big the decision was going to be but with very little life experience and foresight I made the best decision I could and hoped for the best. Now in my mid-forties I can appreciate how the decision I made at a critical point in my life shaped my future decisions and led me to where I am now.
By Sherry Little-Ragan4 years ago in Humans
