I found this amazing site - www.travelnoire.com. For the first time ever, I'm reading stories of people of color who like to travel, just like I do. It's funny, because we all feel like we're the only ones with these uniques experiences, but there are actually a ton of us out there. How refreshing! I've been exploring all different types of destinations and felt so in tune because they are all written by women of color. I don't know why, but it's so weird. At the same time, it's liberating. It reminded me of who I am and validated my need to explore. So much so, that not only do I want to be a curator for the site, but I'm on a complete new mission to take as many adventures as I can with my children, just like my parents did with me. Travel Noire explores people, culture, destinations, food, hair, and style. Doesn't it just reek travelling black girl? My parents used to take us everywhere with them. While most parents I knew would go on vacation by themselves, my parents would take us EVERYWHERE with them. We've travelled to Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand, Zambia, Kenya, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, France, Spain, England, Qatar, Lebanon, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, and more. So it's no wonder I've drifted so far away from myself. It all started with my first boyfriend out of high school. I moved to New York City at 17 and got into a relationship that I ended up being in for 10 years. I started feeling insecure with him because he hated going any where. He never wanted to go to all the awesome places that New York had to offer. He used to call everything stupid. That was the beginning of me not putting value into travelling or exploring my cities. I probably would have been spending money on travelling instead of whatever else I was spending it on. I guess the next couple of guys were the same. Realizing how much I miss it has made me excited for life again. It's been so mundane. So stagnant, and I didn't even know it. I've just been running in place. Now that I've left my dude, it's all so clear. Looking into my kid's eyes has make it even clearer. I want them to experience the world and see things as I did as a child. I want them confident and humble and excited about adventure. They're excited just going to the park, so imagine how they would feel riding an elephant in Thailand. It's got to happen. I knew this all along somehow. When you see my logo, it makes it super evident. I KNOW who I am. Now it's time for me to act like it and feed my soul, not my fleeting emotions or actions that don't serve a purpose. Looking back, I have not been living. All the radio shows, stage shows, parties, and television programs I was chasing couldn't fulfill me like travelling. Wish me luck! First vacay coming in August. Please read the column to the right. That is my audition piece to become a curator for www.travelnoire.com. Crossing my fingers. | The World Is My Family - I'm Ready To Go HomeBorn to a Congolese princess and a Californian hippie in Paris, France, I was blessed with the gift of travel. Thankfully, I was able to experience new worlds with both the particular tastes of my mother and the not so particular tastes of my father. Not to mention, I was forced to look at things from completely different points of view. This was my normal. Before I was five, I’d already learned the basics of several languages which have remained with me into adulthood. I was raised near the cradle of civilization, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, which allowed us to have access to the beauties of the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Europe quite easily. Growing up was a constant adventure that allowed me to see myself through the eyes of many cultures. I realized early that I fit in everywhere I went. The way I wore my hair was often the only thing that would differentiate me from others. When I moved to America, everything changed. Not only was I unable to take advantage of the travel perks my father had from working for an airline, but I became part of a world that I didn’t belong to. For the first time, people were putting me in boxes and deciding what and how I should be. I had to fight to meet people from different cultures and was sucked into what I like to call a “black hole”. The African American culture was the only culture that seemed to embrace me, and even that was subject to opinion. For the first time people would ask me questions like, “What are you mixed with” and I would be referred to as a white, red, or yellow girl. When finding jobs as a host and DJ, I was forced to play certain crowds and unable to play what I truly liked. As a struggling artist, I fell into an economic bracket that forced me to live in particular neighborhoods. Suddenly, constant colleagues were dying violently, I’m in “the system” due to traffic violation, and my life was completely opposite to what it was. I couldn’t recognize myself. After several life altering experiences, I abandoned my social butterfly nature and became a recluse. I attached myself to relationships that mirrored my feelings of being an outcast. Needless to say, I fell into a ten year depression that I didn’t even realize I was in. It took the wonder in my toddlers’ eyes to remind me of how vast and amazing this world is. After all, I am my parents’ daughter. I am a born adventurer and had no business sitting in one place for so long. Although it has taken a divorce to have the courage to live my life, I’m excited to bring it back full circle. This single mama is jet setting with her babies, just like her people before her did. The world is my family, and I’m ready to go home. |