Be Yourself (Write Your Own Script)

My friend recently asked me to help write for her blog which is target towards teens and collegiate women of various backgrounds. I ended up pursuing this challenge imaging that I was writing to my 19 year old self. Below is my first submission.

Enjoy and wish me luck on this journey!

Be Yourself

Write Your Own Script

“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind.” ― Bernard M. Baruch

We all have different roles to play in life. The days pass by as we transition from daughter, to student, to friend, to intern, etc. In each moment we can become so enveloped by the needs of each character we play that we forget to write our own script. In order to author your story effectively you should know what motives you, your intentions, what relationships you value and why. Understand how these factors relate to everyday circumstances. Be wise enough to know that there is always room for growth.

Have fun with getting to know your point of view. Try new things and make yourself more dimensional. Know that your response will often times be different than your peers. Appreciate the difference. Variety is the spice of life. Consider the fact that there are 700 known species of trees in North America alone. The Creator could have made one tree that could withstand various habitats; better yet, one habitat across the globe. Instead we are blessed to share our connective space with leafy magnolias, tall pines, strong oaks, and succulent maples. Each has its own realized role in the ecosystem.

In my own journey through undergrad I struggled with being the person I always wanted to be, etching out my life purpose, and reconciling how I once indentified myself. Honestly, I’m still on this journey. At this point I think it’s about knowing your strengths and areas of improvement. Each day I set aside time to reflect and use what power I have to make tomorrow a little better. When each new day comes, seize it as an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of your quirks. Consider how you can be compassionate about the nuisances of your fellow castmates. School and especially our teens and twenties are the best places to explore this transition. Be ‘uncool’ if you dare, but be genuine as often as possible.

Relax. Love the skin you’re in. Try to limit your outside influences to those that have your best interest in mind. Fear not if this group seems small. When it comes to support it’s really a matter of quality over quantity. Remember that what other people think of you is none of your business! This is not a license to become a bully or even a coward. Own your actions, do the best you can until you know how to do better. Engage in your own self-check and meet constructive criticism with grace. When you watch your favorite movie keep in mind that several edits were made before you were able to watch the final cut.

Great luck writing the story of your life! Remember you are the leading role but you do have a supporting cast to help you. In this journey our Academy Awards are happiness, hope, and love. You’re nominated to win because you are the best suited for the role. (Many apologies to Meryl Streep.)

Lastly, I love poetry among other art forms and I’ll leave you with these final thoughts on self-knowledge from Kahlil Gibran, a Lebanese poet, artist, and writer.

On Self Knowledge

Khalil Gibran

Your hearts know in silence the secrets of the days and the nights.
But your ears thirst for the sound of your heart's knowledge.
You would know in words that which you have always known in thought.
You would touch with your fingers the naked body of your dreams.

And it is well you should.
The hidden well-spring of your soul must needs rise and run murmuring to the sea;
And the treasure of your infinite depths would be revealed to your eyes.
But let there be no scales to weigh your unknown treasure;
And seek not the depths of your knowledge with staff or sounding line.
For self is a sea boundless and measureless.

Say not, "I have found the truth," but rather, "I have found a truth."
Say not, "I have found the path of the soul." Say rather, "I have met the soul walking upon my path."
For the soul walks upon all paths.
The soul walks not upon a line, neither does it grow like a reed.
The soul unfolds itself like a lotus of countless petals.

Marriane Williamson Quotables

1. You are in God.
2. There is no time, no place, no state where God is absent.
3. Love does not conquer all, but it sets all things right.
4. Again -nothing you do or think or wish or make is necessary to establish your worth.
5. God has lit you mind Himself, and keeps your mind lit by His light because His light is what your mind is.
6. The ego is literally a fearful thought.
7. Faithlessness is not lack of faith but faith in nothing.
8. Your holiness reverses all the laws of the world. It is beyond every restriction of time, space, distance, and limits of any kind."
9. The Holy Spirit's temple is not a body, but a relationship.
10. Only love is real.

-taken from "A Return to Love"

Numbers

  2013 (current year)

+1986 (year of birth)

=3999    <--I wonder what that generation will be like.

Dear Prince, 

Tonight, let's party like its thirty-nine ninety nine!

Best, 

Fran!

Fireworks

(Me calling this piece "fireworks" has nothing to do with my pyro tendancies. I just wanted to write/see the word.)

I remember the day Tupac died.
I can home listening to it on the radio.
We traveled in a black car then, -to LeFore HS and back. (-red bumber)
September.
93 BLX
Leaves fell.
I scurried inside to see it on TV
and I still DON'T believe it.

Brief Intro

Do you want to hear a story?
It's about a young girl.
It's about a young woman.
It's about a young lady, who
was born in the South.
Deep South.
Deeper.
Now bag back a bit.
Yes, just there.
In Alabama.

She has dark skin.
She has tough skin.
She learns with her eyes, and doesn't always listen.
She was born in the late 80s.
1980s.
She is "hear" with you, in this poem.
With these words she'll tell you the story of her life.
A story that has barely begun but has a HAPPY ENDING.

She's from Mobile.
She's from Prichard.
She's from Eightmile.
She's from America.
She was born free and didn't know it.

Her education was
parents, televeision, school, friends, teachers, cousins, aunts, and distant-distant folk.
-and nearby-distant folk.

Franchesca
Have you heard of her?
Franchesca lived.
Franchesca lives.
Franchesca Taylor.
Franchesca ReNita Taylor.
Whole.
Hold.
Hold her warmly in your thought.
Thank-you.

IRONY

the irony
of the title of this blog
is that many of my conversations
are uneasy
and even in my realization of this
i find it difficult
to change things
i thought that this{blog} would be
my space and time
to set my mind free
and let my emotions
wander
but i dont exist
digitally

had an epiphany today
followed by another
and found myself back where I started

need a new thought
but every muse
i could find
to inspire me
has betrayed every
drop of common sense
i thought i owned

youll find no lessons
to be learned here
idle chatter
heard someone say
"we tend to focus
on what we dont have; on 
whats not going right"
if i stopped telling that story
of what i dont have
the next will emerge

and the discovery
of the next story
is exactly the conversation
id rather be having right now

Music Break: Solange Knowles "Losing You"

Beyonce Knowles-Carter is a brilliant performer but her sister Solange has, in my opinion, has become a style icon, talented writer, and a conceptual artist. Her lyrical content is honest. She tells stories that could happen to anyone but the way she pairs her stories with music video treatments adds a different dimension. Often I want to to join in on the fun I see on-screen. Comparatively, her appeal isn't as broad as her older sister's but I think she' quite comfortable with that; which makes me like her more. She's the odd girl in the back of the class who doesn't seek attention but gets it anyway.

A blog could be created solely focusing on her fashion sense. She invented color-blocking (well, that's probably a stretch). Her thrift store couture and adventurous coifs are ahead of her time. Her most recent single "Losing You" barely shows her expansive vocal range but the melody invites you to memorize the chorus before the second verse hits.

Back to the video tho, its' a composite of shots taken seemingly in an African nation that features well-dressed, dapper men posing in HBCU drum major-like fashions as candid frames of on-lookers are intertwined in the production. It's like watching a music video and the behind the scenes footage at the same time. Nothing new necessarily, many artists have had similar styles but the quirkiness of Solange's "dancing" makes my heart happy. Never taking herself too seriously she adds movements that are lighthearted and playful; but my favorite nuance is that her calmer self consistently shines in brief flashes of cinematography. (So, it's obvious that I'm a big fan by now -right?)

I look forward to Solange's upcoming projects and hope that she just the much due recognition (GRAMMY NOM -at least) that she deserves.