Join Me in/with/for ASE -- Capsule Post

Life has a funny, timely way of lifing. I created this draft weeks ago to tell a story about inviting people '' friends and families and associates to a deeply personal event using AI technology. I caught Covid a few days before the event and in the interest of everyone's safety, Esz and I decided to post pone it. Now it is weeks after the event was supossed to take place and I am in a very sentimental mood when it comes to 2023. I'm preparing again to invite folks into a deeply personal space with the soft launch of my EP and this time all the words are coming on my own accord. Join me on January 27, 2024 for Shed Seszions Live: Fireside Open Mic from 6pm - 10pm at the BlackteaBrownsuga Cafe X Lounge!

Capsule Blog entry begins below:

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December 4, 2023

I created a message with Chat GPT to let my friends and family know about a three-day – honoree fundraiser that I'm being recognized in alongside Ishara Henry and Eszquire Harris. As I edited the final message, seconds away from feeling comfortable enough to post it, It got deleted. I walked away, then I came back to my desk, avoidant. A small voice inside me said it was for the best since I'm a writer anyway it would never seem good enough because it didn't come from me. So now I'm typing and I'm grateful because this reflection on its own is better than anything I could ever ask anyone else to write. After all, it is mine.

Over the past year, I've facilitated a writers group called Writers without Walls and I started it because I wanted to be in a space where I was encouraged to write to remember to document and revisit the stories of my life. I invited people I knew or that I met along the way to join this space with me. To gain confidence in sharing who we are and to know who we are. I was nervous almost every session and afterwards my anxiety would explode for joy or for sorrow over how I felt like others received it.

When I started working at The Caribbean Cultural Center as an intern in college, I resonated heavily with my supervisor who was passionate about helping artists bring their visions to life Shoutout to Regina Bultron Bengoa I assisted her with Operations as an Operations + Special projects Intern and quickly got to know the elements that it took to run an A Cultural Arts Organization. Event after Event getting to see the artists and the people come together made total strangers feel like family. As I left CCCADI, I was uncertain of what the future would look like for me, but I'm blessed to see that I've been able to assist artists and creatives in a major way.

Over the past two years, I learned how to grant write to sustain Operations for the BlackteaBrownsuga Network. I facilitated programs to bring artists of all ages together to create and learn about who we are. I'm grateful to now reside in the same community that I work and create with, alongside partners and co-conspirators who are my neighbors. Music is a transmutable force, alchemizing my awkwardness, my silence my anxiety, depression, and struggle, my joy into amulets and affirmations I use to remind myself of who I am and where I come from. I've had the privilege of bringing people together through music, community, worship, and personal and collective growth.

I am honored to be recognized in The BlackteaBrownsuga Network's 3-day honoree fundraisers along with inspiring cultural workers, Artists, and Friends Ishara Henry and Eszquire Harris.

Join me on Friday, December 29 for a fireside open mic with s'mores, hot beverages, and dance breaks in celebration of the days behind and ahead of us. I'm gonna share some music I've been holding onto for the past 3 years, along with songs that became my lifeline during some trying times.

I love you, and I see you. While I hope to hug you in person soon, if that's not possible, I'll make sure to share the livestream link – no worries. 🎶