Happy belated 18th birthday black queen. You're no longer a princess. 👸🏽

Young Queen no one has the answer. No one. Everyone telling you the secret is just elaborating on how their experiences could have been greater if they had possibly made some changes. Most advice is should've, could've, would've until finally they did. So to close this, you can dream, dream big. But most dreamer are just that... dreamers. Be a doer. DO EVERYTHING YOU WANT TO. DO IT ALL. & YOU CAN DO IT ALL!! BUT IT INVOLVES DOING. SO JUST DO IT.

P.S.

Dear 18 Year Old Queen, 👸🏾Honey...

I got a letter similar to this when I gave birth to my daughter. I feel this is your rights of passage now that you are legal, you're a young adult. Still in many folks eyes you're their young lady. & it may not seem as though things have changed over night. But they have greatly.

See with maturity comes great opportunity. Many new things & firsts. So much to be excited for. So much that you can, by the governments laws, pursue. So go ahead & enjoy them, enjoy them all. Everything deserves a first try. How else will you ever know if it's for you or not?

However what they don't tell you, they don't show you or teach you, are the things you only gain experience from by failing. Many opportunities will arise in front of you but sure as well some will turn into obstacles. Don't fear them. Endure them. & when they hurt, because they WILL hurt, learn from them. Bite down & overcome the pain.

Know that the knowledge I want you to gain from this message is; although you will have ups & you will have downs,(they will be inevitable) it is the lesson, what you learn that fuels growth. Will you continue stronger or do you fall back then try it again for accuracy? See out of all the things I've done in my life, the most important thing I needed to know was to learn for my experience. If you're lucky enough, you can even learn from others experiences. But that is rare, really rare.

It’s something about life, no matter how much people tell you or show you, you've just got to see for yourself. We all did. None of us listened. We all fall. We all fail. We all cry & we all hurt. Let no one tell you different.

So learn from your smile, make a mental list, maybe even a physical list of all the things that make you happy. I have one, "My List of Joys". Take notes. Note that some people, most all people, will let you down. Keep those who "gives" out weighs their "takes".

Learn about boys right now. Take this one lesson & let it be the one lesson you learn from EVERY WOMAN who ever lived on this earth. "Men will always be there. Consume yourself with your happiness, as a first priority, ALWAYS!!".

Learn from your tears, when something makes you cry, understand why. Ask yourself are you assuming, taking it personal, did you give your all, were you genuine & impeccable with your words?

Because many things will make you cry. SO MANY THINGS. Some are justified but some times we cry just because we are on our menstrual. Don't worry. Black women, we must cry. We have to cry, we carry the weight of our ancestor, their tears, their pain. We HAVE to cry. It a necessity. I say this to say... Black men are hurt, broken & in pain. Some more than others. Please my love, never try to fix a man! If you ever reach the point where you try to understand your ancestors traumas; to better understand yourself, you will understand why fixing a man is so very impossible.

Lastly be happy. If anyone knows this I know best, anger & sadness is self sabotage. Repeat these words to yourself frequently. "If I want to be happy, I can be happy. It is all up to me." Be happy. No money, no person can create happiness in your life if you are not happy with yourself. Love yourself dear. Love yourself because no one else will give you the love you will need to give yourself.