lemme talk my shit

I have a tendency to over explain, a lot. I've always felt like I needed to in order to be heard & understood. As a Black woman, there’s already a fight against being silenced. I think my awareness of that fight has played a part in why I over explain. I also know that being judged, gaslit, & projected onto for what feels like my whole life is a cause of it as well. It's really hard when the world doesn’t want to hear you, but it stings more when the people you love don’t either.

I think that it’s normal to want acceptance from people you love. I don't think it’s odd that we want to feel supported. This life is a hard one & this world is the furthest thing from euphoric, it’s absurd to expect people to walk through it alone. Everybody needs somebody.

But on my journey, I've come to realize that not everyone is going to hear you. Not everyone is going to understand you. Not everyone is going to support & accept you.

But you know what? That's perfectly fine because everyday I wake up & I choose myself. I understand myself. I support myself. I accept myself. My journey is mine & nobody else’s. It's still an uphill battle but at the end of the day it’s me versus me, word to Stacy Barthe! I don't owe y’all explanations, my life ain’t for anyone to understand but me.

Respect is all we can really ask for. We can’t expect people to accept, understand, & support a life they aren’t living. People don’t owe you nothing but common decency & respect. You don’t have to agree or like the way I choose to live my life, which you really shouldn’t have an opinion on in the first place, but you can (& will) respect me.

Yes, we’re all entitled to our opinions but when it comes to someone’s life choices? I think it’s best to keep your thoughts to yourself. You don’t know what a person is going through that led them to make those choices, even if you do you can’t really tell someone what they should’ve done because it’s not your life.

And please, for the love of God, stop it with unsolicited advice. I've dealt with a lot of people who try to dictate how I should feel & what I should be doing in the name of looking out or wanting the best for me. A lot of times it comes off as condescending, like they don’t believe I’m capable of making sound decisions for myself or they’re projecting their fears onto me. Let's stop imposing our experiences onto other people’s circumstances. Let's humble ourselves. Sometimes people just want to talk & be heard, if they needed your two cents they would’ve asked.

So cheers to me, being unapologetically Inga. Cheers to never feeling like I have to explain my life to anyone ever again. Cheers to blossoming into the person that has always been there, she just needed to mute the outside noise & find her way back.

CHEERS TO TALKING MY SHIT!