THERE'S POWER IN YOUR "NAH"

"Dang Brit. You be hiring & firing em'!"
"You are very good at goodbyes."

The other day, I did something I thought I would never do. I picked up my phone, opened my list of blocked callers and wondered if there was anybody I needed to let out on bail. Like, what if I was wrong about somebody? What if I made a mistake? What if God hid my husband in my blocked list?

Sike. I don't take trash out of the basket. And I don't believe that God would do a sista like that.

Here's my truth: As a child, I was very mild mannered and shy. I didn't say much. Didn't bother nobody. And didn't want to be bothered. At home, I was a completely different person. I was silly, outgoing, sassy, sweet and I was bothering everybody in my house. At school, I was bullied. At home, I tried to fight my brothers just for not letting me play Sega with them.

I would always come home and complain about what someone said or did to me at school, until my family started challenging me to "keep that same energy" that I had at home when someone was trying me at school.

A Quick Story: There was a girl that I can remember always calling me fat and saying other cruel things whenever she could. She had buck teeth. One day, I reached my breaking point and got angry enough to use that to my advantage. I chased her around the playground saying "Bunny Rabbit! Bunny Rabbit!" while creating rabbit ears with my fingers until she cried and told on me.

IT WAS ON THIS DAY, THAT A SAVAGE WAS CREATED.

Photo: Stephen Nitz

Since then, I've learned the power of giving folks a taste of their own medicine, learning to speak up for myself and understanding that "nah" is an answer. "Nah, I'm not gone let you talk about me." "Nah, you not gone be my friend when it's convenient." "Nah, you not gone text me 'wyd' all day." Sometimes, in order to keep your life peaceful, it is necessary that you let some folks go. And I don't know about ya'll, but I like my peace. And I feel, if someone isn't contributing to that, why keep them around?

Listen, the moral of the story is, you don't owe nobody nothing. Most of the time when you've let someone go, you've simply reached your breaking point. Remember, you can love someone from a far. Who knows, there may come a time when you can reconcile with them. But some folks are just foul and need to stay on the blocked list. You can let them let them lurk your snap chats though. That's fine.

-BRIT