Skip to main content

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





Comments

Popular posts from this blog

BLACK AND CAREFREE

"While ya'll being distracted by this, look what's happening over here..." Ya'll know exactly who those types of people are on your friends list, don't you? You can't share a few funny memes, indulge in a hot topic discussion or post pictures of your lit brunch without somebody saying "Some of ya'll black folks be worried about the wrong thing!" And yes, some black folks ARE worried about the wrong thing BUT some black folks can worry about more than one thing at once. I mean damn, don't ya'll want a break sometimes? Photo: My Mama. Today's topic is on being BLACK AND CAREFREE . I wanted to make some heart warming post about black folks being able to be happy even in the face of adversity. Being able have joy and be aware at the same time. I had all intentions of posting photos of myself and my friends full of smiles. Making jokes about being black, educated and well spoken but being able to turn that off to be b...

JUNE 24TH FOR THE 26TH TIME

"This year I turn 26, damn it seem it came so quick. My ass and legs have gotten thick." Those are words from the great Erykah Badu. I tweaked the age a little bit. Man, I can really relate to that line. If you didn`t know, I celebrated my 26th birthday on June 24, 2015. Every birthday that I`ve ever had, I`ve looked forward to. I planned parties, organized trips, time off from work, etc. But this birthday was different. It didn`t feel the same this year. Usually, I`m anticipating the 24th. "What am I gonna wear?", "I need to loose some weight!", "I need home girl to take my shift!" Nope. Not this year. I was in the airport traveling for work because I. NEED. MONEY. I spent the months before planning new insurance and thinking about how I`m only 4 years away from 30. I can`t even click the 18-25 age group on job applications now. I`m starting to think about stability and stuff. All the bagels and sandwich breads are going to my hips. I`m attrac...

SHIFT YOUR ENERGY

"Get ready for a shift." Aight so boom... I used to think that only crazy, unfortunate things happened to me . Like, I was the only one to be chubby and teased as a child, I was the only clumsy kid who dropped everything, I never really won anything, I was the only one in the world who tried to make a mother's day spread and it end up being too salty to eat. At one point, I started calling myself "Bad Luck Brit". Whatever energy you put out comes back to you. Photo: Sierra Campbell Because of those experiences, I went through most of life almost always expecting things to turn out for the worst. I mean, I would think of the most horrible case scenario for every situation. Me: *Gets a new job* Also, Me: "Watch, I'm gone get fired for this pink hair and nose ring." Me: *Meets a nice man* Also, Me: "Watch, he gone have a secret relationship, a hidden baby and commitment issues." See what I'm saying? There...