Monday, September 7, 2015

Black, Green, and Healthy

What’s black, green, and healthy?
It’s a bird! It’s a plane!...It’s mint dark chocolate?? No, it’s me silly! :) And it’s also the title of my blog...so what do I mean by black, green, and healthy?  Well you know how you get those questions during job interviews that are like “describe yourself in 3 words” well this is how I would describe myself (disclaimer, if asked that in an interview I don’t think that would be the best response…)

My definition of black
To me, black isn’t just about my skin color.  Yes, skin color and the texture of your hair is a big part of it. But if you ask me, you can be ‘black’ and have the whitest skin on the earth. WHOA! What?!?!? Yes, I said it and I mean it!  And for those of you out there shakin ya head and givin me the stank eye, you know GOOD and well what I mean.  When you have sun-kissed skin and kinky, voluminous tresses people see you a certain way.  Shoot, YOU probably see yourself a certain way.  Being black is an identity, a way of life, an experience. Thus, being that it goes way beyond the superficiality of skin color and the physical traits that define a person, you can have fair skin and face many of the same ‘black’ struggles that a person with darker skin would face. You can have fair skin and identify with key elements of black culture (e.g. food, traditions, community).  I also think it's important to understand that black goes beyond what's portrayed in the media.  Although I look black and identify as black, many of my cultural practices differ from the mainstream black culture that many are familiar with.  My father is Nigerian and much of that culture is embraced in my daily life (the food I eat, the music I listen to, etc.).  Lastly, one must understand that you can have fair skin and identify as black but you must be ever so mindful of how others perceive you.  How people perceive you is a big part of the black experience.  I fully believe that you can self-identify as black and have fair skin, but because of your fair skin there are things that you just won't experience (e.g. racial profiling) and things that you will never fully understand.


My definition of green
Ever heard of the Zero Waste lifestyle? Well that’s what I mean by green.  My front door is like a TSA checkpoint at the airport!  If it creates trash or is not absolutely imperative for the well-being of my family, it’s not coming in my house! We haven’t completely eliminated our carbon footprint as much as we can, but we have reduced it dramatically.  My family of three currently produces about one small grocery bag of trash each week.  And we ain’t stoppin there baby!

However, my green life is about WAY more than the environment.  It’s about consuming less so that we can live more.  We embrace less stuff and as a result spend less time cleaning, repairing, organizing, laundering, etc. and more time doing, living, loving, and experiencing the people and things we enjoy.


My definition of healthy
It ain’t about being a size 0.  I can tell you that much. After having my baby girl I blew up.  And it was a struggle, especially since I had been a skinny girl my whole life.  My gut DRAPED over my jeans and my self-esteem and perceived beauty were on E.  Being the ambitious person I am I went to war with my weight, I exercised RIGOROUSLY for 50 minutes a day, 6 days a week.  But guess what, I didn’t shed a pound.  I was on that struggle bus HARD...like struggle bus to trial street and tribulation avenue! I was so frustrated!  Then one day I ran across a documentary called Fed Up on Netflix and it changed my life.  I learned that what you eat is INCREDIBLY important and that if you work out every day what you eat may be sabotaging your efforts.  And I also learned that just because you look healthy, doesn't mean you actually are healthy.

My definition of health goes deeper than physical well-being though.  Being spiritually, financially, and socially healthy are important too.  What's the point of having a body fine-tuned like a hemi if you are spiritually and emotionally unstable, living off credit cards, and all your relationships suck?...[insert your answer here because I don't have one]  LOL, you get my point.  Of course we all ride the struggle bus from time to time, but I think it's important to strive for total wellness and not just wellness in one area or the other.

Next week's entry: im not a damn guinea pig

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