Advice Category Archives

Advice: Making Your Own Magic

“She believed in the possibility of a fairy tale. So she created her own magic, by taking a chance.”

For as long as I can remember, I have always been a realist. I come from parents who believed that if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Always apply for two to three colleges, in case your first choice doesn’t work out. Get a job, go to grad school if you can’t get one, get a PhD, if not, get an MBA. Never quit a job unless you have another job lined up first. For every plan A there must be a plan B. Now this is all fine and good for practical, solid things like school and getting jobs and what not. But the one thing you can never have a plan for, is love.

Like that’s obvious right? At least it should be. Except that if you’re a constant Type A, the idea of falling in love can be this….odd, intangible, ambiguous happening that you can’t wrap your head around. There have been hundreds of songs, books, and movies about how it happens. Boy looks over at girl. Their eyes lock. Boom, dassit. Or they casually ‘bump’ into each other in the street, because it’s fate and that’s what supposed to happen. That was all it took, and now they are living their happily ever after.

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I’m gonna tell you why our generation has stopped believing in the magic, that is falling in love. Of course there are the lucky few that have met their soulmates in high school, or college. Maybe even earlier than that. But for the rest of us, it has come or will come later in life. The problem is everyone thinks they KNOW exactly how it’s supposed to happen. Based on what, exactly? Society’s ideals about love, falling in love, being in relationships, etc? Based on how our friends met their significant others? Our horoscopes? Tarot readings? Is there a manuscript out there, a rulebook that proclaims that this is how everyone will meet their mate? We spend so much time trying to picture how it will all fall into place, never even considering that it could be something completely mind blowing and unfathomable. We lost our imagination somewhere between being a kid and becoming an adult.

Why can’t the fairytale, be real? Why is it so ridiculous to think we could meet ‘The One’ at Starbucks, or in the parking lot at Macy’s, or on the subway? WHY IS THIS SO HARD TO FATHOM? Let me share something with ya’ll real quick. One of my closest friends decided to fly across the country to visit someone she’s only spent a handful of nights with in life. Because she has always believed in the magic, and believed that the most impossible and ridiculous could be IT. When she told me she was going, I looked at her like she was fucking insane.‘ Practical Mora’ over here is like, ‘ this dummy. This person could be a serial killer. She could get kidnapped. That doesn’t sound like a good idea.’ Where do those thoughts come from? They come from a place where imagination is stifled, the magic is laughed at, and falling head over heels in love is a myth. But then I started to think to myself, ‘self, what if she is on to something?’ What if that’s the key? Being so completely open, and willing to believe in the absurd and the unlikely when it comes to romance. Like maybe…..if all of us stopped complaining about how no one is out there for us, how our love lives suck, and how we’re gonna die alone….maybe we stop. Perhaps we try, and we hope, and we dream, for the ridiculous, the absurd, the unlikely, and BOOM. We create the magic. We create opportunities to meet the person of our dreams. Texting that boy. Smiling at that girl. Attending that party. Putting on some lipstick, and owning the damn night. What if we stopped hiding behind the practical and realistic (aka boring), and just did some crazy shit?! Imagine. Who knows what we all could be missing out on.

She made me think ya’ll. I decided to start making my own magic. I decided that even in a scripted movie, a love song, a romance novel, there could be a grain of truth. Characters who believed in the possibility of finding love. It is not impossible, or improbable. Your love life can be as ridiculous and amazing and wonderful and fulfilling, if you think outside the box. Try online dating. Go on that blind date your girl has been trying to set you up with. Ask that boy for his number. Talk to that girl on the train! Say yes to a date, even if you’re unsure how it will go. OPEN YOUR HEART AND TRY. Don’t get caught up in what society says or thinks. Stop making excuses for why shit can’t or won’t work out. STOP thinking so goddamn much. No one knows how the magic will happen, but know that it exists if you open your mind to it.

The Advice: Do I Really Need You?

“And maybe that was love. Being so vulnerable and allowing someone else in so far they could hurt you, but they also give you everything.” ― Christine Feehan, Water Bound

I think on some level, our idea of falling in love is still this fairy tale bullshit we grew up seeing on Disney movies and rom-coms. We imagine that once we acknowledge our feelings, that everything is simple now. It all makes sense, it all is out on the table, we’re going to be together and live happily ever after. For some, this is true. But I think that when single people see happy couples, they assume that it just happened that simply. Like either parties involved didn’t go through some sort of emotional turmoil or heartache before they finally met ‘the one.’ I think that’s a mistake. All of us have cried over the one we’re not supposed to have, whether it was the girl that sat across from you in chem class, or the childhood best friend that you always felt a spark with.

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Sometimes the one you want is not necessarily the one you’re meant for. We waste a lot of time pining over the wrong one, which is natural and human. We all want to be loved, experience love, and fall in love. But falling in love is not rainbows and candy. It kinda feels like….getting the wind knocked out of you. You kinda feel..like you can’t breathe, and there may be some tears. the world looks different, and all of a sudden you’re in this miniature snowglobe and it’s just you and that other person. Suddenly nothing else matters.Your mind is clouded by images of this person. Their smile, their laugh, the way they smell. Everything reminds you of them, even stupid things like a song or sign in a window. It is strange, to be so overcome with such feeling. Like, how could anyone feel that much, and not spontaneously combust? It is a lot of things…painful, exciting, miserable….amazing. At least that’s how I look at it. However, I feel like everyone has different feelings about falling in love or being in love.

I say all of this because, when you’ve been solo for a long period of time, you assume that all of the ‘happy’ couples around you found love so easily. As if the act of falling in love in itself….is easy. In reality, it’s not. It takes a certain amount of vulnerability, a certain amount of bravery…to let yourself fall. Allowing your emotions to be completely unhindered, and uncontrollable. That is hard for most people. It was hard for me..the first time I fell in love, it was like a slap in the mouth. It knocked me out, and was so completely unexpected and uncomfortable. I didn’t know how to deal, and was not ready to deal. As much as you may want to be with someone, you have to be able to let yourself be that exposed. It’s easy to meet someone new, it’s a whole different story when it comes to letting someone in…on the off chance that they touch your heart. Before you ask for that special someone, make sure you’re ready for everything love entails…the good, the bad, the ugly.

You never know what love can do….’til it happens to you.’

Just my thoughts….

Sincerely,

always_mlove

The Advice: Are Black Girls Easy?

Over the past weekend, I had the opportunity to attend a Voices in Conversation party. In case ya’ll aren’t familiar, it’s basically a forum to talk about any pressing issue/topic with young 20-somethings, and also, to showcase new vendors trying to promote their clothing/jewelry lines. Sounds super cool, right? It was! It was a very solid venue, the idea behind getting educated people together to talk about real issues going on in the world was refreshing. Not to mention that for new designers, it was the perfect place to advertise their product and network. That’s all the good stuff. Here’s the bad part. I cannot tell a lie, I was super pissed after attending the event.advice_image12Essentially the forum centered around relationships, and how men and women relate to each other. Since I have been blogging about this particular topic for quite some time now, I figured that I had something to contribute. I assumed other smart, educated women would do the same. Let me tell you, I was so unbelievably shocked and disappointed by all of the women bashing at this event. It wasn’t men bashing women…on the contrary, it was WOMEN bashing other women.

You know what ya’ll? I am so tired. I am tired of other women sitting around, trying to belittle other women. Every female in the forum talked about how we as women should stop ‘allowing ourselves to be sidechicks’, we should be more patient, don’t settle, lower our expectations, blah blah. EXCUSE ME? Hol up, hol’ my phone!

I had a lot of problems with all of this. First of all, why is that women have to change all of these things about ourselves, but men have to change nothing about themselves? As far as side chicks, we cannot operate on the assumptions that every girl, knows they are a side chick. I have a girlfriend that dated a guy for a year and some change, only to find out that he was engaged. She had no idea. How many of you have been dating someone, not knowing that you are just one of several women he’s screwing/dating/playing? Sometimes, we as females are in the dark. We are made to look stupid, and blamed because we didn’t know, or we should have known. Sorry, but sometimes, we trust the wrong people. That doesn’t make us hoes. On the other side, why are men endorsing this term ‘side chick?’ If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. Stop giving in to society’s labels and bullshit, and treat women with some damn respect. Don’t come up in here with your ‘top 5’, ‘side pieces’, all that. You’re not fooling anybody. And girls who concede to being anybody’s second best, need to check themselves and re-evaluate.

This blog is not directed towards all men; if it doesn’t apply to you, relax. To the rest of ya’ll…. get.your. shit. together. If all your homegirls have degrees and are living on their own, there is no reason you can’t too. No one has time for the sob story. We’re all moving up in age, and it’s time to grow a set. Stop crying about all the women who hurt you, and using that as an excuse to be an asshole. Hurt people hurt people, let that shit go. Before you start pointing your fingers at females and how we’re not shit, evaluate yourself. What exactly are you bringing to the table? Why are you worth her time? How are you going to help her grow? There is nothing wrong with admitting that you have to improve, but acknowledging your flaws makes you a better, mature male. Both men and women can never really communicate effectively if they are so focused on denying their own shortcomings.

Women: stop telling other women all the ways they are fucking up. That is not effective. Take responsibility for things you personally can do differently today. Stop crying about all the men who hurt you in the past, or your daddy issues, or your commitment phobia. Take charge of your life right now. Identify the reasons why you are attracting certain types of men. Identify why you can’t open up, and why you can’t trust the opposite sex. Read something. I’d suggest ‘ The Mastery of Love’ by Don Miguel Ruiz. It’s changing my life.

I’m off my soapbox. Goodnight.

The Advice: We Can’t Be Friends

It’s been awhile fam! I’ve been too busy living my life, chasing this money, that I haven’t had any time to get back to this here blog. But here we are fresh from the shower, ready to drop something on ya. Ready?Okay.Now when I first thought about this topic, I wondered how I could convey my feelings and whatnot, about being friends with an ex lover, boyfriend, etc. when I can’t really relate all the way. Then I thought, who gives a damn? So here we go. I don’t feel like everyone should be friends with their exes.

There. I said it. I’ll tell you why.


When you’re invested in something, whether it’s a situationship, an exclusive relationship (i.e. boyfriend/girlfriend), or someone you are dating exclusively, you’re all in. I don’t know about you guys, but I don’t do anything half-assed. If I’m into you, I’m all the way in. I’m a passionate person. I love hard. I FEEL things. So when that feeling goes away…it’s gone. Like, I can’t get it back, I can’t muster up fake enthusiasm to be around you, the fire is out, that.is.it. I’m not friends with any of the guys I’ve dated. Here’s the thing. For me, I feel like if we weren’t friends before, why would we be now? It’s silly to me. Most likely once we’ve separated, I’ve moved on, you’ve moved on. We see other people, and we become invested in them. I can’t look back, because I feel that if you’re really committed to someone, mind, and heart, there’s not really any room for anyone else.

advice_image11Over the past few weeks I’ve been chatting a lot with the homies. I had one girlfriend tell me that she was upset because one of her exes no longer takes her calls or texts, and she didn’t understand why. I thought that was weird. Think about it. He has a new girlfriend, this girlfriend probably wouldn’t like him communicating regularly with an ex, because she probably thinks he may still have feelings for her. Who has time for that? Girls are jealous creatures. I am a jealous creature. I don’t want to share your attention, I want it fully. I’ve seen far too many situations, where both guys and girls have claimed to be ‘just friends’ with their ex, and have ended up back with them, or at least hooking up with them. How does that help you grow and move forward?

I’m not saying this is the case for everyone. I know a few people who are friendly with their exes and there is no problem…..that they know of. In my observation, on the outside things are platonic and friendly..but more often than not one party still has lingering ‘what if’ feelings about the other. You can never say that just because you view them as a friend, they fully view you as the same. As we get older, get married, and have children, the situations will be even more unrealistic. I don’t know any married couples who are still friends with their exes, do you? I’ll wait.

If things end, they end for a reason. Stop trying to recreate a dead relationship. I know that none of the guys I’ve dated were supposed to be with me for the long haul. When they go, I delete them off of Facebook, Instagram, phone book, all that. I don’t want reminders of what once was. Keeping that door open invites the chance that one will relapse, and that may not be the healthiest move for your heart. Call it immature, I call it closure. Besides, no one wants to see their ex moved on and happy if they aren’t in the same place. That sucks.

Memories are just that…memories. Good times, or bad, things begin and end everyday. I take every situation and experience for what it is, and I get ready and open my heart for the new one that is sure to follow. I feel like that’s how it should be.

We can’t be friends. Thanks for the memories though.