Someone asked me a little over a month ago how you know the difference between being sad and being depressed.  I can’t speak for anyone else, but when I’m sad, I know the exact reason for it, and there are usually pretty clear steps I can and am able to take to soothe myself in a reasonable amount of time.  Depression on the other hand, is like being held hostage inside my own body.  I am aware of everything going on around me, but I can’t connect to anything, or anyone, and I can’t find the energy or motivation to move, mentally or physically.  I’m sad for reasons that lie deep beneath the surface of the superficial inconveniences that life tends to present.  It’s like being in a sunken place of my own creation.  Last year I was more depressed than I realized.  I was on auto pilot for much of the year, just going through the motions of my obligations, until one day I just shut down. I couldn’t get out of bed for days, except to shower and eat.  And eat I did.

Photo: Reggie LJ

When the Social Strategist known as Lil Uzi Vert was asked how he responds to critics of his fashion choices, calling them “feminine,” his response was perfect.  “You know what it is? They’ve never felt these fabrics before.”

Photo: Freeform

I know I know, I’m late to this party.  In my defense, there’s a lot of good tv to watch right now.  But anyway, I finally got to catch up on the first three episodes of Grown-ish and I’m in love.  First with the diverse, intersectional characters.  Second, with the fashions.  Third with the writing.  Actually, the writing and the fashions are tied for me.

DISCLAIMER: This post is not to convince you to try Whole30, but to find something that you can realistically do to make better choices with how you eat, and how you take care of your body.  Now, I have to tell you that I have tried multiple meal plans, diets, calorie counting, meal replacements, etc. and none of them proved to be sustainable given what I know about myself.  This is what I found that worked for me, and I encourage you to find what works for you.

Let’s begin.

Something you should know about me, I have an unreasonably large amount of friends.  I don’t mean homegirls/boys who I casually know.  I mean I have a lot of legitimate friends whose parents know me, and who I could call at 3 AM from jail, and know that they would show up for me without question.  Well, there would be questions, but not until the car ride home.  I consider this a huge blessing, but this year it revealed itself to be a bit of crutch for me in terms of my business life.

Photo: Netflix

We are smack dab in the middle of a resurgence of great Black film and television, and thank God btw.  Once the itch for more Black stories was scratched with shows like Blackish and movies like Get Out and Girls Trip, we continued to thirst for more.  So, it only made sense for a reboot of a Spike Lee joint to come forth in this era.  The highly anticipated reboot of She’s Gotta Have It (originally released as a film in 1986) premiered on Netflix as a ten part series on Thursday.  I watched the original for a refresher, and binged the ten episodes over the holiday break, and well, I have many thoughts.  Let’s jump right in, shall we?

Hello readers. Here’s your new weekly list of cool things I’ve run across in the media this week. Read on for more of what I’m reading, coveting, watching, and learning.

I stumbled drunkenly into my house after a miserable date that took place on a rainy night at a bar on the Lower East Side.  It was a cool enough place for two people to get to know each other.  It smelled of spilled drinks, desperation, and poor decision making, and I came home covered in two of the three.  The DJ played a solid mix of throwbacks, so the vibe was chill, despite the growing crowd.  The company; however, was questionable at best.