I’m not going to get into politics here and I’m not going to ask you who you are voting for, but I AM going to ask you to use your privilege and get out and vote on Tuesday. This may be the most important election of our lifetime. If you need to know where to vote, you can check here: https://www.usa.gov/voting.
Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I’m telling lies.
I say,
It’s in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It’s the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can’t touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can’t see.
I say,
It’s in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
Now you understand
Just why my head’s not bowed.
I don’t shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It’s in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need of my care,
‘Cause I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
~ Maya Angelou
More to come, but to say today at #Blogalicious8 has been amazing and inspiring would be an understatement. And then the present waiting for me at the front desk at the end of the night just topped it off. I promise a full recap later, but right now I am a ball of power, emotion, action, activism, and love. Thank you Stacey, speakers (details coming soon), and new friends, and Andrea. You are enough. 
I am deflection and depression. I am angst and anger.
I
am
anxiety.
I am thousands of hours of wonder and wandering, love and leaving, crushes and crying.
I am made up of my ancestors before me and the legacy I leave in friendships.
I am proud power getting stronger with age. What doesn’t defeat me now only drives me harder and clears my head.
I can overcome anything with His grace.
So can you.
I have been bitten, betrayed, bloodied, and beaten. I am not those things.
I have been raped, released, reneged, rattled, and ruined. I am not those things.
I have been broken, but healed. I will break again. I will rise again.
So will you.
I am precious, passionate, people. I am spirit, love, dance. I am intelligent, resourceful, loyal.
I am me.
So are you.