Unpacking Peace of Mind: November 1, 2011

October 31, 2021 To read the original post from 2012, click here. Ten years ago, I left my friend Chase’s apartment in Mt. Rainier, Maryland. As he left for work, I began the final leg of my drive from Buffalo to my new home, Newport News, Virginia. I could have made the 10-hour trek in […]

There’s Beauty in the Withering: October 22, 2011

Listen to Podcast version, Read it Because I Wrote It, here. October 22, 2011. A week before, Timile and I said so long to our daughter. Cydney was the first to move from Buffalo to Virginia, Timile a week later, and I the weekend which followed. Before their departure, my mother in-law asked for power […]

A Critical Mind

Around 1am on a humid 4th of July, I waited outside of my friends’ hotel in New Orleans’ French Quarter. I came to New Orleans for my college roommate’s wedding; and after the nuptials, shooting a music video at the reception, and a drink in hand for the past nine hours, it was time to […]

It’s Time to Sing a New Song…

“Ayo, quick, give me a topic to write about,” I said to Genevieve at her workplace in Queens. Despite a fortnight of experiences to expound on, I had yet to make my way to the proverbial chair and needed a challenge-or prompt-to coax my thoughts into words onto this very page. Genevieve was quite the […]

Living in A Different World

In one of my frequent phone conversations with my good friend Kofi, I heard a familiar sound in the background. “I know which episode of A Different World that is!” I remarked. I was wrong and Kofi reveled in it with a rib at my expense. “You know what, you’re right. It is the telethon […]

How Love Story and its Sequel Mirrored My Life

This essay contains quite a bit of adult language, and by adult language, I mean the words “shit, fuck, and bullshit” fly throughout this piece. I watched Oliver’s Story, the 1978 sequel to Love Story, a film often considered one of the most romantic movies of all time. For years, I put off the hour […]

My Complicated Relationship With Discernment

Merriam Webster defined discernment as 1: the quality of being able to grasp and comprehend what is obscure: skill in discerning. 2: an act of perceiving or discerning something. Google defines it as (in Christian contexts) perception in the absence of judgment with a view to obtaining spiritual guidance and understanding. Perhaps some of my complication with my gift of discernment […]

Life Lessons I Learned From Boxing

Listen along while you read: Read It Because I Wrote It Podcast “You’ve got to make people respect your jab! You’re big and strong and your [right handed] straight [punch] will put someone to sleep. But if you don’t extend your [left] arm and throw more than just a decoy jab, no one will respect […]

The Origin Story of “Read It Because I Wrote It”

Somewhere between 2013 and 2014, shortly after my first professional gig as a writer, I clicked the share button for one of my articles to promote myself on social media. With little thought, on my phone, I typed “Read It Because I Wrote It” and put it on the internet. I didn’t put much thought […]

My Fall Rewind: An Ode to Self-Care 34-“Focus”

When Fabolous Sport blew up, those in tune with New York’s mixtape circuit knew Joe Budden was on deck. As one third of the Triangle Offense, he was a fixture and favorite on DJ Clue tapes. One could argue Clue had the greatest incubator and farm system in hip hop history. If Nas, JAY-Z, B.I.G., […]