A Birthday Note to Self:

Happy 30th Birthday, Sarah,

I am so proud of the woman that you’ve become. You have learned about the importance of self-love. The importance of independence. The significance of your worth. The importance of boundaries. The importance of knowing when to let go. The significance of your strength and then implementing that strength into every aspect of your life. You have hurt others. You have been hurt, as well. You have loved the wrong people. You have also loved the right people. You have allowed your ego to cloud your vision, controlling most of your…

By definition, love is an intense feeling of deep affection, and great interest and pleasure in something and/or someone.

But, what is love to you? What does it look like, and how do you define it? We are going through a time where human beings are required to do some serious self-reflection. So, I’ll ask again.

What is love to you?

Is love…

Ownership? Does your love feel granted permission to oversee and control every detail of your existence when you are with them? If so, why?

This is toxic.

Does your love feel uncomfortable? Our minds often require more…

Strawberry Hill, Jamaica reminds me of you.

A place you always wanted to visit.

That’s probably where you are.

Eating fresh mangos, with your toes in the sand.

Smiling with your mom. I bet being reunited never felt so good.

I can hear you now.

“Strawberry Hill is heaven.”

Carmen, you are heaven.

Always such a joy to be around.

I love you.

I wish you could’ve stayed.

I’ll miss you forever.

Thank you for blessing our lives.

For always being so kind, and sweet, and thoughtful.

For including me in your mom’s memorial, and letting me bring her home…

My grandmother has been in self-isolation in a long term facility in Scarborough, since March. While she has been in self-isolation, she relayed the news to us that several members in her long term facility died from the virus. Although my grandmother is legally blind, she is 100% coherent, and spends her time listening to the news on tv, and talking to her family on the phone. When we received the news that my grandmother tested positive for the coronavirus, without symptoms, it was a hard pill to swallow. …

To some, last names are just that — last names. But to me, my last name represents so much more. Many women opt to change their last names after marriage, but I choose to keep mine. There are stereotypes about men whose wives retain their surnames after marriage. “ The idea of a woman changing her name when she marries is tied up to a lot of the romantic ideas we have about love and marriage. …

My grandparents were born in Jamaica in 1920. My grandmother’s family was from Savannah La Mar, and then they moved to Kingston, Jamaica, when she was three years old. My Grandfather’s family was from Saint Ann’s Bay, and my grandparents had met each other on a bus in Kingston when they were seventeen years old and fell in love. They got married in 1939 and lived in Kingston, Jamaica. My grandfather had the opportunity to work as an RJR (Real Jamaican Radio) Broadcaster, and my grandmother worked at the Myrtle Bank Hotel. In 1956, my grandparents decided to move to…