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“If we must help… and some us can’t help ourselves not to, then we must focus on what we are doing and how we are doing it in place of who we think we are doing it for. Taking care of what is driving us will begin to steer us in a different direction.”

“Writer’s block isn’t a lack of ideas. It’s a temporary lack of believing in who we are.”

” …frustration isn’t always negative. When placed into a different perspective, it looks a lot like, “you know better and you mad at yourself because you won’t do better. So, stay mad or do something about it.”

“Today is the final day of Alopecia Awareness Month. I haven’t been active in the awareness part this year because if people don’t know about unexpected hair loss by now, I mean..”

“I was formulating business plans, marketing goals and financial expectations with stress, doubt and out of just a plain fear of failure. I thought if I worked diligently, tirelessly, I could work right through those things, that they would disappear beneath the grind.”

“Who knew that within anger, sadness and frustration that the seed of hope would flourish, and the power of humanity would nourish it so strongly that no matter where you are, who you decide to be, this is the year that has created just as much as it has destroyed.”

What must be done to sufficiently alleviate the burden of hate off of the backs, necks and lives of Black people? I cried today because I realized there isn’t a magical answer, a single person or word that will provide the relief so many seek. I cried because I know that this and other issues are beyond a position, role, uniform, badge, gavel or jail sentence— that line is crossed the moment a life is taken.

Power filled Black women don’t make noise, we make moves. We don’t wait for permission to enter a room, environment or circle. If not welcomed, we search for or create our own, and we are known to exit just as seamlessly as we enter any space we no longer desire to be.

Despite lack of support, Cadino maintained his desire for his then uncommon hairstyle, decided to create what he could not find, and opened his first salon. Today, he owns Carapinha, a small business that includes three salons where he uses a range of his self created hair products in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique.

“Maybe, just maybe, we don’t need protection. Maybe we just need stop overthinking, getting stuck with analysis paralysis, accept “it is what it is” and move on.”

“Even if life doesn’t seem fair, people thrust their insecurities into our paths or hope seems like a fantasy, the answer to thriving, laughing, loving and enjoying this experience will always be within each of us.”

“And as far as resolutions go, the way my mind is set up, I tend to have multiple goals and action plans before my head leaves the pillow each morning.”

“You don’t have to have life all figured out. In fact, you never will.”

“…other people had everything I desired from the beginning and others, like myself, felt destined to always struggle and fight for it. That people and situations can sometimes…well…suck, but I deserved peace…”

“As a Proverbs verse reminds us, wise words bring many benefits, first being how they make others feel.”

“The more we tune into what we desire, the more we realize that we’re always in the “good place.” The real work is convincing ourselves of that; that we don’t have to have it all together to be courageous.”

“There hasn’t been one bald or balding woman that I have spoken with who does not mention the ‘freedom’ of accepting alopecia, the absolute elevation of their spirit and their life that comes with letting go of the fear of hair loss.”

“The authentic me was no longer restrained within a space of fear, and I was able to recognize that I owed myself the respect of listening to and valuing my own perspective about my existence, even if uncertainty persisted.”

“Our children watch us embrace who we are, make informed decisions and overcome adversity, or mimic our silence and internalize our pain.”

“Do I have to look in the mirror and not see beauty, because ‘the world’ can’t grasp the idea that if we were meant to be the same, we would be? Without hair, do I have to wonder if I’m good enough, woman enough because ‘the world’ chooses to give credence to beliefs, many founded within acts of inhumanity, and establishes laws to validate its existence?”

“It is well known this ‘baldness’ gene is carried by the X chromosome, which for males, means it’s inherited from the mother’s chromosome contribution.”

“I didn’t know what was worst, having to lay my face in my auntie’s lap as she braided the back of my head, or the sharp vaginal pain of having my roots stretched like Elasta Girl as she ‘did’ my hair for the week.”

“Are you the friend who claims to have our back but only when it’s comfortable, or are you that friend who we can count on in our darkest moments?”

“Nothing scares the hell out of you and helps you focus on achieving your goals more than burning your ship.”