I wanna talk about this movie ‘Unbroken.’ I’m probably late, but whatever, it was on Netflix. Here’s the premise: after a near-fatal plane crash in WWII, Olympian Louis Zamperini spends a harrowing 47 days in a raft with two fellow crewmen before he’s caught by the Japanese navy and sent to a prisoner-of-war camp. The  movie is directed by Angelina Jolie, so shoutout to her.

The movie really resonated me with in a very real way. The whole time, I’m like, ‘wow. he really was going THROUGH it.’ Literally everything that could’ve went wrong, went wrong. The worst possible things that could’ve happened, happened. There were so many instances, where Louie (the main character), should have given up. From surviving a plane crash, to being stranded at sea for 47 days, being captured by the Japanese, and spending over two years in a prisoner of war camp, it seemed like he couldn’t win. Homeboy was getting beaten damn near everyday, and there was a scene where he broke down crying.

I feel like we’ve all been there in some way. I think in some instances we have had to face lots of challenges in our twenties, things we could’ve never have imagined. Sometimes, i look at my Facebook newsfeed, like really look at it. I notice that everyone out there is struggling in some ways. Whether it’s a death, trouble conceiving, illness, weight loss/weight gain, mental health issues, everyone’s going through some personal battle. I think also, when it comes to love, it’s easy to be jaded and disengaged. It’s easy to give up.

The movie inspired me in a lot of ways. Despite everything Louie went through, there was an unwavering fight inside him. There was a will that couldn’t be beat down, and you could see how much it bothered his enemies in the film. He literally was getting the shit beat out of him daily, and he was just taking it on the chin. I was baffled. Sure, I’ve been through shit, but I think it’s easy to think that any particular event is the end of the world. As I said in my previous post, I’m going through my Saturn Return, and it has been by far the most stressful, confusing, and eye-opening time of my life. There have definitely been moments where I’ve felt defeated, and have been close to my breaking point. But I think we all have that fight in us. I think it shines through in the most unexpected moments, and we realize how strong and resilient we really are. This movie is based on a true story, which made it even more relevant.

In spite of how dim things can be, whatever difficulties you are facing, have faced, or will face, because it’s gonna happen, don’t stop believin (hold on to that feelinnnnnn). Your heart will mend itself, as it always has. When it comes to love, we all still want it, even if it seems far away or impossible to find. Don’t give up. When everything seems lost, only then will things start to come together. Watch the film. On some real shit, it really changed how I approach life’s bumps in the road. Try again in the morning, challenge  yourself, believe that everything you want in your life, you can have.

‘Welcome to adulting. It’s terrible and wonderful all at once. ‘

Three great things happened this week. One, ‘Lemonade’ dropped. If you been under a rock, you should know that it’s Beyonces visual album, and it. Is. Everything.

I could go on and on about the hour- long film, but Lord knows that there has been so many think pieces published in succession this week. So I’ll keep my commentary short.

What I loved about the film, amongst other things, is that it highlights the struggles of being a black woman in society. Yes, we are undervalued. Yes, at times we are unappreciated by our male counterparts. Yes, we have had to make the best of the hand we’ve been dealt, but dammit we are fucking flourishing in spite of. I look at my girlfriends, and I am in awe to be surrounded by so many accomplished, strong, smart women of color. Self-motivated, self-aware, and taking care of themselves. It’s literally a bomb ass club to be a part of. ‘Lemonade’ is literally all the affirmations we’ve needed to hear for forever.

Which brings me to my next great thing. After applying for over 300 jobs (not kidding), I finally got a job offer I wanted. Let me tell you, it has been a very hard, challenging, eye-opening 5 weeks. It is by far so much more satisfying knowing that I did it all on my own. I think I thought adulting meant paying bills and working. But it’s SO MUCH more than that. It’s really about being strong enough to stand on your own and being strong enough to hustle for your happiness. Like we can all shuffle through this life and check the right boxes, work and work and just get by. But what kind of life is that? What are we really doing here?! I just think about how many of us are actually going through shit, and it’s like… we don’t know how much time we actually have. We don’t know what hurdles we’re gonna have to face. So we should be spending as much time as possible enjoying our lives. A little discomfort, or even a lot of discomfort is worth being happy. That’s the biggest thing I’ve learned. How much I want and deserve to be happy in all aspects of my life, and what I’m willing to do to ensure that.

It is a satisfying feeling, knowing that you can really handle life’s shitstorms on your own. Being on my own used to scare the shit outta me. I moved here 6 years ago for grad school. I barely had any friends, I had to find an apartment on my own, I didn’t know anything about NYC.It’ll make 6 years in August, that I’ve been in this crazy city. But I’m here. Alive, hustling, getting on my own. That type of freedom, that type of self assurance, is so fucking liberating. I know now that I can really handle whatever, that I can have whatever I want if I really go for it.

Sometimes life has to completely go to shit, for one to really blossom. I feel like I’m growing, and I’m really liking who I’m becoming *Drake voice*

Third thing: moving to a new bougie ass apartment! I’m very jazzed about what comes next man. It’s only going up from here.

Adulting ain’t so bad.