This is a piece I recently wrote for ‘the girls society’ which is a fashion and culture organisation based in London which aims to inspire and empower girls through creative freedom, forward-thinking and artistic expression. It provides a collection of timeless creativity; stemming from : a series of words, sounds, images, collaborations and experiences and workshops. Hope you enjoy the read
Who’s that Girl?
No more peaking from the shadows, wondering if you’re good enough to compete or clearly seeing your vision but being too afraid to fail. Seeing your competition and giving up because they got it handed to them on a silver platter.
Whatever your goal or vision is you should never give up, I know we live in a world where some people think we have to live up to the approval of men when we see them solely leading businesses, but it doesn’t have to be like that. If you know you have the ability to do what they are doing and even add flavour, get to it. There will always be if’s, buts and maybe’s, but if you don’t work hard or motivate yourself then you become your own oppressor. I’ve recently been reading work by spiritual leader ‘Thich Nhat Hanh’, who speaks on how to make positive use out of situations that cause us stress, it’s a very insightful theory. Think about it, after you’ve dwelled over a situation, has anything positive come from it? If you answered ‘no’, there is a reason, you can’t… I REPEAT, can’t sit back and let the situation you’ve been placed in become your reality. If you really want to do better you will, if you want to turn something bad into something beautiful it is possible. There is a network of opportunities and others that are willing to put in the work. Don’t stop yourself because you feel you should be entitled to something because you’ve been let down or unappreciated, let yourself find beauty in hardship. When creativity hits I always get this gut feeling, and I tell myself to never ignore that feeling because that is when I become this unstoppable black girl whose magic flows freely. When I’m inspired I literally feel unstoppable and the trick is to stay in that mind-frame, never let a situation get the best of you, manipulate that situation to your benefit. Don’t get me wrong I know it can be hard, it’s easier to say than done, and it can be discouraging when you get knocked down, but realise you still have the greatest power of all, yourself. I write from a place of passion and understanding and even when I’ve felt uninspired I’ve always known my calling, I want to spark inspiration in others, I want to show them there is always another way, YOU CANT BE STOPPED. Sometimes there’s 1000 thoughts going on in my head and I just want to let my ideas out and I don’t know how, but a useful tip I practise is to do everything one step at a time, it doesn’t matter how long it takes for you to get there, just know you will. Taking your time with things doesn’t make you any less of a person because in the end you will be standing in the exact place you want to be, at the top, and they’ll all be asking, ‘who’s that girl’.
MINA MONAE 