Hello #JustWrite!! Can you believe it's February again!! 2017 is moving along quite nicely. Summer will be here before we know it. Don't let time pass you by before you are able to tell those stories. Speaking of telling stories, on February 2nd, I finally had the opportunity to check out a matinee of the movie, "Hidden Figures". I know I'm late seeing the movie, but since the year has rolled in, I've been busy. So, once I saw that I finally had a free moment, I checked the movie out and it was everything I expected it to be and more. First and foremost, most of you know that I am a math geek, so anything about STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math), I'm intrigued. When I saw the previews, I knew I had to go out and support this movie, mainly because I had never known of the three women's roles in STEM during the civil rights era. It was an emotionally, riveting movie. I was brought to tears during specific scenes. What really made me sad was the fact that the women had to wait until they were older to have their story told. Not once during my years as a student in public school and college did I hear about these women. Watching the movie reminded me of how my ancestors and those before me endured so much so that I could be able to do so much more than they could do. We are so privileged to do so many things and as our sis Kim would say, be intentional about them, but we don't do them. More importantly, when it comes to telling our stories, we either shrink in fear and don't tell our story and in many ways compromise our stories to gain more popularity and materialism.For example, this past Sunday, the Grammy's aired and the following day, as expected, there were so many social media posts about the awards show, ranging from performances, attire, and award speeches. Many of the posts I saw, I found to be written in a negative light. It's amazing how we're so quick to write and showcase such negativity online, but when it comes to sharing something that is positive and can bring forth change, we as a people are silent. Why is that the case? Are we ashamed of our stories? Do we feel like we're the only ones that take a stand for something that we care about so no one else would possibly care? Or is that we don't want to step on anyone's toes when speaking truth? We as people and as writers have to get back to being authentic and true to our stories. We have to start loving our stories enough to be shared and told in the way they deserved to be told. I've noticed lately that many books are becoming movies and many singers are producing biopics that are allowing creative freedom to share their stories. It seems that when one artist shares their stories, it frees others to share theirs. That direct support from one artist to another is an example that we as writers should follow as well. That brings me back to the movie, "Hidden Figures." One moment that stuck out to me in the movie was the way the women stuck together. So much power happens when we as writers stick together. We do more together than we do would do solo. Now, there are some cases where we have to be solo (quiet time, prayer, etc.), but, you understand what I'm saying. The same thing goes for us as Christians. There's so much division in the body of Christ because of titles and so much attention on what we do that sometimes we miss the big picture: working collectively to grow in the Word together so we can make disciples and bring them into the Kingdom. I truly believe that when we as people, writers, and Christians get back to the place of understanding our 'why' (purpose, vision, history) and our truths, then so much strength and boldness would be manifested and so many beautiful stories will be told. We have so much power in us. Remember, it's all about making HIStory known. So continue to write your truths with authenticity and honesty.
In His Service,
~Lequvia Ousley~
