By bintaBismillah. A few months ago, according to Netflix, 1.5 million viewers became infatuated with the Netflix Original Series Love Is Blind. I saw the memes, but I purposely didn’t want to watch it because I didn’t think it would be worth my time. One day, I decided, “What the heck, why not?” and gave it…
By bintaBismillah. I’m 29 years old. Shocking, I know. How dare a woman share her age on a public platform? I’ve been through some ups and downs in life. I was a pretty shy and awkward kid. I had a few friends, but for the most part, I kept to myself. I watched X-Men, and listened…
By bintaI have the type of melanin that presses buttons. I have the type of melanin and facial structure that pushes people to ask unsettling questions, like: What are you? Are you Black or are you African? How are you a brown-skinned Muslim but you sound White? One can imagine how hearing questions like these on…
By bintaBismillah. I used to not believe in the effect that affirmations have on our mindset. I would associate affirmations with what I thought to be cliche messages like “You’re a rockstar,” or “Believe in yourself.” Then one day, I took an imposter syndrome workshop at this co-working space in Chicago. I learned that “Imposter Syndrome,”…
By bintaBismillah. The first day I met my vocal coach, she asked me to sing a few songs. Every time I would start a song, she would stop me and ask me to pick a different song. This happened about three times. She said, “Sing something your parents played.” So I sang “Buffalo Soldier” by Bob…
