Becoming who I want to be. Who I needed to be. My best self. My only competition is myself. Staying in MY lane and documenting it as I go along. Join me.
Are you patriotic? What does being patriotic mean to you?
I am an American but I’m a Black American. And yes, there’s a difference-whether we like to admit it or say the quiet part out loud. In that description or statement is packed legacy, love, soul, history, and culture. At that same point, it’s also packed in pain, fear, constant criticism and oppression. So many people say they want to hear less of the last part or any difference in what an American is. I wish that were true and I could relax and just say I am American but when I am perceived visually before I am experienced, that is all I know.
I celebrated the fourth of July just like any American when I was younger. I didn’t really stop and think about it until I hit my late 20s/early 30s. After the reality of how society views me came into knowledge for myself, I chose to celebrate Juneteenth as my Independence Day. That evolved to include Emancipation Day (DC’s version of Juneteenth) and I hadn’t looked back for many years. In 2026, I have had an epiphany of sorts that I can once again celebrate all three holidays and make it what I want for ME. That means having the Afro American colors of black, red, green, and gold as well as the red, white and blue. That means finding a shirt that has all that on it or getting the American flag in the Afro American colors. It’s remembering my ancestors and what they bled, fought, and survived for during July 1776 or April 1862 or June 1865.
I am my ancestors’ answered prayers and I choose to allow that to be what my compass for patriotism mean to me.🖤❤️💚💛❤️🤍💙
Recently, I found myself deep down rabbit hole comparing cameras, gimbals, flying cameras, drones, batteries, storage drives, and enough accessories to make my Amazon cart question all my life choices.
I was preparing myself for Amazon prime day and the competing sales that pop up (I did find something good before and it ended up even better later but that’s another post for later🤓😉).
At first glance, it could have looked like I was trying to decide what new thing to buy next just buy something🫠.
But somewhere along the way, I realized I wasn’t really thinking about the cameras at all.
One of my latest purchases🙃
As a whole, I was contemplating about stewardship.
Growing up, my Mommy has always told me:
“Know the why behind the what.”
That lesson has stayed with me my entire life.
Not only did I grow up in the church, my Daddy was faithful in his service to his church until right before he passed. It’s wasn’t lost on me what leadership and stewardship meant from a young age so I have been around that word a long time.
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned that many of our decisions become clearer when we understand the reasoning behind them. That purchase. Those goals. The dream you have. That project. The journey. The what is easy to see. That why usually takes a little more digging.
For a while, I thought I was simply becoming a content creator.
Trying my hand at cinematic video at the Metro
But that’s not exactly all of it.
What actually excites me isn’t the cameras themselves. It’s the vessel that allows me to capture and preserve Us.
The laughter.
The conversations.
The rides.
The gatherings.
The everyday moments that seem ordinary today but become a part of history tomorrow.
As a Black woman born and raised in and around the Washington, DC area, I’ve watched neighborhoods shift and change; people come and go; traditions evolve or evaporate; and communities continue to create joy in spite of every challenge placed before them.
I have also seen communties uprooted and eradicated and only the memories and photographies in someone’s grandmother’s home hold what used to be but will never be no more.
So much of our story gets told by other people.
So much of our history gets reduced to headlines.
So much of our humanity gets flattened into stereotypes.
But when you document your own community from the inside, something different happens.
You preserve the feelings.
Not just what happened.
But what it felt like to be there.
What it felt like to laugh with friends.
What it felt like to ride through the city.
What it felt like to gather, celebrate, and simply exist. Just be.
That’s why I became excited about documenting Stunt Sundays, community events, DC culture, family moments, and everyday regular boring life.
Not because every moment is extraordinary.
But because ordinary moments become extraordinary with time.
One day, my children and their children may watch these videos.
I want them to see how we lived.
How we spoke.
How we dressed.
How we gathered.
How we loved.
How we built community.
All this thinking made me realize that documentation itself can be another form of stewardship.
Not just stewardship of money.
Or property.
But stewardship of memory.
Stewardship of culture.
Stewardship of connection.
Stewardship of legacy.
The cameras are simply the vehicle for the feelings.
The real goal is preserving our presence and our essence.
