One of my favorite books as a 20-something was A Choice of Weapons by Gordon Parks. In it, he says "Think in terms of images and words. They can be mighty powerful when they are fitted together properly... I picked up a camera because it was my choice of weapon against what I hated most about the universe."
I was typing away this morning and my screensaver flashed a picture of my first business card after finishing graduate school—a second time. That second journey around academia was a special one because:
It was paid in full (Because... “The way my God works...”)
It brought me even closer to my purpose and doing what I love—using digital media to preserve written and oral history
Look, there are a million stories to be told! Some are scribbled in notebooks on my bookshelf; others are yet unknown. I will never be able to write them all… But after Howard University gets done with me, I’m sure going to try.
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It would take 3 books and a TV mini-series to illustrate how hard I tried to find and figure out how to "fit-in" as a young professional or yes, #Millennial—which, by the way, is not a bad word—beware of the people who think otherwise.
It would take an additional book and Lifetime movie premiere to show you the moment(s) that reminded me of the power of simply being yourself, never accepting defeat, and hitting the mute button on anything that makes you question your value and ability to make a contribution to your craft and this world.
My choice of weapon for as long as I can remember is technology: my smartphone (Please come back, Blackberry! I LOVE you!) my camera, and my laptop (Even my precious Gateway tablet that I hope to restore someday.)
What makes my arsenal complete?
My faith
My experiences (and there are many...)
My ability to persevere.
As we enter the month of March and celebrate #womenshistorymonth, make sure you remember to protect and more importantly, celebrate everything you love about Y-O-U.
Watch the documentary, A Choice of Weapons on HBO. Click here to watch the trailer. Purchase your own copy of A Choice of Weapons.
