There's a first time for everything

They say the hardest part is beginning….

First off, thanks for stopping by and checking out my first newsletter. Sometime during the pandemic, I had BIG plans to start a podcast that would go hand and hand with my Lifestyle/travel IG “RidethaVibe”. My very supportive husband had his brother create me a logo at the time and as always with any great idea I have, I sat on it. I have found my fear of failing to be so crippling at times that it got to a point where I didn’t tell anyone about anything creative that I had plans on pursuing (the never-ending saga of being a perfectionist and overachiever). Every time I would discuss said plans out loud, my brain goes on a frenzy of creating a bunch of different scenarios which include: me failing over and over again. I know that I am not alone in this sentiment so please don’t be shy to agree! LOL

I have been feeling compelled to get more involved with my creative side as I know that this is what truly makes me happy. I am continuing to learn that my truest happiness’s will NEVER come from my 9-5. So In order to keep my head above water, here I am. Meanwhile, my “Fear Friends” (The group of voices in my head that deter me from most of my creative ventures) have been very busy in letting me know that I will fail whenever the time comes and I decide to release a poetry project, sign up for tech-certification/courses, as well as even writing this newsletter that you are reading today. I’ve jumped the gun and went ahead with part 1 of my creative venture release.

  (Dania - 1, Fear Friends - 7346843975290)

GOAL: Do everything creative that I’ve always dreamed of. WHY? Because life is too short to wonder about all the what-ifs (no seriously)

What really brought me to officially start my newsletter, honestly, is because I’m someone whom always has ALOT to say. In the times we live in now, I feel that my voice is no longer one that should just be reserved for Instagram, Twitter, or any of the other usuals. The more people that I come across, the more places that I travel, the more that I read, the more that I listen and conversate, the more news that I come across, and the more music I listen to… the more I have to say.

The recent events that I’ve witnessed in the last week involving Israel and Palestine, have really got me trapped within a place of deep thought and empathy. I’ve spent the last week immersing myself in deep conversations, long historical articles, equally long think-piece’s , and very graphic twitter/tik-tok videos. Most recently, a road trip over the weekend where my husband spent half of the ride reading aloud Israeli/Palestine think-piece’s while also googling everything in between that we didn’t understand. Firstly, I send my deepest sympathies to the Israeli community and all of those affected by the terrorist attack that happened last weekend. AND I also want to send my deepest sympathies to the Palestinian community whom are currently facing genocide at the hands of the Israeli government.

SOLIDARITY TO STAND AGAINST THE KILLING OF INNOCENT LIVES SHOULD BE UNANIMOUS. STANDING UP FOR VIOLENCE AGAINST INNOCENT PALESTINIANS IS NOT ANTISEMETIC AND STANDING UP FOR VIOLENCE AGAINST INNOCENT ISRAELIS IS NOT ISLAMOPHOBIC. TWO THINGS CAN BE TRUE.

 It has been a very hard week to watch these events play out on social media and to see people pick sides on whom to support when people are recklessly being attacked/killed throughout both communities. Despite the fact that I personally do not have any close Israeli or Palestinian friends, that did not deter me from condemning violence. The Antisemitism and Islamophobia that I’ve seen amongst my social medias or peers, has also been hard to watch and stay quiet about. To stand with Israel should NOT mean you stand with the occupation and apartheid against the Palestinian people. To stand with Palestine does NOT mean you should be Antisemitic and support the death of Jews. I don’t need to have friends from either of one of these backgrounds to stand on the message that : NOONE SHOULD BE DYING . It’s honestly been disappointing to see my voice being one of the few to actually speak up and take the side of humanity. Not the side of one specific country or one specific type of people or one specific political view.

The amount of people whom have reached out to me and have thanked me for standing up, have thanked me for something that comes to me so naturally. My personal opinion is that when you can put aside your own personal biases, you are the strongest ally to Social Justice. Also, with the more history you know and the more educated you are on the issue, I believe that it would have been impossible to take a side if you are truly an ALLY. With this being said, I hope that there is some resolve soon as the amount of people whom have been killed (especially in Palestine) has been heartbreaking as the numbers continue to rise tremendously. I hope that as a people, we can stand up against ALL forms of violence and oppression when we see them happening. If you would like to donate to Palestine causes or Israeli causes, you can follow those links.

To end off this weeks newsletter, I wanted to share some music that I have been listening to. Music being my form of therapy (If you need a therapist though, GET YOU ONE), I find it beautiful when people can be touched by the words and experiences of the artist’s they listen to. The way music has the capability to both open a closed wound and simultaneously heal me in the process, I could go on and on. I spent last week working remotely in Puerto Rico and had time to continue to run this album into the ground. If you are into Afro-beats or want to hear good music you’ve never heard before and you need a good mood feel, especially with all the stuff going on around the world, go listen to : Burna Boy’s Album “I Told Them”.

This album specifically speaks to my “Fear Friends”. To all those people who have been doubted, who’ve been told that they cant do something, whom have been laughed at and told their dreams are impossible…”Don’t complain, Don’t explain, Just Believe”.

Till next time with love, RidethaVibe with Dee ❤️