Last weekend was an interesting one, to say the least. From the outside looking in, it was just another cozy weekend in the city. Except, it wasn’t just another cozy weekend — it was also a stormy one. Regardless, my boyfriend and I knew we would still have to commit to our usual weekend chores around the apartment. Laundry was up first. After the recent lock out situation, it wasn’t even a question whether or not I was helping. It was Friday morning at this point, so I was working from my kitchen table while Jordan made his laundry rounds before the storm hit.
I had just wrapped up my first meeting of the day when he FaceTimed me to show me that someone stole one of the side mirrors off of his car. I know it sounds ridiculous because it is. I don’t understand why someone would steal a singular side mirror.
I was surprised when he came back inside the apartment laughing the whole thing off. Here’s one big difference between Jordan and I — Jordan tends to see the glass as half full, while I see it as half empty. 99% of the time, I have to shake myself out of an initial negative attitude and try to see things more positively. At the end of the day, Jordan was just happy that his car wasn’t jacked! There was no major damage, it was just a side mirror.
We laughed it off and moved on.
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Aside from doing laundry, we didn’t leave the apartment once last weekend. The storm hit the city in the wee hours of Saturday morning, and it poured all day. By Sunday, the rain continued to pour and didn’t clear much until the night.
Since we spent the weekend inside, most of our time went to watching TV — together, apart and then together again. Out of boredom, I spent a few hours mindlessly scrolling through various social media platforms. I ended my scrolling session on TikTok, and came across a few videos showing celebrity’s outfits from the red carpet at the Grammy’s. So, to CBS we went to watch the Grammy’s. We caught the tail-end of the show but saw enough to watch a few awards being given.
I was so happy to see Victoria Monet win best new artist. While she may be a new artist to most, she’s no new artist to me. I had seen her work her magic with Ariana Grande a few years back during music videos, performances and BTS clips. It’s been inspiring to see her growth through her new album, Jaguar II.
As she tries to hold back her tears during her acceptance speech, Monet says “I moved to L.A. in 2009 and I like to liken myself to a plant who was planted, and you can look at the music industry as soil, and you can look at it as dirty or it can be looked at as a source of nutrients and water. And my roots have been growing underneath the ground unseen for so long. And I feel like today I’m sprouting finally above ground.” After fifteen years, she feels like she’s finally sprouting. That stuck with me. Fifteen years is a long time to put energy into something that is so spiritually important to you. Pursuing anything for that long without seeing much of a reward must feel draining at some point or like throwing in the towel might be an easier route.
One of the reasons why I feel so inspired by Victoria Monet is because she never gave up on her dream. It took over a decade to reap the benefits of the hard work she sewed, but if she gave up, she would never have seen it.
For me, it was a reminder to just keep going. Keep chugging along. If there’s one thing I’m extremely proud of, it’s my persistence to continue writing. I see articles posted on this platform all the time about guides to subscriber growth, why you may have so few subscribers, etc. I’m grateful for the community that I have and for the continuous support of Love Niya. If I’m able to reach one person and make their day even the tiniest bit better, then I feel happy (even if it’s just about showers). I don’t have a large following right now, and that’s okay. I’m going to keep going because writing is just something I love to do. It’s a creative outlet where no one else gets to have any opinions over my openness and what I want to say.
So, this is just a reminder to start your passion project, continue working on it even if it’s not lucrative, and just keep going. You never know when your roots will finally sprout.