Well hello there. Welcome to my wall. I am not a flower but I am a journalist, an introvert, a born-again blogger, and a law lover (quite irrelevant at the moment but necessary for future reference). A few weeks ago I went to a journalism conference that featured a talk by Laurie Penny and Elaine Díaz Rodríguez (very cool lady journalists, check them out) talking about one’s brand. They talked about how one can build their brand online – basically create an identity online that will correlate well with your identity in real life so you can “live” in both worlds successfully as a journalist or just as a regular individual. The talk got me thinking. I thought and I thought and I thought and this blog is a product of that thinking.

No, this is not my way of forcing my brand onto people. This is not me saying “World, this is me. Pay attention because I am tough shit. Pay attention to me because I have lived an amazing life worth noting.” Quite the opposite actually. Besides a few random odd instances (to be revealed all in good time), I am quite average. I’m happy when I see my friends and I get upset when others harm those I care about. Normal 20 year old. Laurie Penny and Elaine Díaz Rodríguez made me realize, through their branding talk, that I don’t have a brand. I have no distinct idea of who or what I am. Yes, I am a girl and yes I identify as an African-American girl. Beyond the heritage and the family info however, I realized that I don’t know exactly all the little parts that make up who I am. I am still learning, every day.

I took a personality test today that told me that I am an Introverted-Intuitive-Thinker-Judger. Meaning I gain strength from being alone; I see projects in terms of the larger, finished picture rather than the minute details; I am an ideas woman who takes longer, 2-48 hours, to develop a kick-ass idea and I have a tendency to judge a situation not based on my own personal feelings or emotions but rather on what is right and what is wrong. (This personality test was so on point it was scary.) Besides these traits though, I don’t know how I feel about my day to day interactions with people (this goes back to that whole thinker thing). It’s been an interesting semester for me, to say the least. I have built so many wonderful relationships but I have also been through some weird ones and I am cultivating and strengthening some others.

That’s what this blog is. I do my best analysis of situations when I am alone and writing (introverted journalist). What do these relationships mean? What do these interactions with my peers and my friends mean? I’ll try to find out by  discussing them every now and then on here. I hope to goodness, however, that this is not a one-sided conversation. As they’re saying in the pop world these days, “everybody’s looking for something.” My something is a discussion. My something is a sense of space outside of myself where strangers (that’s you) can read my little tinkerings and identify. Or rectify. Or clarify. Often I think I over think things. Is it true? You tell me. I may not have a brand yet. I may not have a solid identity of who I am or where exactly I’m going, but I’m going to try to figure it out. I hope you’ll join me on my journey to peace and a better understanding of who we are as people. Who knows, maybe by the end of it we’ll all have brands we can all send to the embroiderer and get hats made.