Broad Shoulders

She’s the principal, teacher, and nurse. While serving as the accountant, crisis counselor, strategic planner, and logistics expert simultaneously. She mother’s, she aunts, she friends, she teammates, she partners, she sees the gaps and fills them. 

While nurturing her family, she sows positivity and hope into her community. With intensity she chases her dreams, making brave and difficult decisions often peppered with sacrifice. She audaciously achieves, shattering glass ceilings, remembering to clean up the glass shards. She is the wildest dream of her foremother’s, fortified by the spirit of frondeur warrior queens whose blood pumps through her veins.

Under pressure she’s indestructible, and she shows up even when it hurts. She shows up to celebrate, wipe tears, create, innovate, or just hold your hand. Of the few things that are constant, her presence is persistent. She’s always there, she’ll always be there, she’ll always show up with her heart open, reserving a special space just  for you.

She’s heard “no” with more frequency than “yes.” She’s wished for the superpower of invisibility, but her divine aura won’t allow her to disappear. She doesn’t back down from the unfamiliar, and stares fear in the eyes. She’s been underestimated, marginalized, scrutinized, and monetized. Her power is denied because it’s undeniable. She knows she is the present, past, and future; and to sustain the future she must be at the forefront.  

She built the table, crafted the chairs, curated the guest list, and has hand delivered invitations for a seat at the table. She knows that collaboration and intelligence wins championships. She is a king maker, she is a queen maker. She confidently adjusts her crown, solid in her awareness of who she is, and the special assignment she was placed here to complete.

Throughout her journey, on countless occasions she asks “why?” Questioning if she possesses the fortitude to make it to the finish. Her path is pre-ordained, she was built to traverse tough terrains. She can carry the load, because she is a woman, her shoulders are broad.

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