laughter is a cure all

In my ears: Ribbon in the Sky, Stevie Wonder -- Midnight Train to Georgia, Gladys Knight and the Pips -- You, Jesse Powell

I'm back home in NY for the weekend.

One of my closest girlfriends is having her engagement party tomorrow in CT, so I decided to hop on the $15 Fung Wah and visit home before the festivities.

Though I've tried to fight it, in these past 4 years, Boston has definately grown on me--kind of like that obnoxious but damn sure entertaining relative that you can't help but have a special place in your heart for. Boston is where I've spent my college years. The place where I learned--that just because you're an amazing person doesn't mean that everyone is going to love you as much as you love them, how small the world is, the value of a $1 and true friends, not everything lasts forever but that's okay, how oh so necessary music and laughter are in my life, that I don't break easily and that my silent strength comes from my mother, how little I need in life to actually be happy, some things are better left unsaid, and when it rains it pours but after a storm the sun shines even brighter. Boston is where I've danced until my wash and set was finished and so were my shoes-- where I saw Nikki Giovanni, Tracy Morgan, Vivian Green, Musiq Soulchild, John Witherspoon, Luther Vandross, Gerald Levert, Dave Chappelle, Nelly Furtado, Arnez J, Maya Angelou, and Dwele -- where I went here, here, here, here , here, and here--where I worked here, here, here, here and here--where I had friendship making conversations till the early hours of the morning--where I lost and gained so much--where I realized that my mother is and always will be my # 1 fan. Yeah..finally walking across that stage will be bitter sweet.

Regardless of where I end up in this world at the end of the day I'll always be a ride or die New Yorker. I LOVE HOME. My family is like a Haitian Brady Bunch. HA! We love, cry, and laugh hard. They are a riot! Everyone is a comedian. I think we value laughter because we know what heart piercing pain feels like. We have experienced our fair share of collective and individual battles. We laugh loud , often and together to prove that heartache doesn't last forever and how much we truly love one another. Anyone that comes over is guarenteed to leave with their bellies hurting due to the delicious food ( the way my mother throws down is sinful) and the hours spent laughing.

Tell me why the ringer of my 16 year old sister's cellphone is Lil' Webbie's Give Me That (I'm not even going to talk about how when I was 16 having a cellphone was definately out of the question..maybe in a later post)! Out of all of us Shirlgirl has always been the one with a slight "around the way girl" edge to her. She can do all the latest dances, knows the lyrics to almost every song, is taking AP and honors courses, and has been the president of her class for the past 3 years. She's growing up in a time where male artists are increasingly vulgar, we've almost become completely desensitized to nudity, and girls and boys are sexually active too early. I'm tempted to worry because I've seen young girls get caught up and lose themselves. But I know that if some Lil' Webbie wannabe rolled up on Shirlgirl and told her to 'stop playing games' so that he could 'beat it out the frame', she would most definately 'wop wop get loose' on his a#$. That's why I admire Shirlgirl. Because I know that no matter how old she gets she'll always have a NY girl's forthright. She serves the truth straight with no chaser.