It’s A Wrap 2024! The Best of What I Consumed in My 44th Year
If you want to truly understand someone, you do that by observing what they read, watch, and listen to, who they hang around, and how they spend their time. Here’s the best of what I consumed in 2024.
This year was a season of change. After spending nearly nine years in Des Moines, Iowa, I packed up and moved to the mountains of Western North Carolina. I used the insolation to dive deeper into my spiritual journey, essentially trying to understand the essence of me. In the midst of doing that and working, I did a lot of things. Here are some of my favorite things I did this year that you may want to check out yourself. Some of my favorite photos and quotes will be sprinkled throughout this column.
First Shot of the Year: January 4th at Pisgah National Forest, Asheville, NC.
I. Quotes & Sayings That Got Me Through the Year
I draw inspiration from so many places. Here are a few quotes I heard or read this year that I constantly repeated to myself as I engaged with the world and myself.
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“You shake that load off, and you sing your song, liberate the minds, then you go on home” Erika Badu from the Outkast song Liberation
“Consistency is the closest thing to perfection.” Kyrie Irving
“Never let emotions interfere with what you ‘pose to do. I know words can be beautiful, but actions hold the only truth.” Kandy from the Lizzy Jeff song MIRROR TALK
You can't love someone into loving you. If they don't love themselves nothing you will do will matter or make a difference in how they feel about themselves. Joshua V. Barr
When you are in a relationship with someone, you are in a relationship with their behaviors. You're not in a relationship with their intent or potential. Coach Ryan
Your highest goal is to remain aware. Michael Singer
The meaning of your life is to go back up with less than you came down with. Michael Singer
Die empty. DJ Jazzy Jeff
Your own existence is proof that people like you exist. Coach Ryan
A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. James 1:8
"You can suck, but you can't skip." Liz Fosslien (used as workout motivation mostly)
The more shit you take, the more shit they give. So don't take no shit. My former roommate, Manish Pandey
I make my own coincidences. My former roommate, Hector Tantoh
Don't worry about the past, we're not going in that direction. Trainer Whit Whit of E2M
We all live in prisons of our childhood experiences. The Holistic Psychologist
The reality that you have not experienced is no reality for you. The reality experienced by an enlightened person, the Buddha, Christ, or Mohammed, is the reality for these people, not for you. S.N. Goenka
I got some regrets, but my past won’t keep me from my best. Kendrick Lamar from the song Die Hard
“In all things, give thanks.” (I have heard this repeatedly in reggae songs, but it really started to click this year, especially after attending a church service on November 10th that my niece invited me to)
July 28th: Hiking with my good friend and ex-wife Lorena in Des Moines, Iowa.
II. Favorite Movies of 2024
I haven’t watched a lot of TV shows since HBO’s The Wire (the GOAT TV Show), but I am a huge cinephile. Here are some of the best movies that I watched in 2024.
Interstate 60 (Peacock/YouTube)
This movie is about a person trying to find his purpose in life and journeys on a magical highway entitled Interstate 60 to learn some life lessons. Along this interstate, he encounters different people and situations that either try to pull him off his journey or give him the keys and tools to become more fortified in his journey. It’s an excellent movie for anyone wondering why they are here and what they should do with their life. It was written and directed by the man who directed Back to the Future, so you may see a few familiar faces in this movie. Right now, it’s free to watch on YouTube! (I’m not sure for how long.)
Radical (Vix/Amazon Prime)
As a person who is very critical of our education systems, I absolutely loved this movie. It’s about a teacher who goes against teaching the standard curriculum as it isn’t doing anything to improve the lives of his students and begins to teach them practical applications of the ways of the world. I think this movie is a must for anyone who believes that we could be doing more to improve the lives of young people. FYI, it’s based on a true story of a Mexican town that borders the US.
The Platform (Netflix)
“The message needs no bearer.”
I love this movie because it is about an idealistic man who wants to change the system upon which he and many others are trapped and the difficulty of trying to get people to cooperate and work together to improve a system where some are in better conditions than others. The overall premise is that there are people living on different levels, and food comes down every day, and you try to eat as much as you can before it goes down to the next level. After a month, the people are randomly switched to another level. I don’t want to give too much away because this is a very powerful movie for anyone who questions why our systems have to operate the way they do. Plus, reading the online discussions of this movie, you realize that everyone has a different interpretation of the movie, which only adds to its greatness.
Best Rewatch: Harakiri (1962) (HBO Max)
“After all, this thing we call samurai honor is ultimately nothing but a facade.”
This is one of my favorite movies of all time, but the first time I watched it, I watched it with someone who didn’t understand Japanese culture, so I had to explain a lot of things that were happening in the movie. This year, I decided it was time for a rewatch, and man, what a rewatch it was. This is a story about a samurai who has come to the house of a noble clan to commit seppuku or harakiri (an “honorable” stomach-cutting ritual) in order to die with honor after his Lord and clan were abolished by the Shogun, and he had to struggle in poverty for many years. But things aren’t as they appear, and this layered movie calls into question all practices, rules, laws, and codes that put tradition before people and humanity. If you like intelligent films, you will love this movie. The 2011 remake is free on YouTube, but watch the original if you can; they used real swords in that one.
March 31st in the Mountains of Iowa, aka Loess Hills
“…a curse to the master and a curse to the slave! I was a fool to think I could make anything good out of such a deadly evil.”Mrs. Shelby
Some of you might be reading this and say, “Hey, they didn’t assign that book to you in high school?” Well, when you live in the South, the last thing they would want to assign you is a book that became a rallying cry for the US Civil War. I finally read this book for myself, and it was one of the best books I have ever read. I completely understand now why they would have never wanted me to read this book, as it would call into question everything someone has ever thought about their country and the Christian religion as it is applied in the US. For years, I only read non-fiction books, but these past two years, I made an effort to add more fiction to my readings to relax my brain, as my nonfiction readings always got me riled up.
This was a long read, but it was absolutely captivating. Reading this novel helps you to understand why President Abraham Lincoln is rumored to have said, “So you're the little woman who wrote the book that made this great war” when he met Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1862. It is a book that questions what it means to be Christian and what “liberty and justice” truly mean in the USA while it continues to oppress enslaved Africans. Despite its title, this book is not about Uncle Tom but the diverse cast of characters he meets along the way. The dialogues between St. Claire (a slave master) and his northern Christian cousin, Miss Ophelia, on the hypocrisy of everything European Americans, both North and South, have bought into were top-notch. There is so much more I could say about this classic book, but I think I will leave it at this: this should be required reading for anyone who calls themselves an “American” or a person living in America who calls themselves a “Christian.”
“Worthy of love and admiration were these people in their blind loyalty, their blind strength and tenacity. They lacked nothing, there was nothing the knowledgeable one, the thinker, had to put above them except for one little thing, a single, tiny, thing: the consciousness, the conscious thought the Oneness of all life.”
This was a book that I had to read twice. Upon my first reading, I liked the book but hated the ending; I didn’t really understand it. Then I went on my second 10-day silent meditation retreat, and suddenly, the entire book made sense, causing me to reread it, and I loved it from beginning to end. This is a story about a young, well-to-do son of a priest named Siddhartha, who is on a search to find the meaning of life. He throws away his life of comfort and becomes a begging monk, abandoning all earthly pleasures and still can’t find the meaning. He meets Buddha, and instead of following Buddha like so many others, including his best friend, he decides to find his own way and, even once enlightened, gets trapped in the ways of the world before waking up to his error. It’s a great book about the cycles of life and how each person has to find their own path.
“My heart is afraid that it will have to suffer,” the boy told the alchemist… “Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. That no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dream, because every second of that search is a 2nd encounter with God and with eternity.”
I’ll admit, sometimes I pick up a book and abandon it because it is not what I need at that particular time (hello, Native Son!). The Alchemist was one of the first books I picked up and read this year that I couldn’t put down once I started reading it. It’s a book about a person on a quest for what they truly desire and the ups and downs they have to go through along the way to find themselves and wind up right back where they belong. It’s the circle of life, baby, and I understand why so many people love this book. It’s a delightful and enlightening, easy-to-read book.
March 2024, Watching the sunset in Los Angeles, California with my friend Hector’s daughter.
IV. Favorite Music Discoveries of 2024
“Negro! This is the Zune music player equivalent of top 5s. Like the top 5 guys who gave you their CDs in the street for donations. I be knowing stuff and I don’t know one of these folks! This what they got you listening in them mountains?!” My former roommate Hector Tantoh, upon seeing my YouTube Music 2024 Recap
Songs
Not Like Us, Kendrick Lamar
“No, you not a colleague, you a fuckin' colonizer
The family matter and the truth of the matter
It was God's plan to show y'all the liar.”
This is probably the most commercial song you’ll see in my music discoveries. I stopped listening to mainstream hip-hop in 2013 after returning from living in Colombia, South America, and recognizing that I needed more profound music with a message to listen to (hello, roots reggae!). Kendrick Lamar blew up while I was living in Colombia, so I never really got to appreciate Kendrick as an artist, although I did listen to his To Pimp a Butterfly album once and liked it. Well, when the beef between Kendrick and Drake started (my niece Camille put me on after Kendrick’s so-called diss in the song Like That dropped), I didn’t listen to any of Drake’s songs, but I heard Euphoria by Kendrick, and I loved it. It was such a multifaceted and layered song that I got pulled into the Kendrick Lamar-Drake beef. I listened to Meet the Grahams, which I thought was a visceral breakdown of what Kendrick thought about Drake as a human, and then Not Like Us came out a day later and blew up within hours.
For me, my love for this song is not about the catchy ways that Kendrick calls Drake a “PDF file” but how he has come to reclaim rap back from the culture vultures who don’t truly appreciate this music that came about from our struggle as descents of formerly enslaved people of African descent living in America; a culture that doesn’t care about people who aren’t financially well off and have too much melanin. This song is an anthem for the Black people to reclaim who they truly are. It’s that last verse where he breaks down and connects slavery to what Drake is doing in the music business that shows the true genius of Kendrick Lamar. The first two verses are for fun, but that last verse makes Drake utterly untouchable in the hip-hop industry for any artist who claims to “keep it real.” But the real blessing of this beef was going back and doing a deep dive into Kendrick Lamar’s music catalog, which made me appreciate him as an artist even more. You’ll see him again in a bit.
The Way Knows, Lyndsey Scott
“You don’t have to know the way, the way knows the way…”
A tantra teacher introduced me to this artist, and I fell in love with her music. This song says (without saying it) that you don’t have to force anything; the way (universe/God) already knows the way. In the book Siddhartha, the main character Siddhartha says, “When one is searching, then it might easily happen that the only thing his eyes still see is what he searches for, that he is unable to find anything, to let anything enter his mind, because he always thinks of nothing but the object of his search, because he has a goal, because he is obsessed by the goal. Searching means having a goal. Finding means being free, being open, having no goal.” When you let things flow instead of trying to force a way, you find it much easier to get to your destination. The way knows the way. Let go.
Life Goes On, Satsang
“I won’t take the time that I’ve been given and waste it on the things that don’t mean a thing.”
This is a song about keeping it moving, knowing that life continues to move forward. Just “be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” This is a song I listened to a lot at the beginning of the year, especially as I had to decide whether I was going to leave or stay in Des Moines despite a particular situation that was internally pulling at my heartstrings for me to stay put.
You’re It!, Wookiefoot
“There’s no way out but there’s a way in.”
Someone dear to me introduced me to the artist Wookiefoot, and of all the songs in his catalog, this was the song I played the most. It is a song about daring to jump into life rather than being afraid, only sticking our toe in occasionally. Life is going to keep on life-ing, so we have to jump in to become the people that we are destined to be.
Die Hard, Kendrick Lamar
“I hope I’m not too late to set my demons straight…”
Kendrick is back! There are so many songs I could have put here (hello, Heart pt. 6 and LOVE), but this is the song I played the most. In the quotes section above, the quote, “I got some regrets, but my past won’t keep me from my best,” also comes from this song. This song is about breaking off the shackles of the past and becoming the person you need to be for the people you love. This entire album, Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers, is great because Kendrick is probably the first mainstream hip-hop artist to talk about the importance of therapy, breaking generational curses, and featuring Eckhart Tolle. I love the album, and I really love this song.
My Song, Labi Siffre
“For as long as I live, I will sing my song”
This gem of a song was sent to me (randomly) by a Colombian friend of mine living in Germany, and I absolutely loved it. This song is about finding your song (purpose) and continuing to sing it despite the ups and downs of life.
Starseed Lullaby, Lavva
“You’re worthy, you’re priceless, a diamond, a shooting star…”
This song is for anyone who questions their worth. It's such an uplifting ballad by the wife of one of my favorite artists. Speaking of favorite artists…
Fr33 the World, Fr33sol featuring Lavva & Ebonee Davis
“It’s what you are: a star, a star, a star. It’s what you are a star, and my orbit is full of love.”
I honestly could’ve put every song on his new album as my favorite music discovery of 2024, but I just wanted to introduce you to my favorite song off the album, which goes by the same name. It talks about the things that we, as a people, especially people of African descent, need to engage in to help heal the world that we live in. I played this song so much that I got my nieces and nephews (ages 7, 9, and 10) singing along to it, and we had a great discussion about what the song meant, especially what it means to be a star and what it means to have an orbit of love.
“I love how the album starts with Fr33 Myself and ends with Fr33 the World. That's how it has to be; before you can save the world you must first save yourself. Love this album Fr33sol!” My YouTube Comment for this song
Inner Me, Franchesca
“I’m working on the inner me, the inner me. Ain’t got no time for enemies, enemies.”
Working on the inner me was my big goal for the year. What a battle it was, but I made it!
Blessing, Jesse Royal featuring Yohan Marley
“Said it's a blessing
Every time you open your eyes
Your greatest possession is life
You'll never get this moment twice”
It is truly a blessing to be alive. This song was a great reminder of that, and on many of my lowest days, it’s the first song I played to start my day, and that includes the good days as well.
“Were you meant to be a deejay in a previous life??? Your songs always resonate with me! Thank you for sharing.” A friend that I always send music to via WhatsApp
March 23rd in Greenville, SC: My nephew Evan achieved an item off his bucket list of eating a Korean Corndog.
Black and bright, black as night, black and brilliant
Walk by faith, not by sight, stand resilient
Truth always comes to life, time reveals it
Time reveals it.
From the Track “NRICH” featuring 6LACK & Eryn Allen Kane
This album right here is true ghetto gospel. This album made me cry a few times when he talked about his relationship with his mother and grandmother and the struggle to be Black in America. The mix of gospel music and hip-hop music was absolutely wonderful and never felt forced. I played that Dave Chappelle intro on Run so many times throughout the year to help me get motivated. It’s no wonder that this album won a few Grammys. I think it’s the best Southern hip-hop album since Aquemini by Outkast and the best mainstream hip-hop album since God knows when.
“Ok yaay for killer mike! I saw him and Dave Chapelle in concert in LA last month! This artist Fr33sol or whatever needs to stop hiring free agents and managers!” WhatsApp message from Hector Tantoh after seeing my YouTube Music 2024 recap
I’ve said enough about this album, but for anyone looking to elevate to a higher vibration, please check out this album. Below is another one of my favorite tracks.
“It doesn’t matter how long, how long you have forgotten. Only how soon you remember.”
I love this album because it is about listening to your inner spirit rather than focusing on everything happening outside. For those who feel like they’ve lost their way and are looking for some inner peace and guidance, if you’re ready for it, this album just might speak to your soul.
Another of my favorite tracks from the album:
V. Favorite Live Shows
Favorite Concert Overall
Stevie Wonder: Sing Your Song! As We Fix Our Nation’s Broken Heart 2024 Tour, October 17th in Greensboro, NC
I have a bucket list filled with different items, and one was to experience Stevie Wonder live in concert. I never got to see Michael Jackson, I never got to see Prince, I never got to see Bob Marley, never got to see Peter Tosh or Bunny Wailer, and I never got to see Marvin Gaye, but Stevie was still alive. I checked for years on Ticketmaster to see if Stevie was on tour and got nothing. I checked in August of this year, still nothing. After checking in August, I just gave up. I told myself that Stevie was 74 years old and that he was probably done with touring. But to my surprise, at the end of September, he announced he was going on tour for the 2024 election. I got my tickets immediately and called up someone I hadn’t seen in a decade to ask if they wanted to roll with me. It was a great concert. Stevie didn’t need an opener because his catalog is so deep. The concert wasn’t great because of some feeling of euphoria I felt finally seeing Stevie. No, this man still had it! He sounded like he was 30 years old, singing his songs for the first time. It was also hilarious to see him make jokes about him being able to see. It was also great to bump into my cousin at the concert and spend the night after the concert chatting with her and her son. It felt great to take this off my bucket list; now, if only Jimmy Cliff would go back on tour once more. 🤞🏿
“Thank you for making my year.” My friend that I invited at the end of the concert
Concert Runner-up:
Damian & Stephen Marley, Traffic Jam Tour with the Colorado Symphony June 28th, in Denver, Colorado at the Red Rocks Amphitheater
Entrance to Red Rocks
I’m a huge roots reggae fan, and after seeing two of my favorite artists, Damian (4 times) and Stephen (8 times) Marley, on tour in DC in April, I wanted to do it again because the spot where they performed was very crowded, and I was in the back. I looked for another spot and found out that they were going to perform in Denver with the Colorado Symphony so now I had to go. I had a blast, and it was the first concert I ever went to solo, which started a whole new trend. The flutist from the Colorado Symphony was terrific; check her out.
Best Comedy Show
Roy Wood Jr., September 3rd in Atlanta, Georgia
I am a big fan of comedy, but not just any kind of comedy; I like intelligent humor. That is humor that looks at this bizarre world we humans have created and tries to find the funny in it. Dave Chappelle was a master at this, but I feel like he’s lost some of his edge lately. In my opinion, the new king of intelligent comedy is Roy Wood, Jr., who did a hilarious set talking about the conditions of our country, and while many of those things were sad, it was amazing how he could identify the humor in it. His next special, Lonely Flowers, is from the same tour we saw him on, and it debuts January 17th on Hulu.
Favorite Play
The Lion King, March 16th in Omaha, Nebraska
As someone who was a big fan of The Lion King in the '90s, I never really caught on to any of the additions to The Lion King (other than Lion King 1 ½, which was hilarious). But I always wanted to see the play, and when the opportunity came, I almost missed it, but I am glad I went. This play made me proud to be African/Black. This may sound strange since it was a play about animals, but it was much deeper than that, and when the song One By One plays at the beginning of the Second Act, if you are of African descent, you might be able to understand what I am saying. The new songs, such as One By One, added to this play give it a depth far beyond the original movie. When the song He Lives You In played, I cried because it reminded me of my relationship with my father, who has transitioned from this plain of existence. It is a powerful example of the way art moves people.
VI. Favorite Museums
Overall
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum, November 21st in Springfield, Illinois
Lincoln weeks after becoming president, Age 52.
I loved this museum because it gave me a depth to Abraham Lincoln that I intellectually understood prior to my visit to this museum, but being in that place, you get to experience the gravity of what he went through as a president of a nation fighting for its soul. Seeing him remain dignified through all the criticism he received even before he arrived in Washington, DC, and remaining steadfast in his convictions and beliefs despite the various opinions being thrown at him, even from his own cabinet, gave me a newfound respect and admiration for Honest Abe. If you are a history lover, add this to your list of must-visit museums.
Lincoln, 4 years later, weeks before his assassination, Age 56.
Runner-Up
Herbert Hoover Presidential Library & Museum, February 12th-13th in West Branch, Iowa
As someone who loves to study presidents, I have always listed Herbert Hoover as one of the worst presidents in the United States (Andrew Johnson is the worst by far, no debate). I knew I was leaving Iowa this year, so I made it my business to go to this museum I had passed by a few times during my travels. Going to this museum did not change my opinion about him as a president, but it did change my opinion about him as a man both before and after his stint in the White House. He did a lot to teach people how to be self-sufficient. Fun fact:Herbert Hoover was the first face to appear on US broadcast television screens while he was the US Secretary of Commerce.
January 5th, My mother with her granddaughters Rachael and Camille at the International African American Museum in Charleston, SC.
Impact First: The Key to Building the Communities We Desire, Spark Conference on July 25th in Des Moines, Iowa (Cameraman didn’t show up)
This was my favorite because I really connected with the audience. And, of course, the person you hire doesn’t show up to record a banger of a performance. Anyway, here are the reviews from that speech.
My 2nd favorite was in April in Fort Wayne, Indiana, giving a speech entitled: “To Create the Communities We Desire, We Have to Get Creative.” I loved this speech because I had to scrap my original remarks due to the Indiana State Legislature changing the law, taking away local governing bodies' ability to create protections for tenants against unscrupulous landlords. After this discovery, two days before the speech, I threw away my original speech and created a new one. While most people may have panicked, I find that many of my best speeches are when I have to make a last-minute switcheroo due to an abrupt change to the communal environment where I’m going to speak. I had such a good time with this community that the Fort Wayne Urban League President wrote an op-ed inspired by me and a James Baldwin quote I mentioned, and they invited me to come back in 2025. Although you can’t see the visuals in the recording below, here’s that speech.
By Others
Michelle Obama at the 2024 Democratic National Convention
“I am feeling ready to go even if I am the only person stupid enough to speak after Michelle Obama.” Barack Obama at the 2024 DNC
As someone who travels the country giving speeches and engaging with audiences, I’ll admit many people don’t move me. They come in canned, they are not personable, and it seems like they’re speaking more to themselves than the audience. Michelle Obama is not one of those people. In my opinion, she is the best orator in the country. Every time I hear her speak, I leave inspired. She truly knows how to tap at the heart, which I also aspire to do. I didn’t watch her speech live, but I did watch it the next day. If you haven’t heard Michelle speak, please check her out; it’s always a treat. Even Barack knows this.
VIII. Favorite Conference/Training
That I Headlined
Day of Dialogue: February 7th at Knox College in Galesburg, IL
This was my favorite overall event of the year because I love engaging with young minds who our systems have not yet corrupted. They are true believers and engaging with them, giving them tools to help them improve their environments always warms my heart. In this cancel culture world, it is more important than ever to show young people the importance of engaging with others who may have different beliefs.
That I Attended
Rockwood Art of Leadership, September 23rd to 27th, in Briarcliff Manor, NY
As a lifelong learner, I try to attend as many conferences and trainings as possible in a given year. But I’ll be honest, I bore rather easily, so if there is no synchronization between the conference theme and sessions or the training is theoretical and doesn’t give me tools I can use in my everyday life, I zone out. Rockwood Art of Leadership was none of that. There was so much synchronization between the various topics, and most importantly, it wasn’t a leadership training focused on how to influence others better, instead the emphasis was on how I could look within, identify areas for growth, and let my actions speak for themselves. I received many tools from this training that will help me grow into the person I genuinely desire to be.
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IX. Favorite Interview
Amner Martinez Podcast, November 20th in Des Moines, Iowa
I didn’t do a lot of interviews in 2024; however, I loved the few I did because the interviewers asked great questions. Because I like depth, I have to choose the Amner Martinez podcast interview that I did in November as my favorite.
Post-pandemic, I’ve been unimpressed with the restaurant scene around the country. I feel like the prices are high, the quantities are smaller, and everything’s overly salty/greasy. I almost didn’t have this category this year (or was tempted to promote the Queen of Sheba, an Ethiopian restaurant in Denver that I ate at last year (AMAZING)) because I didn’t like most places I ate at this year. Nothing stood out, which was a blessing in disguise because it made me eat at home more and save money. But two days ago, I went out on a date, and by happenstance, I went to Mamak Vegan Kitchen and was blown away. It’s a Malaysian vegan spot in Atlanta, GA; we tried eight dishes and loved all eight. The food was fresh, not overly greasy, and the seasoning/flavors were top-notch. The person I went with was not a vegan, and she raved about it, so I strongly encouraged you to check this place out. Support your local spots (and eat more plants)!
XI. Favorite Experience with the Niblings
Congaree National Park, Columbia, SC on November 11th with Jordan, Victoria, and Kassidy
There are seven people that I truly adore in this world, and those would be the children of my siblings, i.e., my niblings. I try to do four trips with them a year: one during their winter break, the weekend of March 21st—the birthday of their deceased brother/cousin BJ, spring break, and an extended summer vacation trip. Last December, my two oldest nieces complained about our trips because of the age difference and how I don’t give them enough attention when it’s all of us together because the younger ones demand so much attention. So, this year, I decided to do something new; smaller, more intimate trips with select kids. This gives them more time to engage with me and not just each other. Looking back, it was a smart move, and I appreciate Rachael and Camille for expressing themselves.
However, for the past ten years, November 11th has typically been a day where I sit alone in silence, journaling, reflecting, and crying as it is the anniversary of the death of my nephew BJ. It’s a very somber day for me, but earlier this year, I told myself that I wouldn’t do that this year. On November 10th, my niece Kassidy asked me to come and hear her sing at church, and after church, she and her cousin Victoria asked me if I was going to take them on a trip the next day, and I replied, “Don’t y’all have school?” and they replied, “no, it’s a holiday.” It had slipped my mind that November 11th was also Veterans Day. I told them I hadn’t planned on it, but I told them, “Sure, why not.” I was very fortunate that BJ’s mother allowed two of her children to skip school (Victoria frequently follows up with Kassidy without thinking—they had school) and hang out with me and their cousin Kassidy. We went to Congaree National Park to hike the forest for a bit. I decided earlier this year to let them just be kids and not try to force anything on them. Letting them be themselves and letting the conversation just flow was nice. These kids see, know, and understand so much at a very young age. I believe they’ll be ready for our civil rights summer mecca, which their older cousin/sister did in 2019, much sooner than I anticipated. Because of the great time I had with them, I have added a 5th trip to our calendar of annual outings: November 11th, a celebration of life.
XII. Most Inspiring Moments Overall
Most Breathtaking—Solar Eclipse, April 8th in Henderson, KY
Before the Solar Eclipse
I hadn’t planned on taking this trip. I had just given a speech in Charlotte, NC, but I kept hearing about the eclipse. Having never witnessed one, I finally said, “What the heck, I got time,” and drove to the Kentucky-Indiana border 8 hours away to see the moon pass over the sun. I am so glad I took the time to see it as the next eclipse on this side of the hemisphere will be 20 years from now. It was a moment where I felt truly blessed to be able to live my dreams of being a national speaker/consultant with the ability to do random things like go and see a solar eclipse. It was short and brief but very powerful and a great time to reflect on what I wanted to do with my life. It was that trip and having to pass through the Appalachian Mountains that penultimately convinced me that it was time to leave Iowa.
During the Solar Eclipse
My Favorite Hike of 2024—Olympic National Park, Washington State and Victoria, BC, Canada October 5th – 12th
Cape Flattery, the northwesternmost point of in the contiguous United States
The beauty of moving to the mountains is that there are so many places to hike. Over the past year, even prior to moving here, I spent a lot of time in the Rocky Mountains, the Cascade Mountains of the Pacific Northwest, and the Blue Ridge Mountains, trying to decide where I was going to move. I had always dreamed of living in the mountains, but which ones spoke to me the loudest? But despite answering the call of the Smoky Mountains, my favorite hiking spot of 2024 is, without a doubt, Olympic National Park, located in the Upper Pacific Northwest corner of Washington State. I was a headliner at a conference in Seattle and made the decision that I was going to spend some time in Olympic National Park, especially after I was primarily stationed in the Seattle area in 2023 for consulting work, and I never visited the area. This year, I was traveling a lot and almost used being busy as an excuse not to plan the trip, but when someone I used to date posted on social media about their trip to Olympic National Park, I hit her up, and she gave me her itinerary which I used as a template to plan my journey.
There is something about the mountains that truly humbles you when standing in the majestic beauty of nature that is untouched or partially untouched by man. One of my goals in the next two years is to do a road trip on US Highway 101, traveling from the Upper Pacific Northwest through Oregon and down to California. The sites I witnessed were unbelievable, and I met someone who had done the tour, and they said it’s incredible all the way down to California.
The Golden Hour at Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park
During this week-long trip, I also finally stepped foot in Canada after neglecting other opportunities to do so in the past. To place my feet in a country so many of my ancestors tried to reach in the past to find freedom meant so much to me. The customs agents on both sides of the border looked at me perplexed when I came into their countries carrying nothing and only planning to stay for a few hours, but since “they not like us,” they would never understand.
October 12th at Protest for Palestine in Victoria
XIII. Most Impactful Experience of 2024
10-Day Silent Vipassana Meditation Retreat in Jesup, Georgia, December 4th-15th
“I am the work, but I am also the worker. I am the project, but I am also the project manager.” Joshua V. Barr
This month, I decided to partake in my second silent meditation retreat after doing my first one a year earlier in November. My original motivation for doing it was because I wanted a break from my phone, as I felt I was using it way too much, and because this year’s session was dedicated to people of African descent. However, once I got there, I realized that my viewpoint on meditation was all wrong and that I had missed a lot of things during my first silent meditation retreat. Vipassana meditation teaches you how to calm the mind and feel the sensations in your body. My mistake was that I thought meditation would help me to address my internal issues while meditating. But that is not the point of meditation. Meditation is a tool to help you identify body sensations and be non-reactive to them so as you go throughout your day-to-day life when things happen to you, you feel your body's reactions, and those reactions are a sign that you should take a moment to relax and not react with old habit patterns of craving, aversion, or anger. Accept the moment as it is without clinging to it or running away from it, always acting in your God power of love and elevation of the moment rather than reacting with fear or anger. It was a lesson I completely missed the first time. It was immensely apropos that the first day we could speak also happened to be my birthday because I honestly felt reborn. It was good to talk to the other people at the end of the course, and we were able to go to a depth about our experience that I was missing during my first experience. I thought the first one changed my life, but this second meditation retreat truly awakened me to what I was missing in my spiritual walk. It connected so many dots regarding what I read and listened to in 2024.
Want to try out this meditation technique for yourself? It’s 100% free. Check it out.
Last Shot of the Year: December 28th at 11:15 pm at a gas station in Gainesville, GA. The gas station attendant approached me and asked for a ride home, and I took a photo of the spot in case something happened to me (I survived).
Experiences I am looking forward to in 2025
Smithsonian African American History Museum in Washington DC (January 2025)
Fr33sol and Lavva Concert (Atlanta March 2025)
Grand Canyon (March 2025)
Ghana (Sept/October 2025): First trip to the motherland!
Blue Ridge Parkway Road Trip (Fall 2025)
Black Heritage 10 Day Vipassana Meditation Retreat (December 2025)
Possible 3rd Ayahuasca Session (???)
For me, this was a year unlike any other. I cried a lot, faced many fears, let go of people I didn’t want to let go of, and climbed mountains that I didn’t think I could climb. I made it and feel truly grateful for the growth I have seen in myself spiritually, physically, intellectually, relationally, and emotionally this year. Thank you, Universe, for a great 2024, and I hope that even if this year was not your favorite year, the days and years to come will be days you can truly enjoy. We’re breathing baby; let’s enjoy the ride while we’re here.
I hope 2025 is good to you! Keep pushing!
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My jaw is on the floor. My year seems so lazy when I look at yours!! Thanks for sharing, it is great to feel a part of your world.