I hope you got a chance to get outside and touch grass this weekend! I linked up with my family down at Anacostia Park on Saturday, and it was such a nice vibe. The music was playing, the drinks were flowing, the herbs were burning and all of the things. I sat back, watching a group of girlies in their booty shorts living their best lives on the backs of guys’ 4-wheelers, and all I could do was smile, thinking about my younger self and the good times that were had. What a time to be alive!

But on another note, watching them took me back to a different kind of memory—one that wasn’t so carefree. Growing up, I used to get so caught up in the way people saw me. It truly frustrated me, and honestly, it made me angry. It felt like no matter what I did, people had already made up their minds about who I was. And the worst part? It felt unfair. Like, how are you going to put me in a box I didn’t build?

But then one day, it hit me: I can either stay big mad, or I can take control.

The truth is, perception is everything. We live in a world where people believe what they see before they believe what they hear. That’s just how it is. And while I used to resist that idea, I realized I had the power to shift it. If people weren’t seeing the real me, then maybe I wasn’t showing them. I was so busy protecting myself that I wasn’t giving them the full picture and that just came from the type of environment I grew up in.

I used moving 300 miles away and going to college as my do over. I made a decision. I wasn’t going to let old narratives define me anymore. I started peeling back my own layers, showing sides of myself I had kept hidden. Not for these new people, but for me. Because I deserved to be seen in my truth.

And let me tell you, the shift was powerful. The more I owned my story, the more the world adjusted its view. It wasn’t about faking anything or altering my true self. It was about aligning my outward expression with the person I had always been inside.

And that’s the thing, you don’t have to change who you are, you just have to be intentional about how you present it. Walk like you motherfucking belong, speak like you know, and show up as the person you want to be seen as. Not for validation, but because your truth deserves to be recognized.

People are going to alwayssssssssss have opinions. Let them talk friend. Let them assume! But when you step into your power, their perception can’t hold you hostage anymore. Because the only narrative that truly matters? The one you write yourself.

Xoxo, Drea