By Puja

When last we saw our Heroine, she was being roused from slumber and asked about an “Earthquake.” And the earth did indeed quake…and now America is fractured along some arcane fault lines. Super Single Woman IV was published on 10/9/16, and we pick the story up then and watch the mental health decline of the Super Single Woman in the intervening months.

We have to find the balance, we are either tipping the stress scale and breaking down every other week or we become so unplugged that we are disengaged. That is what SSW V is all about really, knowing your limits and finding your self-care. Super heroines have to keep mentally sharp, she has a lot of people to help.

Per usual, if you can’t read the image above, please refer to this link ssw-v

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Keeping Me Sane This Week: My newest friend (Shout out Nivasha) shared a post on her Facebook the other day where she pointed out someone’s privilege that this person could afford to nonchalantly say “I give up” after the Devos confirmation. Nivasha pointed out the POCs (people of color) live in that space of defeat. Meaning that we are aware that even though we try, defeat comes as easy as a “win.” And even then you must celebrate ALL “wins” because they are what will keep you going because the battle of equality has been going on since 1776 in this country so…

Anyway, that got me thinking about how the Black American Experience and the fight for justice/equality/recognition/a voice/person-hood (STILL) is a blue print in the art of resilience. How lucky am I that it is the middle of Black History Month and there is just sooooo much out there to get your hands on. But I landed on two women who I identify with Ida B. Wells and Shirley Chisholm. Revisiting their stories and their histories this week has indeed been invigorating and inspiring. The things I have in common with each are too many to name (but my favorites are our shared outspokenness, stubbornness, willingness to question the status quo, and voracious curiosity) but also Shirely’s father and my mother share a country of origin- West Indians FTW!