By Patricia Rogers | Posted Friday, June 18, 2021
CHOOSE TO SWIM
What is the saying? You make plans and God laughs? I have been coming to terms with this for years. I’ve learned: don’t take it personally. You’re not “doing life wrong.” I’ve realized that the ups, downs, uncertainty, and mistakes we will all ultimately make, are just... life. When I started to take my struggle with anxiety and depression seriously I made a vow not to let it ruin my life. I ask myself: are you going to swim or sink?* As hard as it is, I always choose to swim. And this is only possible with the love and support of my friends, family, and the continued pursuit towards living a full life.
I recently chose to swim:
My Trip to Vegas
My twin sister Letty and I had been planning a trip to Las Vegas for Memorial Day weekend. For the first time, I was going away, paid vacation days, money in my savings account, and ahead on rent. Proud adult moment. And then, two weeks before the trip I get a severe toothache. And a very long and uninteresting story short, I had to get a tooth extracted. Booooo.
I am now depressed during the week leading up to this fun trip. I hate the dentist, I hate dealing with medical shit, I had to stop eating and enjoying my vices. And of course, my shitty insurance didn’t cover everything so I had to spend all of the money in my savings account that I was so proud of. I was very close to canceling the trip but didn’t want to let my sister and friend down. Glad I didn’t just because it was not the perfect trip I had in mind, doesn’t mean I should sink and not go.
So I swam and went to Vegas anyway. Yeah, I couldn’t eat real food, or smoke legalized weed, but so what? I went and it was fucking awesome. I actually stayed offline from work and the podcast to truly escape and have a good time. We met some of the coolest people (other black travelers) and made unforgettable memories.
My Las Vegas recommendations are the SAHARA Hotel, ReLeaf Weed Dispensary (my sister loved it), and definitely walking the strip. And I can not stress enough, even my melanin queens and kings WEAR FUCKING SUNSCREEN! So I hope this inspires you to push through even when things do not go as planned. While in Vegas, missing teeth and all, I rediscovered a piece of myself and learned that just because something isn’t perfect doesn’t mean it’s not worth it. Literally, nothing in life will go completely as planned. And that is perfectly okay.
MEET WHITNEY CHANEL CLARK, NYC-BASED COMEDIAN
I went to high school with Whitney, and she was one of my best friends. We shared a love and respect for each other I still feel ‘til this day. She was always a great writer and could honestly do anything she set her mind to (as corny as that sounds).
In her words, “Whitney Chanel Clark is a stand up comedian in New York City pushing the boundaries of comedy in what's now a politically correct world. I’d say Whitney Chanel is the entertainer and Clark is the business woman. All together, it’s the total package”.
In the last few years I have watched her try her hand at comedy, and go on to be the leader of Clark House Comedy, as well as a mentor for queer comedians. When I asked her about those boundaries in comedy she has pushed she said, “My brand of comedy impacts the LGBTQIA+ community by encouraging the more aggressive/dominant women to embrace their femininity. I’m that old school gay, don’t ask don’t tell gay, I think it’s fine to dress like a man and not want to turn into one. My brand of comedy is about making regular gay cool again.”
She has weekly shows around the country and has been featured on Bravo, VH1, and BuzzFeed.
SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING TIP
When building your social media presence, no matter that platform: INTERACT AND ENGAGE WITH EVERYTHING. I think something that people forget when it comes to social media is that everyone on it are real people. Actual humans who are taking their time to engage with your platform. Acknowledge them. It is not about the follower count — in my opinion that is important — it's the amount of real (not bots) humans that react to your content.