Roots & Hope

Soulful Reflections on Faith, Healing, and Young Adulting

Category: Uncategorized

  • Faith over FOMO: Social Media Hiatus

    I am at a bonfire for young adults at my church. Minutes before, I drove down McNichols, speaking to God as if he were somehow chilling in the passenger seat with 80 degrees of sunshine pouring on his face. I pleaded that he would help me to conquer anxiety and be myself. I am sitting…

  • Black Girl, Shine

    I am learning how to accept that taking up space in the rooms that I enter can be nourishing and generous and okay. I am learning how to practice the balance between honoring my gift of listening and offering others my rumble of laughter with rambles of reflections about dreams, annoyances, and mundane things. And I…

  • Happiness

    Happiness has a home inside me And feels like laughter lounging on the couch of my stomach, Peace reclining on the rocking chair of my porch, Pain hidden in the forgotten drawer of batteries, receipts, and ketchup packets, Youthfulness jumping underneath my skin, defying time.

  • Poem (Untitled)

    My birth certificate claims that I was just a ‘90s kid, Born in the middle of a freezing Detroit night. But didn’t it know that my heart already had a beat? Back when afros sheened with Black, unashamed glory, Back when dancers moved on magical platforms that elevated them to skyscraper heights, Back when Stevie…

  • If Anxiety Were Alive

    Anxiety is the older chatty woman who sits next to you on the plane. She didn’t check any baggage, or even bring a carry-on. She only carries an agenda with names.   Anxiety talks over the flight attendant’s famous speech just to talk at you. She could care less about reminding you to first put…

  • 5 Reasons Why I Love Going to Therapy

    I first went to therapy on a short-term basis as a sophomore in college. Since February 2017, I have consistently been going to therapy to seek help with facing anxiety and depression. As Mental Health Month comes to a close, I am excited to share these 5 reasons why therapy is a blessing in my…

  • The Beauty of a Good Day

    Good days remind me that the hard days eventually pass away. Don’t give up.

  • Social Anxiety: Telling Myself a New Story

    “Because true belonging only happens when we present our authentic, imperfect selves to the world, our sense of belonging can never be greater than our level of self-acceptance.” -Brene Brown I am on an incredibly difficult journey of learning to accept myself. These past few days have been mentally and emotionally overwhelming. I am trying to…

  • What Avengers: Endgame Reminded Me About Life

    Last night, I left work with a mission: “See Avengers: Endgame“. I Google mapped the nearest reclining-seat movie theater with a suitable showtime. After a twenty-five minute drive in moderate rain, I made it! I am not a superhero/comic-book fanatic and know-it-all. Not even close. Over the past couple of years though, I’ve seen a nice…

  • Peace Beyond Understanding

    I am preparing to go to the doctor for what seems like the 100th time in the past year. Currently, I’m experiencing some mysterious health conditions. I feel simultaneously annoyed and humored. When I visit the doctor, the receptionist just welcomes me and says, “Hi, Jess”. Loneliness, too, has haunted me in cycles. I have…