Get Inspired: Hip Hop Showcase

Hiya friends!

Let’s talk about inspiration, shall we?

Inspiration is something that I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I’m pretty far from where I want to be professionally. I’m not in my dream job. I may be significantly closer than when I worked in HR, so I’m happy about that, but it’s still a long way from my dream job. Such a long way, in fact, that I feel a little like an Underwear Gnome.

I don't like South Park, but I like Underwear Gnomes.

So given that those middle steps are still very vague and hazy I’ve been finding it hard to inspire myself to make moves when, for all I know, those moves could be in the complete wrong direction. I mean, Step 2 is still so hazy that I can’t even make a SMART goal about it!

This quote is not inspiring in the least.

I’m not the only person who feels that way, right?

So here’s what I’ve been trying lately to get inspired and keep Step 2 in my sights. Hint: it’s not bullshitty quotes on pictures.

Last week I went to a hip hop showcase. My friend came into town because she is making a documentary on a group of emcees that were putting on a show. I had absolutely no clue what I was walking into.

It turns out that I walked into a group of amazingly talented, amazingly brave artists. How talented were they?

I stayed out two hours later than I planned, which is huge because I don’t give up sleep easily.

Watching these emcees perform was beyond energizing. They held nothing back. They put everything out there. They cared as much about respecting and supporting their fellow performers as they did about what the crowd thought of them.

These guys (and one very talented lady) were normal guys. They were nerdy college students. One was a college professor. One worked at Planet Fitness. One puffed on an inhaler before starting. And they were doing this unbelievably cool thing. Their rhymes were so original and they talked about real things, not fur coats and banging hoes and whatever else rappers today talk about.

Watching these guys perform, I couldn’t help but get inspired. I’m not going to buy a rhyming dictionary and try to perform with them anytime soon (or ever, probably), but I want to be more like them.

I want to grind and grind and grind without recognition like they do, simply because I love what I’m grinding at so much. I want to encourage other people to get better and work harder without fear that they’re going to surpass me. I want to put myself out there and do big, amazing things without fear of failing in front of people.

I want to fail in front of people and then try again.

These guys were doing all those things and they were doing them set to a beat. Like I said, this whole night was beyond inspiring. I left feeling energized and ready to make moves.

I didn’t make moves that night because, again, I love sleep. But that energy and all the poorly shot cell phone videos I look that night are going to carry me through a lot of grinding to come.

What about you, friends? What has inspired you lately?

Cheers, Kara

#NoHateInMyState

Hello friends!

I’ve got an out of the ordinary post for you today, but it needs to be said.

(And it needs to be said using some pretty strong language, so consider yourself warned.)

Last night North Carolina fucked up.

If you live in North Carolina, are tuned into LGBT issues, or are a human you’ve probably heard about the Bathroom Bill.

For those of you who haven’t heard about it, here’s the gist:

Charlotte passed a city ordinance recently allowing transgender individuals to use the public bathroom that corresponds with the gender they identify as, not the one they were born with.

As to be expected in a state that is firmly in the Bible Belt, people lost their shit. Yesterday (March 23) the General Assembly went into a special session and pushed through HB2, amid lots of protest and a walk out by the Senate Democrats. Late Tuesday night Gov. Pat McCrory signed it into law.

HB2 repeals Charlotte’s Bathroom Bill, prohibits cities and counties from writing non-discrimination ordinances that protect LGBT people, and takes away the ability of citizens to file certain types of discrimination lawsuits in North Carolina courts, among other things. It is a bullshit bill, to say the least.

I don’t actually want to talk about the bill, though. Enough people are spitting venom about this right now and doing a better job at it than I could. I want to talk about the way North Carolinians have responded.

They’ve responded with ownership.

#NoHateInMyState and #WeAreNotThis flooded social media. Lists of the responsible politicians that are up for re-election (and the candidates running against them) have been posted and reposted and shared.

I have not heard a single person talking about fleeing the state or any of the other bullshit that people say during presidential elections when they are angry, but not angry enough to put actions behind their words.

I have seen people getting angry and talking about ways they can fix the problem. I have seen people filling the streets in protest outside the Governor’s Mansion (and getting arrested for being there).

Without a doubt, this is a bullshit bill. It was a bullshit move by bullshit politicians. It is putting countless lives in danger and reaffirming fears based in ignorance and misinformation. And despite the fact that North Carolina is a national embarrassment right now (as it fucking should be!), I am unbelievably proud of the way certain North Carolinians have responded. I am proud of the ownership they have taken of their state and their willingness to not abandon ship or focus on blame.

I didn’t grow up in North Carolina, but today, more than ever, I am proud that this is my new home. #NoHateInMyState

What do you think of all this bullshit, friends?

Cheers, Kara