What does Being Black mean to you?

As Black History Month 2022 flows in, we may run into Black images, experiences, narratives, and historical and monumental events and shifts like no other month. I still think the celebration of Blackness should be reflected in everyday, but that’s a shift for another day.

As we take the time to celebrate and honor Black history, I also hope you take the time to self-reflect on what being Black means to you?

To go beyond what Black means to those who you follow, to those who have served as great mentors, and to those who have created pathways for you, but to really sit with yourself and ask yourself what it means to you. I wonder what the truth in your answers to this question will bring up for you.

Being Black is complex, filled with meaning and wonder, and can be burdened with trauma and anger;

Being Black is not a monolith as our experiences are not entirely the same, yet through the different languages we speak, there is a common bond and undertone;

Being Black carries a uniqueness that we grow through life finding the words to describe;

Being Black is unifying and distinct, both of which can progress us forward if harmonized well, both of which carry with it a level of compassion and accountability, a level of responsibility and ownership, a level of autonomy and freedom; both of which if paired well, can multiply the impact we make.

Being Black is yours…yours to create and yours to learn from, yours to change and yours to impact, yours to find power within and yours to shape into a new reality;

I don’t say all that to answer the question for you, but to get some ideas flowing, to get your truths to flow to the top of your mind as you get real about:

What does Being Black mean to you?

As you reflect, may you reflect with honesty, may you release shame in the process, and may you positively communicate with yourself even if you greet truths that you didn’t realize about you. Sometimes, we have to teach ourselves how to have hard conversations with others, not realizing, it starts with having hard conversations with our selves...our individual selves.

How often do you check-in with you?

Written by Kheri A. Corbin,

For those leaning how to navigate tough conversations with their individual selves and others,

For those learning how to own different parts of their identity,

For Those Black Athletes

And

The Ones Who Genuinely Love them

On Balancing Relationships

If I were to ask you what image comes to mind when you think about balancing, I wonder what you would say. Often, balance looks like juggling or it looks a tightrope walker, or it looks like carrying a bunch of things at once (*cue Erykah Badu’s Bag Lady*). Balance, in the context of this article, refers to what ever actually works for you. During the offseason, balance may look like spending more time with family than you do teammates, while in season, looks like spending more time practicing and traveling and making adequate time for conversations with your loved ones vs. physical time with your loved ones. Balance doesn’t always look like equality or 50/50. It doesn’t mean if you spend 30 minutes with one teammate, you need to spend 30 minutes with another. It’s, again, whatever works best for you. There’s some things that make balancing a much lighter, effortless endeavor.

Some helpful ways to balance relationships:

1. Know yourself-What are your values? What are ways you receive love and feel appreciated? What are your preferred ways of connection and communication in season and during the offseason?

2. Know your people-What kind of people add value to your life? Who empowers and encourages you to take up space and show up in the world? Who brightens your day? What kind of people energize you when you are around them?

3. Connect with yourself-What are ways you learn about you and acknowledge new information about yourself? Do you date yourself? How do you demonstrate value and appreciation to yourself? When’s the last time you have given yourself flowers?

4. Connect with your people-What is the best way to invite in fun and play into your relationships? When’s the last time you had a real, in depth conversation with a friend? How do you demonstrate and receive care from family?

5. Apply healthy relationship skills-What skills and ways of relating do you excel in? Is listening your forte? Are you an active listener? Do you know what brings the people in your circle joy? Do you remain curious in your relationships with the people you want to grow with? What skills are you seeking to gain so that you can increase the joy within your relationships?

I hope this enhances your perspective on balance in relationships, because busyness can at times reinforce the need to avoid the people that are actually your biggest supporters whether you perform well or not at all.

Written by Kheri A. Corbin,

For those who are successful in sports but struggle in relationships,

For Those Black Athletes

And

The Ones Who Love them