I’m going to preface this by saying I do not want advice, nor words of encouragement. I’m just venting. That being said, it’s exhausting being called strong when you’re emotionally overwhelmed. As a Black woman the assumption is that I’m strong and have a high tolerance for pain

I’m not. I don’t. I need the space to be more than strong. I deserve the space to be vulnerable. To honor my feelings. To just be sad sometimes. It’s a lot. All of it. The loss. The pain. I just need space to not be strong. To not be on. I’m tired.

People are nuanced. Expecting people to be happy all the time. To fight to be heard all the time. It isn’t fair. Yes strength is admirable. But so is vulnerability.

In the past seven months we’ve all gone through a lot. The pain and stress we are feeling is valid. We are quarantined. Losing family and friends left and right and many of us feel supported and unsupported at the same time. Between post partum and the loss of my Dad it feels

As if I’m drowning sometimes. Couple those things with a pandemic and racial injustice and it’s almost unbearable at times. Be kind to each other. Love each other. Listen to each other. We are all we have right now and we need one another.