TGC’s March Wrap Up
March reads, music, and vibes
Hey Gems! It’s about time that we check in with you so here is TGC giving you all the tea from March!
This month’s wrap up questions/prompts are as follows:
The books you’ve read & your favs
What have you been watching on film/video?
Give us a few songs you’ve had on repeat (up to 3)
What was the vibe for you this month/What have you found yourself reflecting on?
TGC’s responses are coming up below! But ALSO, we encourage you to answer some of these questions in the comments below. We want to know what y’all have been up to as well <3
Miyah
The books you’ve read & your fav’s
This month I read 3 books in total: Call Me Mrs. Taylor by Shae Sanders, The Deep by Rivers Solomon, and Little Rot by Akwaeke Emezi.
The Deep was undoubtedly my favorite. It left me with much to consider in regard to how Black folk carry the weight of what our ancestors endured during slavery. A people knowing their history is imperative as it leads to a better understanding of oneself and their place in the world. But with Black history, the ache of understanding that comes with intimate knowledge of what slavery entailed can be hard to grapple with. Yet what’s powerful about Black folks having that shared albeit, painful history means, that it isn’t something we have to bear alone, nor is it something that we should be isolated in. The same way our ancestors bore the brunt of colonialism together is how we must grapple with our history. Their spirit of resistance lives on in us.
What have you been watching on film/video?
I have no shame in admitting that The Walking Dead has completed consumed me. Matter of fact….what was life even like before this show became my personality? Right right. It’s my partner’s favorite show of all time and I wholeheartedly understand why. I’ve only ever seen the show out of order so finally experiencing it from the beginning is showing me exactly why people were fanatic about it while it was on air. It deserved every award, every accolade, whole cast’s check deserved to clear expeditiously each time they clocked out cause my gawd.
Give us a few songs you’ve had on repeat (up to 3)
The music rotation this months is supreme if I must say myself, but I would say my top 3 songs were: Ogi “Follow Me”, (I had their project Monologues on repeat this month cause I swear there is dash of crack in there like), Venna ft. JVCK JAMES “Sun, Moon, & Herbs (once again whole project Venolology is a whole vibe and then some), and Travis Garland “Pullin’ My hair” (to be fair I play Travis’s self titled album through multiples times a year, but this song really hitting right now in particular cause it’s starting to feel like shake some ass degrees ya feel me).
What was the vibe for you this month/What have you found yourself reflecting on?
This month I acknowledged that some recent emotional wounds I’ve gotten will be left up to me to heal on my own since the person responsible for the harm is not in a place where there are willing to work on it together—and I’ve decided to be okay with that. The hard truth is that it is up to us to reconcile with the hurt that others have caused because they are not obligated to provide closure, accountability, or even an apology. We cannot wait to start that internal work just because we have not received what we feel we deserve from the one(s) that hurt us. I decided that this healing will be done now as I wish to not replicate this behavior in my relationships with those that I love. While some healing can be done in isolation, transformative healing takes place in our relationship to others.
Kab
The books you’ve read & your fav’s
I have not finished a book this month chileeeeee, however I have been pouring into myself heavyyyyyyy these days with other dopamine & serotonin-inducing activities, (i.e. working out in my gym 3x a week, cooking dinner at home, and just getting out for some sun) Now, I have begun some books that have the potential. It’s me, not them. Taking full accountability for this slumppppp I’m in. Books I either briefly started and plan to read or DNF include:
The Cure of Us (67%)
A Love Song For Ricki Wilde (idek%)
North's Unexpected Inevitability by A.E. Valdez (22%)
Black Liturgies by Cole Arthur Riley (2%)
Butter Honey Pig Bread (2%)
What have you been watching on film/video?
I have been watching a lot of guilty pleasures tbh! (we listennn and we don’t judgeeee) To name a few, Temptation Island (Netflix) & Baddies (Zeus). Now, I don’t even feel the need to explain myself, but they both are so far removed from my daily life that it really makes me get out of my head for pure entertainment purposes LOL
Now that we got those out of the way, I have also been watching a show called Yellowjackets, which involves a teenage group of girls on a high school soccer team whose plan crashes in the wilderness. They have to fiend for themselves and honeslty become entirely different people (or are they the same fr?!) to survive. Babyyyyy when I tell you it gets REAL. There are also elements of horror, mystery, thriller, and psychological dramatics, and magic. It also is simultaneously switching between telling their survival story alongside their adult lives yearssss later. I highly recommend it, already on season 3!
I am also ALWAYS re-watching a comfort show of mine, currently that is Gilmore Girls. Me and a small town, communal show go together real bad! <3
Give us a few songs you’ve had on repeat (up to 3)
Recently discovered an old Destiny's Child classic, Second Nature, & ashamed to say I never heard it before. Go give that a listen, asap. Also, Previouscats by Musiq Soulchild came on one day and I thought it was a Tink song (2 and 2 iykyk), only to find out my girllllll sampled one of the greats on her mixtape back in the day. I don’t even know why I’m surprised, but the joy I feel from discovering a song that was sampled by an amazingly beautiful original song. It reminds me of the timelessness of music fr
I can’t leave the month without expressed my deep appreciation for Coco Jones "Terrell Show Concert". It has been going UP while I burn incense, create and sip on my fav beverage of choice. The live version of 'Put You On' >>> CHOKEHOLDDD
What was the vibe for you this month/What have you found yourself reflecting on?
Vibes have been all over from extreme joy to bouts of sadness/meh to lack of motivation right back to devotion!
Reflection: It's okay to enjoy love again from a new person while also experiencing a multitude of grief from the loss of other people in your previous life. I’m constantly reminding myself, in this season, that it’s okay to be a little selfish and pour into myself, just as much as I pour into others. & Finally, lean on my community.
GeGe
The books you’ve read & your fav’s
This month, I read three books: A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams, Love in Colour by Bolu Babalola, and Between The Lines by Christina C. Jones
My favorites were Love in Colour, and Between the Lines.
Love in Colour was a short story selection with a creative spin to mythical tales around the world and taking the characteristics of the mythical entities within them and making a deconstructed romantic desert out of them. Overall, this book was a beautiful treat. I enjoyed most of the stories in the book and because I chose to read a chapter a day it almost gave the vibe of watching a new romcom everyday. And I love that for me :)
Between the Lines got ate up March 31's honey. This book got to make it to the wrap up because I made my way right on through it in one day, so what does that tell you? Between the Scenes is one of my favorite romances written to date and this was such a beautiful follow up. So much chemistry that got the chance to be beautifully explored in a short period of time. This book was 130 pages. I wanted so much more of this love story! But I left with the flitters and flutters in the end, so I’ll take it :)
What have you been watching on film/video?
My sister and I are finishing up Arcane, and we're also eating up season 3 of Wheel of Time. She just recently got fussed at for watching an episode without me! I'm also, and always watching Abbott Elementary. Love that show DOWNNN.
Give us a few songs you’ve had on repeat (up to 3)
Alex Isley recently came out with a new song, Hands and babyyyy. It's giving nice and grown
Hey Now by Kendrick Lamar is my favorite car song right now and randomly pops up in my head as often as a commercial jingle
Visions by Stevie Wonder. Need I say more for real? I've just been finding myself falling into a trance to this song lately.
What was the vibe for you this month/What have you found yourself reflecting on?
I would say that the vibe for this month has been
"Think Big B*tch!!" - Lol
I say that because with my family and friends, I have been noticing DMs on short reel clips, or just casual conversations about any and everything becoming gateways into broader conversations. It's been really cool to chop it up with my uncles, pops, moms, siblings, and friends and have the interaction start off with laughing at a video we saw and then saying, that's funny and all, but let's ALSO talk about what this means in the grand scheme of things. Or similar, a casual conversation that started off being about something simple, like food prices, and that leading us to having a collective conversation about what to think about it. What to DO about it.
Example: A simple conversation about how eggs are expensive af... and that led to my Dad and stepmom making an investment in chickens. I have multiple family members learning how to grow food and herbs. You see what I mean? Conversations are leading to trails of thoughts, questions, and wanting to execute a plan that leads to an answer to the problem.
Like, yea. That's what it's all about. So my thought space has been heavily occupied by concepts of skill sharing, gardening, third spaces, and mutual aid.
Well that’s it love bugs! Hope to hear from you in the comments about what your March was filled with <3
The live version of put you on was indeed tooo goooodddddd