This past Wednesday evening, I was in Dallas... trying to manage nerves (with wine lol) as folks arrived for the opening of #talkaboutuncomfortablethings at Pass Thru Gallery. Traveling with me from DC, were my mom, Lakiya, and Denyelle! And visiting from Jackson, MS was Jay! So in the back of my mind, I told myself, "even if no one else shows up, I know there will be at least 5 people there" lol.
Thankfully, a few more than 5 people were in attendance :)
When too much is going on, I kind of shut down and go numb. So honestly, it took a week of processing for me to understand why I was so overwhelmed by everything last week.
First, the pain that prompted the creation of this project is still very present. I am still depressed. I am still trying to figure out how best to manage the daily mood and energy shifts present with rapid-cycling bipolar II. I am still trying to navigate my anxiety and ADD triggers... In short, trying to figure out how to regain my quality of life while managing illnesses that I wasn't aware of for the first 29 years of my life.
It's a process. And I'll be honest, every day I don't show up for the fight. The exhaustion wins some days, and I have to try again the next. So... with all that being said, it is extremely hard to accept good things happening to you when you don't feel good about yourself. And I was dealing with a lot of that leading up to and on the day of the opening.
The vibe in that room though? Nothing short of amazing.
Everyone who came to the opening contributed to the warm atmosphere. Takiyah really created something special with this space and it was an honor to be the first to share my art in her gallery ❤️
Without further ado, I want to share this awesome video recap of the opening that Jay put together!
I'm so thankful to Jay for this beautiful video! I wasn't mentally all there last week, but having been able to decompress a bit, I can smile now and say that I'm proud of myself. For not curling up into the ball that I wanted to lol.
Huge thanks go to my wonderful muses! The beautiful fellow black women creatives who agreed to allow themselves to be vulnerable with me: Fisayo, Yodith, Naseera, Adina, and Erika. ❤️
Thank you to everyone who made it to the opening and thank you for the kind words and support from afar from those that weren't able to! If you're in/near Dallas or will be visiting Dallas within the coming month, be sure to visit Pass Thru Gallery and check out the exhibit!
The journey to wellness continues ❤️
-Danni