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November 9, 2017

My PREGNANCY and other important info

If by some miracle you missed it here's my tummy again.
If you came here from my Facebook you all can tell the world that this is true. Anyway if you are done examining my belly, leh we staht.
 
 
This picture was taken yesterday at a steak restaurant. I had the best nachos of my life and feeling stuffed I expelled my stomach, something I have always been able to do. When I did it my boyfriend looked at me with an odd face and I realized that I looked EXTREMELY pregnant. Being the type of person that I am it was important to snap and share this picture. I intended to talk about a food baby but as I stared at the picture I looked even more pregnant. When I shared it social media went wild! I started receiving nice congratulatory messages and doubtful responses as well. As that happened I began to think about women in general and how pregnancy is such a huge part of our existence.  No I am not pregnant but I need you to read this.
 
Half of all pregnancies do not result in babies. Most pregnancies actually go unrecognized by the female body. The uterus is so smart that she say "nah sometin rong, dis was bad sperm. Leh we staht ova." This means that most women will be pregnant at some point in their lives but this should not be expected. At some point and time it was a woman's job to reproduce. Fortunately this is not the case in 2017 yet there is a constant silent pressure for women to have children. A few weeks ago my boyfriend and I went to church and people actually asked about a wedding. At age 23 I see no reason for marriage. I do not need one. I also see no reason to have children now or in 10 years or even in 20 years. Yes in 20 years I will be 43 and that is considered old which leads me to my next point.
 
WOMEN CAN HAVE CHILDREN WHEN THEY PLEASE! If a woman decides to freeze her eggs and continue with her career she should not be seen as selfish. If she says that she wants to adopt instead of carry what is essentially a human parasite that should be fine as well. Often times men do not understand the gravity of pregnancy and they do not have to because they are men. Last night while stuffing my gut yet again my boyfriend and I discussed our birth control  experiences. For him it was extremely rough. He never knew what I wanted, I would change moods within seconds and I was completely out of touch with reality. He said that for him it was difficult to see me suffer and be helpless to fix it. While I now understand his frustrations at the time I truly did not care. I was on hormones that I could not get out of my body and he was fine. My world was upside down and he was fine. I could not stop bleeding and he was FINE. In comparison to everything women go through physically and mentally in regards to reproduction men are FINE. The fact that they pity themselves so much is a huge part of the problem.
 
How often have you seen men protesting in the streets for their right to paternity leave? How often do you see men speaking out about women's rights to choose abortions? These same men are the first to suggest abortions to their girlfriends, mistresses and even wives yet they cannot stand up and speak out? Never have I heard the men in my life talk about women's rights of their own free will. Black lives matter? Sure. The government needs to stop lying to us? Hallelujah. Birth control should be free? Umm... Feminine products should not be taxed as every woman in the world will need them at some point and time? Silence. If a man is unaware of these problems he is a part of the problem.
 
This is not just about the men though because women are awful as well. We teach our daughters to grin and bare the same mess we did. We frown at women who speak out on the unfair subject because really who needs to see female breasts on television. Who needs to see shirtless men? We sexualize our daughter's nudity and therefore give men license to do the same and I could go on and on but it is almost 8pm and we have to go get dinner.
 
No I'm not pregnant. If I was, that would be great. I'm not and that is fantastic! There is no right or wrong. If you are pregnant and you do not want to be, feel free to terminate the pregnancy. If it is too late for that adoption is an option. If you never want to have children that is ok too. If you are having trouble conceiving, I am sorry and I hope it happens soon. If you have a rounder tummy please do not allow anyone to shame you. If you are like me and capable of overextending her diaphragm please start singing and belting those notes. Whatever your situation is it is your tummy and no one gets to tell you anything about it.
 
Choose your life, love yourself.
 
XOXO,
 
IslandGyal
 
 


October 20, 2017

Interracial Couple Chronicles: The Backfire of the Hasty Assumption Trap

Ah done tell ahyou dat Dutch people just racist. For absolutely no reason! No I don't want to generalize but at some point and time somebody gotta tell me why de hell dis does happen so much man. Leh we staht see!

On a stormy afternoon in Rotterdam my boyfriend and I decide to have lunch at a wonderful diner called By Jarmusch. We then crossed the street to do some grocery shopping for our movie night. We both live near this grocery store so we are regular customers. While standing in the check-out line we chatted and when our turn came I started packing the bag. Suddenly the white middle-aged cashier leaned over to my boyfriend and said "you should speak Dutch to her if she lives here, otherwise they never learn it." My boyfriend was stunned and I in awe. Why would anyone look at two people and assume all of this. I could not grasp any of it. I turned to her and said and said in Dutch that I speak the language just fine. For a split second I saw her swallow her pride but it was unfortunately far too strong so it came right back up. If you know me then you know that I detest vomit and the words that came out of her mouth seemed to be just that.

"I get people all the time who only speak English and we speak to them in English but we should speak Dutch to them. " I marveled at the woman. How did she come to the conclusion that my boyfriend was the Dutch one? Was it because he said that the cheese was his? 'Het is van mij.' Couldn't anyone say these words? Why did I have to be a foreigner? Why couldn't I be practicing my English or more likely that he was practicing his? She assumed all the things she did because I am black and my boyfriend looks as white as they come. What bothered me the most was the way the lady defended her point as if she had not just made a huge mistake. I even told her that I could just as well be an American on vacation. Yet she continued to spew more babble while all my boyfriend wanted to say is "lady just mind your business". Instead, we both walked away.


I left the Dirk van den Broek on the Goudsesingel angry, hurt and disappointed. One would think that living in a city as big as Rotterdam would  not come with prejudice at every turn. Unfortunately I left the shop feeling let down yet again. It feels as if every time I give Dutch caucasians a chance, they prove to me that they cannot do better. I do not want to put anyone in a box but the fact that a woman felt comfortable enough to speak about me as if I was not there, in a language that she assumed I did not understand shows how much thinks about people who look like me. The message she sent was a clear one and that is we do not want you here unless you act how we think you should. 

I wonder if that is what I should be teaching my students. I wonder if this is what the Dirk intended when they put her at the register. I wonder if she will think about what she did. I wonder if anyone will read this and actually understand why I am emotional about this. I wonder if this will change anything.

XOXO, 

IslandGyal

P.S. Bae chose today's title. Please let us know what you thought about it.

September 21, 2017

7 Days a Slave part 1

After I heard of my aunt's passing a deep sadness set in as there was no way I could afford a trip for $1000. I cried everyday dreading the thought of saying goodbye via a live-streamed video but there was nothing to be done. I cried and cried and then my brothers both found tickets for half the price and I was finally awarded funds that I had been waiting on for months. So on Saturday September 2nd I bought a ticket and everything felt right. Buh nothin in my life does go easy so Irma come n mash up errybody plans. Leh me tell yuh bout mah slaveship journey.

Hurricane Irma seemed harmless at first but by Wednesday my family on St. Thomas had decided to postpone Auntie's funeral as there was simply no way to get everyone safely there with not one but two hurricanes on the way. The rebooking process began and as I called the travel agents I would keep getting new and different stories. After two days and 13 hours of working on the tickets for my three siblings as well I was done. I felt as if I had just run a marathon. Could nothing good happen? The answer was a simple: no.

It turns out that St. Thomas was devastated by Irma and that everything would become more complicated. The airport having lost all contact with the outside world would not be open to commercial flights. So now we had tickets to a place we could not fly to. Yet American Airlines did not enlighten us about this fact. We were scheduled to leave Amsterdam in the afternoon, catch a flight from London to JFK, sleep there one night and then fly on to St. Thomas. As luck would have it the North Sea began to churn out its own storm, thus all Schiphol flights were delayed. When we finally arrived at London Heathrow our connecting flight was long gone and this is where the drama truly began.

By then I was positive that there were no flights to St. Thomas and that I needed to fly to Puerto Rico where my uncle would pick us up with his plane. When I told the British Airways agent this they insisted that their were flights available and was booked on a flight to Atlanta and from Atlanta I would travel to St. Thomas. Please note that this was an America Airline ticket and up to that point I had never spoken to an AA ground agent. So when we got to ATL we were put up in a nice hotel and I thought that everything would be fine, until I checked my flight before I went to bed. The flight that would be operated by Delta had been cancelled. The next morning Delta explained that American Airlines was still selling tickets knowing that there is no airport. If you have lost track of what day we are on it was day 3, Friday. Delta informed us that there were no flights to San Juan, Puerto Rico but after much, crying and begging they found us a seat for Saturday morning. Stuck in ATL for another day we met up with our mom's good friends and had a wonderful day.

We made it to Puerto Rico and my fabulous uncle picked us up and flew us over to St. Thomas but there is much more to this story. Stay tuned for part 2.

XOXO,

IslandGyal

September 20, 2017

My Aunt Shirley: A Glorious Death


I was returning to school when I got a call that my aunt had taken a turn for the worst. It had only been a week or two before that I learned of her illness, cancer. She had kept this a secret for a very long time, even from my mom whom she had seen months before at a camp. My aunt was 39 years old and dying. Having lost two aunts to breast cancer (2008, 2010) I could not imagine losing another, so I sank. My spirit seemed to ebb away at the news. How could God be so cruel to me? How could he do this to my family? My grandfather lost his brother in April and now this? Was he bound to lose the daughter he always hoped for? Should my grandmother bury her baby? In all my questioning and lamentations I never thought about her. I was selfish.

A GoFundMe page was started for my aunt and though I had previously sentenced her to death somewhere in my mind, hope began to blossom. As I looked at the page I kept thinking that she might just make it. God would listen and prolong her life. He would let not ignore so many people. Again, I thought only of myself and my feelings.

On August 22nd I was returning to school when I got a call that my aunt had taken a turn for the worst. Auntie Shirley was dying. Daddy (grandfather) and Uncle Geoff were trying to get to her before she left this world. She left before they made and heartbroken I woke at 4am to hear that she was dead on August 23rd. 

A lot happened after that but the most incredible thing was the outpouring of grief and love that I saw on social media. It was as if everyone on my timeline had lost her. That is when I was reminded of a movie called 300. It tells of the Spartans that fought against the tyranny of the Persian king who thought himself a god, Xerxes. The Greeks craved death that meant something and Xerxes sook to threaten that.  As he spoke to the Spartan king Leonidas he told that he would destroy them, no songs would be sung about Sparta, and no artist would sculpt or paint them. The historians would lose their tongues if they ever uttered the name.

The enemy tried to do that to my aunt, but here I am writing. Shirley touched and inspired so many lived that she will live forever. My aunt the go getter, lover of God and all of his creation closed her eyes and died the most glorious death. She died knowing that she was loved and that it was well with her soul. She died knowing that if she had stayed here longer she would have suffered too much. God gave her what she could bare and kept her smiling through it all. The best thing about her death is that one day she will have the most glorious event. God will tell his angels to go break the beautiful tomb in which she now lays. On that day He will say “Shirley Amorette Fleming you’ve had enough rest come be reunited with your family and live gloriously, forever.”

 
XOXO,
 
IslandGyal

July 30, 2017

I hate the Fruit

Sometimes I talk about issues with poetry. Enjoy this!


The garden was beautiful when there were no snakes. I'm afraid of snakes.

Snakes introduce you to fruit.
We walk to the tree and we look.
Strange fruit indeed and am I to love this?
Give me knowledge?
Show me good and evil?
I only see evil and pain.
The images now etched in my brain.

Food, exercise, so hungry...
I love chocolate, everyone does.
But chocolate is bad, all the carbs you know.
Small waist, small backside no need for more.
Chocolate makes your brain slow
Chocolate leaves nasty stains
And pimples cause pains

Magnolia trees are strong
Magnificent trunks, pop it quick.
Gorgeous white flower why are you here.
Are you ok ma'am? BE STILL BOY!
Pretty flower has fallen in the mud.
Hide flower, lie, hide your shame.
Dirt is nothing, dust in chains.

Curves, cotton hair, thick lips.
Suck, mock, fuck.
Love is light, who loves the night?
What happens in dark but sin?
Legs open, promise nothing, run home at dawn.
Look at the beauty the light and night have created.
Mixing, sin, light and darkness cannot dwell together.

July 24, 2017

Adventures with GP: I Rebuke YOU! pt.2

Jesus be a fence! I am writing this and hoping that I get it right. Pray for me.

After the speaker by the name of John Anosike left we decided that we would have to break our word and not return to the conference. I firmly believe that the greatest sin we can commit is working against our conscience. We sat down with a local pastor who invited us there and explained the situation. Leo Davelaar & G-Project is not just a choir but a group of Christians and we could not serve God in an atmosphere in which we did not think He would be pleased. On the other hand I felt bad for the pastor. I mean where would he find a praise team on such short notice. Lesson: NEVER allow your human emotions to deter you from doing what you think is right spiritually. After an hour of pleading with us our director decided that we should go home, pray and see what the morning brought.

Well revelations come in the morning! On Saturday we found out that the organizer was not the local pastor but rather the charlatan John Anosike. He who had treated us so horribly without any type of apology expected us to return. Now there is a vast difference between service and work. We felt that if we returned it would be work and not a service to God, that hurt me. I never joined the choir for it to be a job. I just enjoy blessing others with the gift God has given to me. So we had a dilemma do we go and work or do we stay home. We decided to work because even in our work people could find TRUTH in the den of lies.

On Saturday afternoon I beat my face, got dressed and paid (public transport) to get there. I was happy to see my other GP sisters there as well though some from the night before refused to return. We sat and waited and as we sat there the pastor who spoke to the night before came and said nothing to us. When our director arrived he was unable to look him in the eye to tell him that our services were longer needed. WE GOT FIRED!!! The painful thing was that this pastor Nosa allowed us to show up, sit and wait only to say go home. This was the most insulting experience I have ever had with G-Project or any group for that matter. However, God is big.

I am sharing this because I want you to know that. We needed to experience this so that we can know what type of world we are living in. There are people hungry for hope. They are searching for something to hold on to and unfortunately there are people who are lying to them. We saw people who were thirsty and they drank but were never told how to get the living water so that they can never thirst again. I googled the charlatan and found that his followers call him Papa. Isn't God our father? I saw a video of him telling people that we can be gods because we are righteous (fast-forward to 5:45 if you don't want to watch every lie). Yet the bible says in Romans 3:10 "There is no one righteous, not even one;" (NIV).

After the entire ordeal we did not know what to do so we prayed. We prayed for the deliverance of those being led astray. We prayed claiming the victory over every evil spirit that tried to harm us. We praised God even before it happened that we will be able to turn what the devil meant for bad to become good. These blogs were not just to bash the crazy people we worked with but to share what God can do.

He kept me calm when it is in my nature to lose my cool. He kept the choir standing when we were insulted. He kept us praying knowing that prayer is what we needed. God provides! He taught us to tell the devil I REBUKE YOU, in the name of Jesus!

XOXO,

IslandGyal

July 23, 2017

Adventures with GP: I Rebuke YOU! pt. 1

If you know me then you know that I am a part of a wonderful gospel choir called Leo Davelaar & G-Project. Our mission is to share the gospel (hence the 'G') of Jesus Christ to our world. We work hard on translating popular gospel song to Dutch and Papiamentu to reach a large audience here in the Netherlands. At the end of the blog I will leave a few links to our pages in the event you want to learn more. I guess it is only right to give a disclaimer.

DISCLAIMER De group ain tell me to write dis n dis all my experience so yeah dey ain accountable or waeva else yuh guh say in dese tings. Leh we start.

Last week was rough. I started it off with traveling for 7 hours to and from my nephew's first birthday party. When I got home I had a fever and needed rest. The flu virus and I continued to fight and on Friday morning I did not think I would be able to sing at a conference being held at Ahoy in Rotterdam but I chose to claim the victory of my flu. In faith I went to the conference and praised God for keeping me. As we sang with the people we invited the Holy Spirit to come and move in people's lives and He did. It was a blessing, but then we sat down.

A South African preacher calling himself an apostle began to speak and the member of GP started looking at each other with confused faces. The speaker was saying that we could have eternal life here on earth with no pain and suffering. So I began to question why anyone would live right if there is nothing after the grave. Then he started saying that God is always associated with noise. In 1 Kings 19:11 God tells Elijah that He is going to pass by. A great wind comes followed by and earthquake and fire but God was in not of it. God came in the calm (1 Kings 19:12). It's hard to deceive people who read the word of God.

Slowly but surely we leave to a different room and we are called when the speaker starts to "heal" people. A lady who could not walk for 3 years was able to stand and he said that she had a new liver and kidneys. We began to sing a song that I did not know in mumble and awe I was in no spirit. The speaker became angry and what I am about to say is insane. He stands in front of the church and says that the next time he comes from South Africa he will bring his own musicians because he needs people on an international level and people in the spirit. Our pride said no and my face said "go suck yuh mudda" which he probably saw. The great speaker then turns to my director who is on the keyboard and ask him for an 'F'. The sad thing is he was already in said key and the speaker had no idea. My director must have had enough of the freak show because people were dropping to the floor and at one point and time the speaker wiped his sweat on another man. WAIT LET'S GET INTO THAT.

While worshiping a man came in with a cane and he was clapping and dancing with us so I was confused when the same man came to be healed from deafness. The speaker start killing the cancer in the man's body and then starts blowing in the man's ears until he can hear. He then pushed him to the ground and leaves him there as he gets his rag to wipe the sweat from his brow to transfer it on to the man on the floor. I almost threw up. Back to how Leo leaves us. He quits playing and put on a track so we no longer have to sing. I hear the music and think 'amen, freedom'. WRONG!

The moment Leo leaves is the moment the wanna be apostle comes to the choir with his crazy to come and talk to us because again we are not in the spirit. I kept wondering which spirit because THE HOLY SPIRIT was definitely gone. He made an exit as soon as the apostle of lies got on the stage. As he speaks to us I slowly back away. He notices that we don't care about what he is saying and goes to people who are more open to his crazy. As I stand there with my eyes closed the preacher returns to me and ask me what my name is, where I am from and if I have ever had an experience with Jesus. I answer these question and he then puts one hand on my forehead and another in my hair and begins to push. Now I have no idea why he thought that the girl with her eyes open looking at he choir director for help would fall but I did not. Now you may be wondering why I did not tell him to stop touching me but I did not know how. ALL I could think about is that he was nasty and I should not hit or swear less I give GP a bad name. When he blew on my forehead I thought my life was over. I felt violated in some way and I felt my spirit collapsing but God has not given us a spirit of fear. As he walked away I praised God for the strength I had been given. to remain silent.

As the speaker continued to say things about me not knowing how to act in the presence of a man of God we left and started packing up. He end his sermon but came outside and said these words: "Mister (referring to a young man from GP) I rebuke you! I did not want to rebuke you all on stage but you all were talking while I was preaching and I don't know who hired you all but you need to learn how to act in the presence of a man of God." My choir director came outside as the man as about to leave and tried to address him and the man kept walking away and brushed him off.
There is actually more to this story if you can believe that. So see you at part two when we get FIRED!



XOXO,

IslandGyal and Child of the Most High God

June 25, 2017

Angels vs Demons: We're having twins!!!

In a recent post on interracial relationships I wrote about how I want my kids to be white like their dad.(Please read that to find out why I would say such a crazy thing.) If you were paying attention you would know that I said kids, plural. I am really excited to share this with you. My boyfriend and I are expecting twins and I already have my birthing plan. Read on to find out more.


After 37 difficult weeks the time will finally come to get these parasite-like aliens out of me and I pray that they look more human by that time because for now...

The time has come to finally bring my humans into this world and all I can do is yell at my boyfriend about how everything is going wrong and that I am too young to lose all feeling in my vagina. The rules and regulations of a hospital birth suck and so I decided to have a homebirth so everyone can witness my finest hour. Except labor has been going on for much longer than that and I am already exhausted and I am remind as to why I never wanted babies in the first place.

A family friend who happens to be a doctor came all the way to our townhouse in Rotterdam to deliver our sons. While we are grateful it is very hard to show that when he keeps violating you and calling it checking how far along you are. At a certain point and time I start losing my mind and begging everyone to get "los diablos" out of me while my boyfriend keeps rubbing my belly and calling them "angelitos". While begging for ice to soothe my burning vagina one kid pops out, Edward and while he is beautiful he is more than enough and I ask if we can reconvene tomorrow as I have no energy to continue with this labor. In true mother-in-law M shows up and some how gets baby number two out also known as Carlyle. I chose these strong Twilight names because my boyfriend insisted that the kids carry his last name, though Blake is a much nicer one.
It turns out the burning was a bad thing and that I need stitches down there. As luck would have it my brother-in-law D walks in at the wrong time and gets a view of the damage. He walks over to my bf and tells him that this is the price of fatherhood. As my anger boils my father promptly appears with a machete and punches D in the face.

While my mom is disappointed that we have two sons my father-in-law C is the happiest because we have kids to carry on his family's name. One would think that a man with three sons would be satisfied but men are from Mars.

Then I woke up on April 21st 2017 and told my bae all about what happened.

I told you all that I would write something less loaded and now I have. Also really? I have been complaining about my period all over social media. Where I get children from? You know you love me for this.


XOXO,

IslandGyal

June 15, 2017

Storytime: My Highschool Boyfriend

Disclaimer: This is not to bash my ex. This is also my version of things so be mindful of that OK? Good. We're going to call him Leslie for this. Leh we start de show!

I met Leslie on the first day of school and I immediately disliked him. He was everything I hated in people. He seemed to think so highly of himself while it was obvious that he was over compensating. In other words he reminded me of the things that I hated about myself. Some thought it would be hilarious to say that we were together and that bothered me. I have always been a vicious creature and one day in my attempt to make clear to the world exactly how much I disliked him our Spanish teacher probably saw the pain and came to his defense. I called him many names and ended with 'pork chop' the teacher then turned and said "OK sparerib, enough". I was so annoyed! Not just because she gave me a name but that she gave me one matching his. I may have been many things but I was nothing like that swine.

Fast forward to the end of year 2 and I had finally entered puberty. For some people puberty is awful but for me it offered chocolate milk skin and small but perky boobs. I was excited and by the time we got to year 3 I was madly in love. We were together and happy except we were a secret.

Now girls/ladies if at any time a guy is not shouting from the rooftops that he loves you then he does not. If you are always a secret, then run. The reason Leslie kept me a secret is simply because he want to keep his options open and after an interesting event he broke it off with me and 2 weeks later started openly pursuing another girl. I hated him! See girls are sometimes extremely fickle and we tend to dream about a house and kids at 15 when guys are just wondering how far the can go tonight. If you are young and in love do not think that your relationship will stand the test of time. There are few that survive high school.

The problem with this story is that we are just getting started. While he dated that other girl I got prettier, smarter and better at being Urisha. I went to Aruba and came back with relaxed hair, I felt untouchable. I don't remember exactly what happened but I think the girl moved away and after him being a thirsty guy he finally returned to me. While my pride kept me reluctant I had never stopped loving him so I eventually gave in. To be honest I may have made changes just for him to notice me but I was resolved and I did not take any of that secrecy BS. Everyone knew that we were together and it was just how I liked it. We fought all the time because teenage boys are possessive, I equated that behavior with love but it was not. It was actually simple biology and I now know that this is how testosterone works. We would talk for hours and when I did not respond we would argue and he would become upset. However, the sex really helped. Yes I had sex in high school but we're in year six at this part of the story so it is fine. RELAX! (I'm not saying that it did not happen before year 6 because year 5 was interesting but that is another story.)

So when you get to your senior year you start making plans and while I could have studied English anywhere in the world I came to the Netherlands because he would be here. We planned how he would come visit me from Amsterdam and how our lives would be wonderful. I genuinely believe that he believed that we would build lives together but all that changed after graduation. He went to South America for two months and nearing the time that he was supposed to come to the Netherlands he broke up with me. Needless to say, I was gutted. We had been through a lot together and I had changed my life for him. I turned on my parents for him, loved him in spite of the horrid things he'd done and stayed with him when everyone told me to leave. I did not deserve this.



Coupled with homesickness and a broken heart I became extremely depressed and hardly ever ate. I began hating myself and my life but luckily my family pulled me out of a pit that they had no idea I was in. In true Leslie fashion he came back months later after I was with someone else to try to have a purely physical relationship I ran from that and it one of the best decisions I have made to date.

Today I am happy. While it takes me years to completely trust people I am no longer afraid of cutting people off. After years of making the same mistakes I understand that I am worth it and that I deserve someone who will hold my hand in public and randomly kiss my cheek. We all deserve the same things, love, peace and true joy. If your relationship does not bring you those things then please leave and be happy alone. Leslie is probably just fine today and might be even reading this. I know for a fact that he has grown up and suffers less from his fear of commitment. I wish him well in life and I will forever love him for teaching me how to guard my heart.

XOXO,

IslandGyal

June 11, 2017

No blog Today

Since G-Project is recording a tv-show that will require me to be away for 12 hours there will be no post today. Feel free to twiddle your thumbs until Thursday.

XOXO,

IslamdGyal

June 8, 2017

We're too pretty for this!




I am often confronted by my dark skin. Every time I go to the drugstore on the hunt for makeup products I am met with a new version of 66 Shades of Beige. The frustrating part of this is that I know that brands like L'Oréal and Maybelline actually make my shade in most of their foundation lines. Yet store like Kruidvat and Etos disappoint me without fail. In the Netherlands black women have to spend more money on their makeup because regular stores pretend as if we do not exist. Constantly being referred to department store brands is particularly upsetting because most students do not have Black Up, MAC and Lancome money. This raises an important question. Why do black people have to pay more to look and feel beautiful?

I do not want to sound like a conspiracy theorist but there must be a reason that stores do not answer my emails or questions when I inquire about their shade range. Tokos are stores that sell products from foreign countries and they charge for that service as exclusivity is usually synonymous with expensive. Women of color, especially black women pay more simply because they have no choice. If you work in an environment that pressures you to wear makeup you immediately have to pay more than your white counterparts and while this may seem like a small thing consider the fact that the odds are already stacked against young black women. Does an up and coming stewardess who already had to take a maximum student loan need this extra bill? Probably not. If you are wondering why the black girl took the maximum student loan it is because she did not have the chance to live with her parents since she left them back in the Caribbean where she could not go to college because her island only has 4000 people. Still think that the system isn't working against colored women? Read on.

Products for oily skin are hard to find and guess which ethnicity generally has oily skin? You guessed it! All the rich, deeper skintones. There is something to be said about systematic racism and that is a completely different subject but it cannot be a coincidence. One might say that there is no market for drugstore makeup because black girls in the Netherlands only shop at Douglas and ICI Paris XXL (Dutch versions of Ulta/Sephora). The reason for that has nothing to do with our preferences and everything to do with drugstores refusing to carry our shades. Now as a makeup lover I am aware of the problem that my paler friends have because brands also forget about them when making foundations and stores definitely do not order for them. IT SUCKS! However I think it wrong of us to point fingers towards our paper white ladies when an entire race is left out. Any shade of brown is not welcome. That is the message stores like Kruidvat send and I am grateful that online stores like The Makeup Spot and Boozy Shop exist. I just wish they weren't just online so that we could go and swatch before we buy. The makeup industry is rigged against black women and in the Netherlands it is horrible!

Here are the facts. Brands like L'Oréal and Maybelline do not make sure that their entire shade range is available to countries they sell to. I have emailed time and again to no avail. So I am writing a blog now in hopes that someone will listen and that they will care. Brands need to be here for us, every shade or us. Whether you are as pale as NikkieTutorials or as dark as Nikki Perkins we all deserve better. We are too pretty for this shit!

XOXO,

IslandGyal

P.S. In case you are wondering what I am wearing on my skin here is a very long list.
  • Brows: NYX Micro Brow in Espresso
  • Eyes: Maybelline Great Lash mascara and L'Oreal kohl liner.
  • Concealers: NYX HD concealer in Nutmeg, LA Girl Pro Conceal in Orange and Fawn
  • Foundation: Black Opal True Color Pore Perfecting liquid foundation in Hazelnut
  • Contour: Sleek Contour palette in Dark
  • Highlighter: MAC Gold Deposit, Gold from Sleek contour palette in Dark
  • Lips: MAC liner Chestnut and Milani Metallic Automatic Touch

June 1, 2017

NEWS!

Here are some quick announcements:


First of all I am so thankful to everyone that read my Shea Moisture post. It is the most read post on my blog and I am overjoyed. I did not think that anyone cared about my views but the world read it, even people in Asia. I am forever grateful for the opportunity to have a voice.

The next few blogs will be heavy and I hope to lighten it up after they are posted. I have rewritten many times in order to come across as fair and honest as I can be. I hope you appreciate the honesty and that these posts start conversations that we really need to have. I know that I will lose followers but I also hope to gain many as well. So feel free to share these posts and discuss them here or wherever you choose.

My new posting days will be on Sunday Thursday and Fridays when I'm in the mood. They will all be posted 2pm CET time and 8am EST so for my islanders you all will have to read it on the job. :D

I love you all and I am grateful for your continued support.

XOXO,

IslandGyal

May 22, 2017

He's White and I'm...ME!

I had a really nice, mushy feelings post about my interracial relationship but I realized that my feelings towards my man have nothing to do with our ethnicities and cultures because that part of our relationship is actually the sucky bit. Leh we talk bout da.


I have had girls point out black men to me even after I've told them that I have absolutely no interest in the blessed chocolate heaven that is the black man. They are beautiful creatures but I just do not wish to be in relationships with them. I like blue eyes, as an island gyal they take me home to the Caribbean and all I think about is diving into the ocean. Yes, blue eyes are that deep for me and I hate that my boyfriend was blessed with them instead of me. Then again God knows that I would probably spend all my time looking into my eyes if He had blessed me. I have also endured the speech of how interracial relationships are a plot to erase the black race. The speeches about me hating myself and my people are the worst. From the black side I live through the questions about the penis size, hygiene and food. Let me address those three quickly no they don't all have small penises, yes they shower as often as you would like them to and I am a better cook than my boyfriend but aren't you better than your too?

The white side is worst, always has but I hope it changes soon. "Wow a black girl, I've never had a black girl." While our skin is chocolate and we look delectable we are not dishes for you to try. Black people are not exotic, people are not countries or places. The questions about my hair, family life, religious convictions and education are all connected to race instead them simply being questions. Then we have the people who just think it is wrong for a Dutch guy to be mixed with a "negerin" (female nigger). Did I leave out the need to make sure that I do not need a passport because you know some of them are only after one thing.

In March my boyfriend and I went to the "mall" in hometown and he remarked that everyone was staring at me. I was probably the only black person there that afternoon and definitely the only one walking hand in hand with a white man. Thankfully we live in Rotterdam where interracial relationships are pretty normal. We don't get outright stares, what we do get are the curious looks. The looks that make me want to scream.

I want to scream because I know that I live in a world that is horrible. One that does not care about my skin or my race for the most part. I live in a country that pretends to be tolerant while discriminating against biracial children. I live in a world in which I have to pray and beg God that my future children look nothing like me and everything like their dad simply because their lives would be better white.  I want to live in a society that will accept that a white man can love a black woman because of who she is and love her even more because she can dance to soca music. The interesting part of all of this is while these awful things happen when I am with my boyfriend we are in a type of bubble. I see the people and I think about how insignificant they are to our happiness. Maybe we balance out each other, I give him street cred and I am not immediately labeled the thief when alarm goes off in a store. Whatever it is does not matter.

I am a black woman with dark skin, brown eyes and relaxed hair. I love a man that makes me laugh, who cares for me in ways I did not know possible. A man who thinks the way I pronounce the word 'day' is the cutest thing and who stays up and argues with me until 3am. He is pale-skinned, blond-haired and has the most beautiful blue eyes. I love the person who love me. Ok world?

XOXO,

IslandGyal

May 17, 2017

Some Info

I took a long break from social media but I am back. Follow me on Instragram at leandra3712.
There you will find all my makeup looks and trust me their is a lot going on when it comes to makeup. I hope to soon start a YouTube channel so let me know what you guys would want you see.

You know how to reach me.

XOXO,

IslandGyal

May 6, 2017

For my Good

Be encouraged.


The people of Israel had been exiled to Babylon and were now stuck. God had left them after many years of disobedience. Were they to be slaves yet again as their ancestors had been? Was this the way things would end for them? In a letter to the exiles God's prophet Jeremiah delivered a message. "Do not try to go back home because I (God), have a plan. People around you will try to tell you otherwise. They will say that they have been shown by Me how you must leave this situation but they are liars. I have put you here and this is what I say to you now. Work in your situation and settle down. Build houses, have children and do not be dismayed. Prosper in Babylon and when your time is over I will bring you back to the place, to the place where you belong." (Jeremiah 29:5-10)
God had brought the Israelites into a bad situation and even those who had been good and loyal to him were made to suffer. If you are going through a rough time understand that it might not be a punishment.

While reading the letter many must have said "are you serious God? You want us to find some kind of joy in our pain? You want us to go on as if we are not suffering?" God in his wisdom and obvious great writing skills said in verse 11: "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV) You see sometimes in life we just need to hold our tongues and keep reading because with God there is ALWAYS more. The story ends many years later and the Jewish children born in exile make it home.

Fast forward to circa 57 years after Jesus' death and we find our jail-bird apostle, Paul, writing a letter to the Roman Christians. In his final letter we find Paul summarizing what it means to be a Christian and while he says many things in Romans 8 this part jumps out at me. "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28 NIV) Paul did not say that we think that God is working for our good. He did not say that God works for us in some things. We KNOW that God will work in EVERYTHING under the sun for our good. Even when we cannot see it because God is not a human, his ways are not our ways and thoughts not ours. We should not try to understand them.

Today you might be going through some rough times. Your family situation may not be going right or God's plan for your life seems like a complete mystery. Maybe your career just took an unexpected turn and all you want to do is cry out to God and ask him why he has chosen to exile you. I want you to remember that during that exile prophecy was revealed to Daniel, the three Hebrew boys proved to a nation that a god king is a mere mortal and that our God walks through fire. The exile saved an entire race from extinction because in selflessness the most beautiful queen risked her life saying "if I perish, I perish." You do not know what God is writing in the story of your life but you must trust that is all for your good.

XOXO,

IslandGyal

P.S. Check out this song by Tamela Mann it's called For My Good

May 4, 2017

Revealing More Racism with Shea Moisture

If you have not heard about the Shea Moisture controversy you have been living under a rock and you should click here before continuing. Caught up? Ok, let us begin.

The backlash Shea Moisture received from this ad has been great and I want to share my initial reaction. "Umm... so where the black people? This halfie ain guh 4c hair. Show me da den ah gon know dis can wuk for errybody." My problem was not with the caucasian women rather it was with the lack of unambiguously black women. This has not been the case with many members of the black community and that is why we are here today class. We must address the fact that black people have an insane need to own things and have them be black. I wonder how that is different from white people in the Netherlands thinking that they own Hillegersberg and Wassenaar (wealthy neighborhoods in Rotterdam and The Hague).

I read a blog post that shocked me. An educated black woman writes that white women are trying to infiltrate our (black people) culture, hair being a major part of it. Yes cultural appropriation is a real thing and I will thus never buy another Marc Jacobs product. (See Jackie Aina's video on his sins here. If you want to find alternatives, she's got you too.) However, Shea Moisture is not promoting any type of cultural appropriation. They are a brand that wants to expand because there are not enough black people in America to make this brand as successful as Garnier, Pantene and Suave. This is where the problem lies because we want it to be ours. We have this slave mentality that tells us that ownership is power.


My well-loved relaxed hair.
Shea Moisture was created for black people by black people but we have never addressed the fact that the brand only truly caters to naturalistas and not to people who have chosen to relax their hair. The Natural Hair Movement has long morphed into a shaming party. Many bloggers and influencers never come out and say "relaxed hair is means that you don't love skin, hair and ultimately yourself" but when they talk about how much their natural hair is synonymous with self-love what does that say? "I love my body so I stopped putting all those chemicals in my system." Really now? So I don't love mine?

The problem with our hair love is ours. Black women not liking themselves because they are dark is OUR problem. I am aware of implicit bias but that is another problem and not necessarily our own though it affects us. We need to start teaching girls that they are beautiful and that their hair does not define them. We pretend as if this Natural Hair Movement is about hair care when we know that it is not. It is about ethnicity and I am far too comfortable in my chocolatey goodness to give a damn about my hair. If anyone is wondering I have 4c/4z hair and with a full head of hair caring for it is a three person job. I love my relaxed hair and my natural hair was beautiful and still represents a beautiful part of my life, childhood.

This controversy has revealed something very interesting about the black community: privilege is not welcome. "You are white and do not have true struggles with your hair or even makeup because any conditioner will do for you and your foundation shade is in every drugstore so bye." We dismiss them because of their skin color and if that is not racism I do not know what is. Shea Moisture is becoming more inclusive because of business but we need to include white people to survive. Having them care about our brands gives us a platform and broad audience. We want white people to see more fros and if they want to try it? Why should we care? You see I do not seek to normalize dreads or bantu knots on them. I want the world to see it all as normal and not a specifically black thing because hair belongs to us all. Shea Moisture understands something the black community does not. They do not want to simply own the industry and start conversations within it. They want to control it because control is power.

XOXO,

IslandGyal


May 2, 2017

Whose Vagina?

Warning: This will contain actual facts about the human anatomy if you can't read it...? Try really hard because you need this. ALSO this is a rant.

I am 23 years old and as I type this I realize that I am fast approaching the age which will allow me to that I have been having my period for half my life. I am not here to complain about it rather to shed some light on what I have been going through for the past month.

The female body was created, amongst other things to reproduce. Creating human life is truly a blessing but when you are my age having a human seems like a bad idea. So I am on birth control and the reasons I have chosen this method all seem stupid to me now. Unfortunately I am on a medication which cancels out oral birth control. Hooray for epilepsy! The Depo Provera injection is effective for 12-13 weeks meaning that you do not have to think about contraceptives. Over time it may stop your period altogether and that sounds like freedom. What I forgot is that hormones cause mood swings and I have been having the worst of my life. At any given moment I am likely to burst into tears or throw something in a fit of rage. This has yet to happen but what does occur is an inner battle. I find myself constantly talking down a new version of myself from a ledge. "If you throw that cup at your boyfriend's head things will not end well. You should not tell you choir director to go and ********** that behavior would be unacceptable." These conversations go on for quite some time and you begin to feel crazy. I thought that I was insane until I spoke to many other women who have suffered in the same way, but wait, there is more. The emotions were bad enough but my thirteen day period was the worst.

In the past month I have spent at least 50 euros on my uterus from the birth control injection to the feminine hygiene products, including the ones that gave me a rash from hell. Below you can enjoy this list which is most definitely inaccurate because I skipped the food that I paid for in cash.

Product Price
Depo Provera shot € 23.78
o.b. ProComfort normal tampons € 2.19
o.b. ProComfort mini tampons € 2.49
Libresse Ultra Goodnight € 2.39
Sudocreme € 3.15
Always liners € 2.49
Chocolate in many shapes and forms € 20.55
Total: € 57.04
After reading this one may wonder why I chose to go through all of this. I mean is this all really worth it? Do I care about peace of mind that much? Birth control was first seen as a way to give women a choice but today as day four of my period ends I wonder how long it will last this time. Will I continue to bleed for two weeks only to stop and resume two weeks later? Will I want to pull out my hair and scream? Will I feel utterly alone?
 
Alone because while I am doing this for my relationship I am the only one suffering. This is the plight of many women out there. We pay for our birth control, feminine hygiene products and all of the cravings that come along with hormones. The sad thing is that we think it is our duty. I type this knowing that I am hypocrite for never actually discussing this with my partner but he will read this so I guess that it is all out there now. As women we go through more than enough for relationships that are suppose to be 50/50. Every time I hear birth control horror stories I wonder 'whose vagina is it anyway'? Every day when a young woman says that she is unfulfilled in the bedroom, or when another is pressured into an IUD because her husband does not trust the daily pill I think 'is you mek she vagina nuh'. Tonight as I contemplate what the hell I am going to do with this period I am realizing that I should give up now because until my 12 weeks are done I know my vagina is not my own.
 
XOXO,
 
IslandGyal

April 18, 2017

Beauty in the ashes

Today is my sister's birthday. Great, I said it! Leh we talk bout me cuh I de most important right?

In January of 1993 my mom's first born Viviana became very ill. What started as the flu turned out to be bacterial meningitis. If you know anything about the illness you know that if not immediately treated death is a given. This was the case with Vivi and so she was rushed to Curacao where she was treated but as the days went by things seemed to look dim. My mom was told to give up on her comatose daughter. The doctors saw no reason to keep my sister on life support. "She is unresponsive. She can't breathe on her own, her brain is not working. Let her go." My mother, a deeply religious  and stubborn woman began to pray instead. She continued to do so not alone but with her family, friends, island, islands, and churches from all of the world. It would seem as if God answered their prayers for my sister's existence is nothing short of a miracle. The girl who would never have a normal life even if she pulled through is 36 today. She fought her way out of an eight day coma and thirteen days of being in the ICU.

On March 8th my mom and sister returned to Statia and everyone saw nothing but a miracle. What people tend to forget is that God answers prayers in the way He sees fit. My sister was cured but left with epilepsy as a result of her ordeal. My mom was left with something far more special a renewed faith in God and something a little extra. You see after being away from home for such a long time God decided to answer my sister's prayer for a sister. She had been praying for this for years.  Vivi like my mother did not pray alone. Rather she enlisted my cousins to pray with her and finally on November 30th 1993 the doctor announced that a girl had been born.
The bible tells of a time when Jesus went into a synagogue and began to read from Isaiah 61 and while He was driven out before he could get to the good part I will continue with verse three. "To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified." (Isaiah 61:3, KJV) The promise is beauty for ashes is one that stands out to me. My parents never imagined that from their pain and fright two miracles would come.

Today I am reminded that my sister's life is the miracle that made my life possible. I am forever grateful to her for her love and support. I love her for loving me when I felt as if no one did. She has cared for me in the most amazing ways, filling my belly and my heart. Viviana is a phenomenal woman. She has the voice of an angel and could probably sell out stadiums yet she chooses to follow the path of a teacher. One that requires humility, patience and grace. She is longsuffering, (sometimes) slow to anger and abounding in love. My sister is the best and I want to wish her a very happy birthday.

That's enough mush for one day.

Me, Mama and Vivi


XOXO,

IslandGyal

April 16, 2017

The Truth about Urisha

On February 26th  I tried to post and also on March 13th and yet here we are, April 16th with nothing to show for it all. So I'm writing now, not another lame apology but rather an observation because that is really all I can do right now.

I follow Jackie Aina religiously and I feel as if she's been slacking for while on her YouTube channel. I said that it probably has something to do with her boyfriend Dennis whom she's recently introduced to us but has been in her life for a while. In October I met a wonderful guy that we will call Juan and I can honestly say that this has been the best and healthiest relationship I've ever had. While I've been nurturing my relationship I've been letting a lot go and bringing some things closer to me. My love for makeup has somehow grown more than I ever imagined possible. My choir and the service that we provide has also taken a major place in my life.

I have also let some things go. Someone who I called my friend for many years has disappeared from my life. After years of forgiveness I finally said no to all of the abusive behavior. She is gone and I wish her well but simply not in my life. Also someone who claimed to love me and called me family left for reasons that are unknown to me. Yet somehow I find it hard to hurt. My relationships with other friends have all grown stronger and I have even made new ones. Which leads me to explain why I have not been writing.

I'm happy. I find it extremely difficult to write when I am in a good place. It is the saddest most morbid thing about myself. My poetry, music and writing has always come from a place of pain and despair and now that those emotions are no longer there I find it hard to share my world. Tonight I want to tell you that I am working on it and this is the first step. Stick with me and I hope to give you more content all based on a healthy place, ME.

Laters.

XOXO,

IslandGyal

January 31, 2017

The Chronicles of Statia: The Forever Controversy

"I don't oppose all wars. What I am opposed to is a dumb war. What I am opposed to is a rash war." -Barrack Obama


Shall we?

In 2015 the Progressive Labour Party (PLP) won Statia's election. They won two seats and in order to gain the majority in the island's council they joined forces with the United People's Coalition (UPC). I truly did not expect it to last this long yet here we are, in 2017 and they are still going. They may have had an extreme amount of hiccups such as Rueben Merkman the leader of the UPC becoming independent but like I said, they are still here. 2015 ushered in a new form of government, at least to me as I am only 23. The leader of the PLP declared himself the leader of government and while I thought that he would try to work and move Statia forward he did something very different, he pulled us back.

For the first time in my life I heard more talk of slavery and colonization. It was as if we were gearing up for some type of civil war. The Dutch government suddenly turned into the most devious, cunning, ferocious beast the world had ever seen and the only way to survive was to fight. The Hague could do nothing right and as a dark cloud settled over our Quill our sister Saba seemed to move further away from us. She seemed to bask in light provided by the beast and when we pointed and asked why were told that after light fire would come. So we sunk deeper into darkness with our resources depleted and our children suffering but not our spirits. You see our great leader had a plan and he said that all we needed to do was stand. We believed him for who would prefer to live on their knees? What we were not told is that if we continued we would all die and that our deaths would be in no way glorious.

The Democratic Party (DP) better known as the light bearers tried to warn the people about the path they were taking but the people refused to listen. How could they? Where did they get the torches they carried? Did not that same fire come from the very belly of the beast? Was their leader not a child of the beast? The DP were traitors to us and snakes that could not be trusted. We fought on but nothing changed. The SPLoG and his followers lead us down the dark road to face the beast but as we got closer many began to see the beast for what it really was. When SPLoG's closest friends began to doubt him and ask questions he cut them down. By 2017 we, the people were exhausted. The beast began to look less like a beast and more like a cranky, mischievous monster-in-law. As the people continued to doubt our SPLoG began to lash out at the very same people he promised to respect.

The end of January 2017 has shown us much and my question is what we are going to do about it. Our island is divided and stuck. We have a new politician in our faces on a daily basis yelling, pointing fingers and throwing stones. In almost two years we have accomplished nothing and that sucks. My question is how long will we fight for nothing? Many say that they are fighting for our freedom. How free are we when our SPLoG takes it upon himself to write letters to ministers on our behalf? When that same leader calls the people who share a different opinion house slaves are we to remain silent? Would we be OK if Koos Sneek said it or does his skin color deny him the right to call other humans niggers? When we sit and think about the gravity of the words 'master' and 'slave' can we accept them? How long will we be forced to listen to worthless island council meetings in which a constitutional status and an invalid referendum is discussed?

I do not think that there is a Statian who enjoys the roads, infrastructure and the almost nonexistent social benefits on out island. Final question. When will we stop fighting each other and declare that we want change, not tomorrow or when Holland decides to but today. I appeal to my fellow Statians to start working on change themselves. Congratulations Statia! Today is your day decide to go places. Get up and be on your way!

XOXO,

IslandGyal

P.S. If you missed the SPLoG's comments read them here.


 

January 30, 2017

About last week and the weekend.

Mah heart can't take it no mo. Ah feel like ah gon lose mah mind if somebody don't hurry up and get Trump. Leh we jus start so ah could get off de internet.

If you missed last week let me bring you up to speed Donald Dump has signed a bunch of executive orders a few being really messed up. He has decided that the pipeline in Keystone is an awesome idea so screw Native Americans and screw clean water. Also it is officially harder to deal with ObamaCare and we cannot leave out the fact that the US will no longer fund international agencies that promote abortion. The woman in me wants to explain exactly what that means but we do not have time. For the worst part of all of this has been the ban on the residents of seven Muslim countries and if FoxNews is calling it a Muslim ban then it is! We should talk history, come closer.

Europeans went to America for economic and religious reasons. Europeans wanted more than what they had so they decided to find a shorter route to India. Obviously it was no across the ocean and they thus found what we call America. Many jumped at the opportunity to leave the rigid social customs of Europe and many left seeking to convert the natives to Catholicism. We're not going to talk about how the Europeans tried to enslave the natives and when that proved difficult they imported African slaves. Let's let that go for a second. Today's white US citizens have ancestors who left their homes in search of something better. According to the Cambridge English dictionary a refugee camp is a place where people who have escaped their own country can live. It goes on to say that they are only expecting to stay for a short time. According to history most of the voyagers did not initially intend to stay in America but a few centuries later here we are. I will just leave this paragraph here and let you all mull over this a bit. Maybe Syrians will start to seem more like humans and less like terrorists. You know, the type of people who take great pleasure in raping, killing and enslaving other human beings for whichever cause they are fighting for on any given day, that type.

In other news: I agree with Clyde van Putten. The Hague (DH) is officially being low. I do not have energy to explain but if DH is going to make laws they should at least acknowledge their existence and pretend at the very least to care.


At church watching these two talk during the service.
Moving on. Randy Orton won the WWE Royal Rumble on Sunday night while Miss Haiti was cheated out of the Miss Universe crown (or so says the internet). Miss France won and though many are angry I would like to point out that the chances of the black island gyal getting this far were slim. On the bright side the world is changing I mean the Oscars are not half as white as they were last year. The film industry is beginning to look more like a bad chocolate chip cookie, more chocolate is to come.

On the upside, my life is beginning to look like an M&M's Subway© cookie. I went to church on Sabbath and to a social on Saturday night after which I spent time working hard on finding the perfect camera kiss. You will eventually see how that turned out. I also had a great healthy tasting cheese burger from a lovely spot called Hamburg and breakfast from Dutch Diner. I guess this goes to show that we can find happiness even when the world is turning to shit.

Try to find some happiness this week.

XOXO,

IslandGyal

January 25, 2017

NO!

There is no easy way out. The world is clearly ending. Donald Trump is president of the United States of America and I swear that since he's already signed a bunch of foolish executive orders I will have to hide under a rock. FOREVER. Goodbye world!

January 8, 2017

8 Days In

Welcome back to my blog and welcome to 2017. Meen goin pretend dat ah goin be more consistent and do Statia Sunday every week. I guh a life outside of dis n since a lot been goin on leh we start.

Every year we tell ourselves that we will change. "New year, new me" seems to be everyone's favorite December and January phrase. Yet by February 14th you've slept with two different men, cheated on  your diet at least twenty times and you can't seem to stop telling people the most comforting lies. Guess what? You're human and so is Statia's government. So why do we think that everything magically changes overnight? What would make 2017 any different?

Last year a great lady was fired from her job as commissioner and replaced be the ill-equipped carpenter. While we all thought he would run us into the ground, everyone was paid in December so that should be considered as a win right? We'll see about January
but so far so good. To Mr. Woodley, keep up the good work. Last year our SPLoG was loud and now for some reason he is silent. Let us praise the Lord and pray that he continues to bless us with this peace. This year is going to be good. I can feel it.

2017 will be our year to shine if Koos Sneek stops being an action figure (somehow this is a thing), we stop writing newspaper articles and we learn how to spell. Also if the members of certain forums would just come together, that would be great. I cannot be the only one who is sick of seeing the exact same post in their timeline twice. I honestly believe that this year Jean Marie will return to Statia and make a difference for her island....ABORT! ABORT! ABORT! ERROR! ERROR! ERROR!

I must apologize for that paragraph of dreams. Here's what will never happen. Statia will never move forward because the current government is more worried about the constitutional status  than the health of the citizens. 2017 is going to be another year of people being ignored and fighting their hardest to get things done themselves. If a dialysis center is ever opened we'll name it Khanya. If the roads are ever fixed it will be because of two sisters and their friends. Really if anything worthwhile is done it will be because we worked hard for it. This is the hand that we've been dealt Statia so while they are talking about the validity of an invalid referendum go get a truck. Take your neighbor's garbage to the dump. Help them paint their house, or fix the fence that the cow broke down again. 2017 is only going to be good if the citizens of Statia work. So let's get to it. Happy New Year!

 
XOXO,
 
IslandGyal