Season One Celebration Begins

SPEAKER_05 0:09

Hey Bookie's Baddies. Welcome to Black Girls Lip.

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We'll find women, find literature, and find libations collide. Step into the lit life. Black girls lit starts now.

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Black women are so complex.

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Hey, Boogie's baddies. Welcome back. Welcome back to Black Girls Lit Podcast. It's your girl Natasha here with my homegirls. I'm Lat.

SPEAKER_02 0:38

I'm stuff. And I'm star.

SPEAKER_04 0:41

All right, y'all. Okay, so I'm gonna tear up for a minute because um we are ending season one. Y'all, we've been doing it for like a whole year. What? 15 books. Hello. What?

SPEAKER_06 0:54

It's job, ladies. Yeah, absolutely. So many options.

SPEAKER_04 0:58

It has been so amazing. For sure, for sure. So this episode is a celebration, y'all. We got all of this champagne here. Yeah, we is popping bottles because we've been doing this for a whole year and we're just getting ready for season two. And you guys will not believe the things that we have already started planning and manifesting for season two. Like, just please come along for the ride.

SPEAKER_02 1:20

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_04 1:21

Let's let's get the party started. What are we drinking?

Champagne And Sushi Pairings

SPEAKER_05 1:25

Okay, so as Natasha said, this is a celebrate, and we're drinking champagne. All the celebration cocktails. So today we are drinking Piper Brute Champagne. Things you need to know about this champagne as we are tasting is it is a non-vintage, full-bodied champagne with a fresh and fruity profile, known for its balance of aromas like pear, citrus, and toasted bread. It is aged for at least 24 months and it's giving it a lively, elegant character and a crisp, dry finish. We are pairing all of our champagne cocktails today with sushi. We fancy. So, all of our sushi lovers, this is the episode for you. I personally love sushi. Bury me in the sushi, personally. The reason we're pairing it with sushi is because the wine enhances the delicate flavors without overpowering it. So we're gonna try the champagne, just our champagne glasses right now, ladies. So cheers to season two and a beautiful year. It's been great.

SPEAKER_04 2:44

Champagne for my real friends, real pain for my sham friends. Oh, what'd you say, Susan? Say that one more time.

SPEAKER_06 2:52

Let's see if she remembers.

SPEAKER_04 2:53

She's so creative, right?

SPEAKER_06 2:54

Let's see if she's doing it again.

SPEAKER_04 2:59

Champagne for my real friends, real pain for my sham friends. Period. That's cute.

SPEAKER_06 3:04

That's cute.

SPEAKER_04 3:05

Okay, but the champagne is good. Now, I'm gonna tell you something. They got me right here with these chopsticks. Now I love a sushi. I eat my sushi with a fork.

SPEAKER_05 3:13

Unculture.

SPEAKER_04 3:14

I don't think the same thing. Unculture.

SPEAKER_05 3:16

Because I too can't use them, but I I'm gonna try them. Good job.

SPEAKER_06 3:20

Good job.

SPEAKER_05 3:21

Now, do y'all get into because I it looks like I'm the only one with negative? Oh no, Star got Nageri on her roll too. Y'all don't oh no, you do too. Okay, so Steph is in here. Okay, no, I I do eat sushi for real. Yeah, I need too.

SPEAKER_04 3:33

Yeah, I mean, I'm not playing just for the California rolls.

Introducing Parable Of The Sower

SPEAKER_05 3:35

Steph got all the avocados, though. I she liked the avocado. I'm not just here for the California rolls. I eat sushi. Yeah, not just not with chopsticks. All right, Steph.

SPEAKER_06 3:44

Tell us what we're reading and what we're reviewing today. So today we are reading Parable of the Sour, can refer to a 1993 dystopian novel by Octobi Octavia E. Butler. Or the biblical parable about a farmer sowing seeds, which illustrates how different people respond to messages. Butler's novel, set in the near future California, ravaged by social and environmental collapse, follows a young woman with hyper empathy as she flees her community to find a new one. The biblical parable found in the Gospels describes a sour seed landing on various types of soil with only those on good soil yielding a crop. Octavia Estelle Butler was an American science fiction and speculative fiction writer who won several awards for her works, including Hugo, Locust, and Nebula Awards. In 1995, Butler became the first science fiction writer to receive a MacArthur Fellowship.

SPEAKER_04 4:46

We have read the book. I definitely did. Yes, sip. So it's cheers, sip, babysit. Oh my goodness gracious, y'all. And then send it back. Okay, I'm gonna go ahead. I'm gonna give this one a sip. Okay, I didn't love it, but I also didn't hate it. It was it was a good book. I mean, I thought the theme was good, it was like a little slow in the beginning. I was confused about some things because we just jumped right into like ooh, the world is different. Yeah, I think it was weird too. I didn't realize that it was when the year was written because they were talking about ooh, well, 2025. And I was like, oh, well, that's today. And it was not today. This book was written in the 90s, so that sort of threw me and like the description of it. So yeah, for that reason, I'm I'm gonna give it a sip. So you know, it's like a three stars for me. I I did end up enjoying the book, but it did take just like I mean, just a little bit for me to get into it.

Ratings: Sip Or Send It Back

SPEAKER_05 5:52

Lex. So I will be giving this book a send it back. Um it was extremely difficult for me to get through. In fact, I had to start the book over to make sure I was comprehending what was going on. I felt like it was extremely slow. One, it was real slow, it was real dark. I was telling the ladies, pitiful and poor is the theme of this book. Just pitiful and poor. But I don't know. It just to me and R.I.P. to our girl Octavia, and you know, we're always there for the people who start things or the first in our community. So I will definitely give her her props there. But this book was extremely boring to me. Just boring and dark. So, and I really didn't even enjoy the writings.

SPEAKER_01 6:48

Um, all the way to the back of the book.

SPEAKER_05 6:51

For me, I just did not, I did not enjoy this book at all. I was ready for it to be done. Oh, okay, okay.

SPEAKER_06 6:58

So I guess we all over the place, but I'm gonna go with Tasha and I'm gonna say it's a sip. For me, I could a lot of the questions she had in there intrigued me because I questioned some of the same things, especially now with society and religion and God. So I I enjoyed the writing. I was able to get into it. It was a lot, it was a lot, but as they say with climate change, things are different. Octavia wrote it along, you know, over two decades ago. And so to see where we are now to compare to what she probably envisioned is, you know, completely different. But I mean, a lot of it has the little political views in it, who has wealth, who doesn't. So for me, I would give it a sip because I was able to a lot of the questions intrigue me for the main character in the book and to see where she was going. That's it. Now to go into the second book, that would be a different read for me, but I'll stick with this video. I got the vibe from that.

SPEAKER_02 8:04

Tell them size, tell them, yeah, yeah. Send it back. I'm sending it back. It's going back, it's all the way back, like all the way back to scratch. Absolutely not. I don't know how we got there. And that troubled me. There was no backstory. There was, and and not that it needed a lot of backstory. You know, sometimes you don't want too much backstory, but there was none. It just we're just like, no. We'll talk about it. But I think you're right. We'll talk about it. I and I I agree with Lex, and we did talk about it. I I also, once I finished it, I said, well, well, let me let me go back and start it from the beginning because clearly I missed something. I text Tasha and was like, how did we get here?

SPEAKER_01 8:54

Like where we are in this world. Like, how did we get here?

SPEAKER_05 8:58

Like we just woke up and this is just the world, like I And I mean, to be fair though, I think you're definitely on to something because when you read, I definitely read like several dystopian novels. Like most people have read Hunger Games, most people have read like Divergent. This is your genre. I do love dystopian models, but I think what said to your point of like, how did we get here? In most dystopian novels, they usually have a little statement, a couple paragraphs of like, okay, this is taking place. This is what year 2026, post something, something exactly, and we didn't even get that. We were just okay, it's 2025. Did it start in 2025? 2024, 2024.

SPEAKER_02 9:46

And it was just like desolate, and we don't know what happened. We don't know why. They inside the wall and all hell is breaking loose outside the wall, but we don't even know how we got in the wall.

SPEAKER_05 9:55

Like, what's going on?

SPEAKER_04 9:57

I've done Hunger Games, I've done Divergent, like yeah, but that's why I was confused when you guys both said when you guys were texting was like uh the fool. I was like, I think because again, this is in y'all's genre, I thought. I thought you guys would enjoy it. Again, I mean, I actually did end up liking it, but I really was shocked that you both, the responses you guys were putting in the group chat, I was like, oh, but maybe again, but maybe it might be that because you guys need to, okay, well, why are we behind the wall? Like, why, like the the build up to it. So that's a question that both of you guys needed.

SPEAKER_02 10:34

Okay. And it and in all fairness, maybe, you know, considering when it was written and there was like a blurb, she was one of the first, right? So maybe the Hunger Games and Divergent, like maybe that is the expansion of this, right? This is this was the beginning, right? So these are better, but that's what, yeah, and it's but we're still sending it back. Still sending it back. It's still gotta go back to scratch. I had said what I had said right, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:05

Thanks, Tasha, for helping me out, but all right, good.

Dystopia Without Backstory

SPEAKER_03 11:10

Lex, go ahead. When where we haven't this first kick off the discussion, Lex.

SPEAKER_05 11:15

Okay, so we're getting into the discussion. As we talked about, our drink of choice today is champagne. So this first cocktail is called, but do you speak French? And this is a French 75. I will say this cocktail is taking the brunch scene by storm right now, so we are very in alignment with the times. A little bit about the French 75. It's a classical refreshing cocktail made with gin. And you know this group loves gin. If you haven't watched the gin episode or listen, listen to that, but we do love us some gin in this group. It's also made with fresh lemon juice, simple syrup, and topped with a touch of that champagne that we talked about. It's elegant and tastes great and is perfect for celebrations as of our end of the season celebration. So, cheers, lady. And y'all will see ours are purple because we use the empire gen, which is empress gen, which is featured in another one of our episodes. We love that, and we love the empress gen, so that's why we got a little purple hue going on with these.

SPEAKER_02 12:31

It is amazing.

SPEAKER_05 12:32

Yeah, I do love a French 75. Who made these? I did. Okay, Lex mixed that. You mixed that, yeah. I love French 75. Okay, so to get into this discussion, there is a line in the book where Lauren speaks about the people of her community being full of books and ignorant of reality. Assuming this is a true statement, what are some things you wish were taught in school?

SPEAKER_04 13:00

As a former educator, I do feel like I can speak on this.

SPEAKER_00 13:03

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 13:03

Let me see some things that they do not teach at schools that I really wish they did. One straight off the rip, financial literacy.

SPEAKER_02 13:11

No, you're gonna say that. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_04 13:12

Like the way, and especially now with all of this electronic currency, I really feel like young people don't have like a full grasp on money, handling money, budgeting, because you never see it. Whereas I remember in class, like in school, when I was in school, we had it was like, I don't know if it was in my homemade's class, which I did take, but I learned to sew, which is also something they need to still teach in school. But I had to like actually keep a checkbook.

SPEAKER_02 13:38

Balance a checkbook.

French 75 And School Lessons

SPEAKER_04 13:39

Like we had to be at a write-out. You can see money, you knew what was coming in and what was going out. And I just I love the young people. They great, they brought, they've taught me a lot. I've learned a lot from my kids, everybody. But I do feel like they don't have a full grasp of money in the way that they need to, as far as when it comes to like a budget and your expectations and what you can and can't get, and and all of that. And some of that may be on the parents, but I do honestly feel like I learned how to balance a check. I mean, my mom did reinforce it, but I definitely had it was a class in school. Like it was in one of my classes, we definitely had a checkbook we had to keep, and you had to do your like your little shopping, and you realize that oh, you could not afford, you could afford a peanut butter and the egg, what you're choosing this week. It was like a whole thing. I yeah. That's just what I'm terrible of money.

SPEAKER_02 14:29

No, I agree completely. Even in the sense of there are some things that I've learned as an adult about finances. You know what I mean? Like, even though we had that class and did have to learn the things, just the way money works, yeah, it's a whole thing. Like it goes beyond what's in your account and what you can't afford and what you can't afford. Like it goes far beyond that. You know, when you talk about investments and different things like that, just the way that they retired. Yeah, retirement planning that like it's so much bigger than just getting up and going to work and getting your paycheck. You can't do nothing with a paycheck. Like, let's keep it above. Like it, you know what I mean? Like it helps, it provides, it gives you the ability to pay your bills, but nobody's getting rich on a job. You know what I'm saying? Like, it's not, it's not that.

SPEAKER_04 15:22

Right. Like, just like regular lifestyle. Remember, they used to teach like auto shop or like how to fix it. We used to have like a woodworking class. Because you know, if you get up, you and like you get a house, all of a sudden, somebody you go out and you done signed away your whole life for this 30-year mortgage to pay for this house, and you get in there and they do, they do like a little walkthrough, like, oh yeah, this is what you're gonna do. You're responsible for all of this. And then, but to really be understanding, oh no, no. Do you understand the water heater, like the maintenance of the water heater? Do you understand, hey, if this breaks, you gotta do that? Like, real like life skills, yeah, I feel like would serve the youth more so than reading, I don't know, Shakespeare. Like, I mean, it's it was great. I read it, I wrote the papers, got the aid of class and all. However, real life.

SPEAKER_06 16:10

Yeah, real life. Some more real life issues versus all the fluffy how to write a sentence, how to squeeze. That's irrelevant. That's completely around it at this point. Yeah. US history that you're trying to rewrite. Um, drop a little something now. I mean, the chemistry, am I really gonna put some ox, you know, what is it? What am I what am I molecules? You know, oil and water. Am I really gonna utilize that? So I feel like it's more real life that we as parents have to pick up the slack for our children. And we could be limited too because of whatever bracket we fit in, you know, what we were exposed to, what we have to expose ourselves to to help figure out so we can get there, versus trust fund babies that just inherit. And, you know, some of us had to work to get to where we are. So I feel like it should be more real life classes or have one where if it's a fourth semester, you can transition to certain things that you would be experiencing in life from ownership, home ownership, car, insurance. Like people don't realize the importance of insurance. Once again, that's something that falls onto the parents, and not all parents abide by that.

SPEAKER_04 17:25

So it could definitely be more helpful than some sort of where about how about even like other countries where like all of them like fluently speak English. Now, I know that we have the requirement, you know, we most schools have like a language requirement. You gotta take your two years of, you know, your Spanish or your French, whatever it is. But I feel like no, you need to be fluent in something in multiple languages at this point, honestly, because we are very international, like businesses, they're across countries. Like, our students are falling behind because of the fact that well they know English and they're assuming that well everybody knows English. Right, that everybody knows English, but no, why hey, don't just take these two little like this two years of your Spanish with your basic, hola, come on, stop. Don't they ask biblioteca like like really learning to where you can actually function because honestly, if you want to go into business where you can actually have a business conversation with other people, because we do expect that other people like speaking English. Like, we let's hold ourselves like to that same standard too. Like, it's it's if I said basic stuff like that that I feel like our kids end up falling like behind them.

SPEAKER_02 18:38

And there are some things too that like as a parent, when you said like it could be partially the parents' fault, I definitely blame the parents too, to some extent, me being one of them. I am one of the parents, because I just had to have a conversation with my 22-year-old. We were having a conversation, and he said, he said something. I'm not gonna tell y'all what he said, but he said something I almost got him punched in the throat. But I took the opportunity to have a teaching moment and I said, you know what? It's not your fault. There's so much that you don't even realize that is being done because I don't show you, I don't share that with you. You know what I mean? So, like, you just expect to be able to turn on the lights. Like, you just expect that when you get ready to go get in the shower, there's gonna be water that comes on. You know what I mean? Like you just expect if you don't feel well, you can go to the doctor or you can go to the dentist when your tooth is bothering you, right? Like that all costs. Like there's a cost literally associated with that, right? And whatever amount of money you think I make every month, please understand it's all allocated. So there are no additional funds for your stuff. You know what I mean? Like, there is a part that because we do know what the school is not teaching them, right? We do have a responsibility. So I think that's that's kind of the the balance, right? Is that we're we're not unaware. So even though they're not teaching it in the schools, like we are aware of it so we can kind of step in and fill in the gaps.

Languages, Life Skills, And Empathy

SPEAKER_05 20:20

You know, what about stuff like empathy? Because that's so that class, that's where I was getting to. So because I have two classes that I feel like should be or should have slash should be taught. So, first one, number one, is I think there should be a whole class dedicated to black history. Because I know, and this may not be true for everybody, but at least growing up in Utah, the black history that we got was the typical Martin Luther King, slavery happened, woo-woo, and now Obama is running for president. And we skipped over some guys, MLK, Rose Rock, OMA, bam. And we're here. Maybe for some schools that are a little more progressive, we may touch on Black Lives Matter, but most schools are not doing that right now. So I did not get my full spectrum Black history course until college. I took a course where it was from slavery till like the 20s, and then the 20s until the 2000s. And so it was very in-depth about like all of the things that we went through, all the things that we created, all the foundations that we created, all of the things that nobody wants to talk about horrible, good, bad, and ugly, everything in between. But I just feel like that's so important to understand where we came from and what our people have done to be where we are right now. And we were so much more than slaves, like, but then also to that point, slavery was so much worse than what people. Tell you in school. Like, there's so much that I learned that I didn't even have you ever read the slave diaries? Yes. Like the it's it's horrible. So I just feel like we whitewash a lot of this country's history, and I feel like we just we should have a more robust picture of what actually is going on so that we can progress as a people. So that's number one. The second one, I definitely do think we should have a class on interpersonal skills. Being I work on a college campus. Talk to somebody. Yes. Being I work on a college campus, I work with freshmen up until senior year. And you would be so surprised how many of these young adults don't know how to interact with other humans, like basic interaction, technology, and things that you need to know. And some of it we can definitely blame on COVID, but also I just think human interaction has become less of a priority. But when I work in housing, so when you have a roommate who's doing things that you don't agree with and you don't know how to engage in healthy conflict with them to be able to work through your issues, that's a problem. And that's a problem you're going to take right into full-blown adulthood. If you don't know how to express yourself, if you don't know how to advocate for yourself, if you don't know how to navigate conflict, if you don't know how to navigate friendships, you are going to have a hard time as a full-on adult outside of the realm of academia.

SPEAKER_06 23:40

And I feel like it's so important. What's her name? Laura? Lauren? Lauren. She she was ready. She was ready. So to go to the question everyone, where she was like, there's a line in the book where Lauren speaks about the people of her community being full of books and ignorant of reality. I appreciate Lauren taking the books and saying, like, this is what I do with my crop. This is what I do with, you know, to try to the the water, like, you know, how to get the money that her dad took them shooting. It was like a survival because they were middle, lower class.

SPEAKER_04 24:15

But when she tried to teach her friend, remember the friend's mom got mad and was like, Okay, don't tell my daughter this stuff because you're scaring her. And Lauren was like, Well, girl, what?

SPEAKER_06 24:24

Right. And we're at the end of the world. And where'd you end up? What chapter was that in? I don't remember. It was at the beginning. It was at the beginning. It was when she was making the. Let's try to continue. Let's try to continue.

SPEAKER_05 24:39

That's the spritz. It's the spritz.

Aperol Spritz And Prayer For Change

SPEAKER_04 24:41

The drink that I brought to share with my friends. We're calling it the Let's Stay Here Forever. Okay, so this is an Aperol Spritz, which is a classic Italian cocktail. It's very popular these days. It's made with Aperol, champagne, and just a splash of soda water. Okay. Okay. It's known for its vibrant orange color. Y'all see the color. Light taste and a moderate alcohol content, making it a great pre-dinner drink. So, you know, you don't drink this before the other drinks and the food come. It's just to wet your whistle, if you will. Your appetizer. Cheers, y'all. Cheers. Cheers.

SPEAKER_05 25:18

It's my first Aperol Sprints. Y'all are finding my Aperol Spritz cherry right now. Woohoo!

SPEAKER_02 25:24

I've had a lot of cherries pop. It's a little smooth.

SPEAKER_05 25:27

I don't. It's bitter at the end. It's bitter at the end. Commentary Sibai. The commentary.

SPEAKER_04 25:37

Try it with the sushi. Girl, let me try. Let me try.

SPEAKER_01 25:41

I don't even. I can I don't even have no more sushi. Can I borrow some sushi?

SPEAKER_04 25:48

Okay, well, I brought this drink for my friends and they don't really care for it. And it's okay that y'all don't drink the drink. That's fine. Let's get into this discussion. This is the same thing. So Lauren, she repeated throughout the book, God is changed. But she also at one time speaks of warning of wanting things to be the same. So my question for you all ladies is do you pray more for things to change or for things to stay the same? Y'all can have another sip of your dream while you think about it. So sip your Aperol spritz and think about it. You pray.

SPEAKER_05 26:26

To give the people some like context to the book, Lauren, we realized in kind of just getting this episode together, the book follows Lauren and this disdupia, whatever. She's in LA, but like is desolate. It's not the LA that we know now. But she is actively trying to create her own religion.

SPEAKER_06 26:50

Because her father is a pastor.

SPEAKER_05 26:51

Yes, her father is a pastor. They're Baptists, is it?

SPEAKER_06 26:56

Right? I can't even confirm that.

SPEAKER_05 26:58

There is some some form of Christian, but she is creating her own religion. And so a lot of the time, one of the main verses in the religion she's creating in the, I guess, her form of a Bible she's writing is she always talks about how God is an earth seed. So just to give people that context of what the book is about.

SPEAKER_03 27:22

Question is still the same. Question is still the same. Do you pray more for things to change or for things to stay the same?

SPEAKER_06 27:28

Can we evolve for the better? It's not necessarily change. Can we just evolve for the better? Because as we continue to grow, society is always going to change. But I would want us to change for the better because I feel like it's a vicious cycle where we are right now. I feel like where we are in 2025, they're trying to take us back to an era that we've already lived and why are we trying to relive it? Stop it. You know, climate change is coming. You know, you have your AIs, you have, you know, your driverless cars, you have your cars that you can charge. Like we're changing. So yes, for me, it's yes, there's change, but can we evolve with it for the better?

SPEAKER_04 28:08

And I feel like for me, there's some things I definitely pray to stay the same. There's some things, like some areas of my life where I'm just like super comfortable. Family relationships, like, oh, I love this feeling. Lord, please let me always be in love like this. Let me have these people around me like this. Let my sister circle always be here like this. Let these great times always be like this. And then there's other areas where I'm like, okay, Lord, please show me how I need to change. Please push me out of my comfortable place. Please, Lord, let me change, grow, and expand. So I think it's there's different areas. I don't know if one is more or less, but I do think that's that there are areas specifically that I am like, hey, this, these are places where I do need to change. But there is also a big part of me, and maybe and maybe I do pray a lot for things to stay the same because I am comfortable in a lot of areas of my life. But I do feel like it took me a long time to get to this comfortable place. And I do feel like that's it. Only in like the last, I mean, I don't know what it is about turning 40, but in my 40s and the way I've gotten to know myself and love myself and be truly comfortable in who I am, I'm like, oh no, look, Lord, I'm I'm good. Like I've I've arrived, this is good. So yes, are there some areas where I do, yeah, let me grow and over here and there, whatever. But overall, the relationships and the life I built, I'm like, Lord, please let it always be this.

Growth, Comfort, And Faith

SPEAKER_02 29:49

I love it here. For me, it is change. It's always change, but always in the sense of growth, growth and abundance. Because I know that God has more for me. So when I'm talking to God, it's always I'm I'm ready for whatever the more is, whatever the abundance is, whatever the life lesson, whatever the growth is that you have for me, I'm ready. Like I'm ready for it. Let's let's do the next thing. Because I know that God does not just want me getting up every single day and going to the office where they keep my paycheck and being there for eight hours every single day, Monday through Friday. I know God has more for me than that. Like, so it's always that, and not in the sense of I'm not thankful for the blessings and where I am, but always in the sense of whatever you have that is more for me, that requires more of me, whatever that is. Um I'm open and ready to receive it. Because there's really growth in being uncomfortable. And I always what I have the place where I've gotten to is when I'm comfortable, that's a problem. If I'm comfortable, that means I'm not operating at my full capacity and potential. That means I've gotten comfortable and I'm complacent, and it's usually why I am angry and pissed off, is because I am I have become comfortable and I have allowed myself to be put in a place dealing with people I want to be politically correct, but but who are beneath me, quite frankly, and not in the sense of You're playing down whether than Yeah, and not in the sense of like I'm better than, but just I'm capable of more than. You see what I'm saying? I am I am the head, not the tail. I'm a leader, not a follower.

SPEAKER_04 32:11

So when I'm comfortable, that means technology that people they said they would say like when you're playing with people, sometimes if you're like playing, so if you're a 10-year-old and you're playing with the 12-year-olds, you tend to, oh, your coach thoughts and you and you and you play up to that level. But then when you're like, oh, well, you're at that middle age and you're 10, you're playing with nine, then all of a sudden you start playing down. Yes, yes. And you never want to be in that place. Like, no, no, no, there's no, just I'll be up there, I'll be the smallest one on the big people team.

SPEAKER_02 32:39

Don't worry about it, I'm gonna figure it out. Right. And then there's a danger in that, you know. So like I always, I I thank God every day, like for the blessings and everything that we've accomplished and everything that you have provided thus far. But again, wherever you want to take me, I'm ready to go. I'm not sure. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_04 32:59

Sometimes I do get scared of like there's a part of me that I say again that that does pray for like the growth and everything like that, but I do know like in me, I'm sometimes I do get okay with the comfortable.

SPEAKER_06 33:11

I'm shocked to hear that from you because you've traveled so much with your with your husband's being in the military. Like you've had to change your life so many times. So to hear that from you is actually shocking.

SPEAKER_04 33:26

I do it, but I am so uncomfortable in it. Like that's so yeah. I mean, I do I I can adapt in just about any space, and I will, and I will move in areas where I'm not comfortable, but I'm often making moves very terrifying. Even showing up on this camera, like like, oh, showing up, telling people my life, like it's it's terrifying. Like, I mean, you're doing a great job. I look like I'm so comfortable in killing. I I'm terrified. I'm like, girl, don't you say something you ain't supposed to say?

SPEAKER_06 33:53

Right. Well, you're doing a great job. But I get it. I get it. I mean, but I feel like in or in order for us to evolve, we have to get uncomfortable to get comfortable again. And you could be comfortable for a while. Like, I agree with you. I wanted to be at a place in my life where I can be like content for a while because so many changes were happening, and it's like, you know what, let me be on cruise control for a while. But then, but you can't be on cruise control for life.

SPEAKER_02 34:19

You can't get comfortable. You can't get comfortable being comfortable. Like just a a little break is good, a little breather, let me catch my breath. Like, but the other thing to where the scary part can come in. I just I was talking to my cousin the other day, and I said, the thing about when we ask for things, we can't say, okay, God, just this piece though. Like, I don't want all the things. Like, I just want this piece. And we were talking specifically about discernment and what that looks like and how that presents itself. And I told her, I said, well, when you pray and ask for the discernment, you can't ask for just a little bit. Like, he's gonna show you all the things, right? And some of the things you we don't want to see necessarily because it it makes us uncomfortable or it brings up those conversations and that trauma or those things that we like, oh. Or it makes you have to step up in the way and not quite ready to step up. Like, I just wanted to keep it over here in this little, like this little area. But, you know, it's again, it's all in growth. And when you when you ask for it and you pray for it and you open yourself up to it, like you have to, you get all the things that come with it.

SPEAKER_04 35:32

And you are so open. Like, you like, hey, look, God, we hey, where are we moving in my work? Where are we moving in relationships? You're like, I'm open for it.

SPEAKER_02 35:39

Like, and because he showed up, he showed up so many times, you know what I mean? So, like when you when you think back in in when we're going through the day-to-day, it's just we're trying to get to the next day, we're trying to get through the day. But when we do have those moments to sit down and reflect and think back, like, you know what? At the end of the day, yes, there have been challenges, yes, there have been struggles, but there I can look back collectively and say, I don't know how. So it can only be through God. Because it definitely wasn't just me. You know what I mean? So that it's at that point where for me personally, I've been through some things. I'm like, ooh, God. But I can remember sitting down in moments in my life and verbally out loud sitting in a room by myself and saying, listen, God, I'm ready. I can't be in this place anymore. I'm about to lose it, and it'll happen. So one of the biggest things that I tell people, you know, anyone that acts me, listen, like, we're not waiting on God. God waiting on us. Like, it's there. And, you know, everybody has their, you know, your belief system is what it is. Mine personally, like, he has shown me, he has gotten me through things. Like, I'm not waiting. He's waiting on me to say, I'm ready.

SPEAKER_04 37:01

So, you know, this thing that hearing, okay. I mean, this, um, Todd, we don't let the question. But this thing, hearing you talk so passionately about God, everything. I'm like, I wonder, I'm just wondering if that is not the reason why you really was not vibing with this book. Because her whole thing was her father was a minister, but she was like, I don't really believe in God. So she, this whole different religion basically that she was creating, which was something, you know, sow and seeds and the earth. She was more people focused. Yeah. I mean, so maybe you was like, girl, it's soon like she may have lost you as soon as she was like, ain't no God.

SPEAKER_06 37:36

He was like, girl, the Well, no, I but I agree, but I agreed with her because I have that issue now. Like in where we're living now, the hate that we have towards other cultures, it's like, why? And it was like, but God made us all. They say God made us. If God made us, why do you hate me? Because I'm gay, because I'm black, because I'm Asian, because I'm yellow, because I'm purple, or because I like women, I like men, I like both. Like you judge me, but God loves all. So pick one.

BeeHive Bellini And Survival Teams

SPEAKER_02 38:07

But we're still, but because we're still human. Like at the end of the day, like we're all still having a human experience. And there was like a recent episode that we did where we had the conversation and it would, I made a statement. I said, people are old people are so judgmental. But that's a thing, right? Like people judge what they don't understand, or if it's different, right? People don't like being uncomfortable. So if I don't understand your thing, it makes me uncomfortable. So the best way for me to be back comfortable just learn. Is to, but everybody doesn't think that way. When you bring up God, like, expect to go down through there. Like it opens up so many, you know, I'm like, it opens up so many doors. And you may be right. Like, it definitely was the fact that there was no fucking backstory and no explanation of how we got here. But that you may be right. I don't know. That maybe was something that was a reason I didn't connect with. I tried to start book two. I don't I don't know if it's gonna make it, but we'll see.

SPEAKER_04 39:11

I'm gonna ignore the fact that none of my friends like the drink that I made for them. I mean, it's all right, girl. It's not even that you made it, I think I just don't like Aperol.

SPEAKER_02 39:20

What is that? Whatever that aftertaste is, uh is that what it is? Is that the yeah, I'm sending this back to right along with them.

SPEAKER_01 39:28

I can't, I can't. We're gonna go into the third discussion, y'all.

SPEAKER_06 39:32

Ask the next bring the next drink and question Stephanie. The beehive bellini. That one I can get into. I could get into it because I love Mia Bellini. I love Mia Bellini. The Bellini was created for the beehive, and it's described as the perfect pre-concert drink. But it's also the perfect for just hanging with your sister's circle. It's with peach nectar, honey, and lemon juice, upgraded by the addition of the reposado tequila. Taking this bellini at from average to oh yeah.

SPEAKER_05 40:07

Oh yeah. It's the fact that we've had three liquors. Cheers one episode. Well, you know. We've had champagne, we've had tequila, and we've had gin. Oh, you know, dish.

SPEAKER_04 40:17

This is black girls lit. Now this I can get with. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yeah, this one's better. We could have just read the whole book with and sipping these like all day. That's good. This might be the one. So the B. Has won the cocktail of the day. It did.

SPEAKER_06 40:34

Yeah, this is for sure the one. It is. That's real good. Okay, so who do you surround yourself with so important, especially in times of crisis, like in this book? So tell us the four people who would you have on your apocalyptic dream team for survival.

SPEAKER_04 40:50

I have to think about this. Y'all can think of y'all. I've been thinking about mine.

SPEAKER_06 40:53

Okay, go.

SPEAKER_04 40:54

First off, I get Alvin, number one. I need my husband. He got lots of good. He knows me, he can handle me. He can he calm me down. And plus, you know, it's things you be needing during apocalypse that you know other people can't deliver. So I got Alvin on my dream team. Number two, I got my mama because this I do need that connection to God. And Letha be praying every day, and she knows her scriptures. And so I feel like, hey, she got she got me on there. So I got so I got my mom, I got Alvin, I got my mama. Then I'm bringing in Dante. That's my firstborn. Dante is like the fisher, the hunter. He knows the wilderness. Like, so we're gonna be out here in these woods. He's gonna be able to get us some food and everything. So hey, he's in there. I only got one more. And two kids. Okay, so this is the.

SPEAKER_06 41:43

I'm not taking my other one. I ain't even gonna lie.

SPEAKER_04 41:45

Maybe they don't really listen to the podcast. Okay.

SPEAKER_07 41:51

I don't even remember. Okay, something.

SPEAKER_04 41:53

Okay, so then my fourth person, if I get him, who my fourth person? My fourth person, maybe my homeworld joys lady. She be mixing a real good drink. Girl, bye. We're gonna eat.

SPEAKER_02 42:06

We might need to get lit. We might need to make some hooch. I don't know what's gonna happen.

SPEAKER_04 42:10

I feel like I need somebody, and for real, and I feel like she is like my my most versatile mixologist friend. She be bringing in some different stuff. But plus also, too, she is a military brat, like so. We've been around a lot. So I feel like you know that's gonna help too. But really, it is basically her like mixologist team.

SPEAKER_06 42:31

For survival.

SPEAKER_02 42:32

So here's the thing. If y'all were that's my dream team. If y'all were ever questioning who is the most lit of the black girls lit, it's fucking Tasha.

SPEAKER_01 42:42

Your apocalyptic dream team includes a mixologist, sis. Yeah. Didn't you hear Lori saying they needed the money to buy gun? And if you did, she needed a bullet in the water. She needs a mixologist on her apocalypse.

SPEAKER_02 42:59

I need to make her because it's rough out here. We don't know what's going on. Somebody make me a so I would bring, of course, my husband.

SPEAKER_05 43:10

I love that part. I would bring, of course, my husband, not just because he's my husband, but Antron is an EMT or a paramedic. He knows some shit. Absolutely. He can help people in distress, he can bind a wound, he can resuscitate you, give you the heimlick if you try. Okay, so him, emergency medical response. I would then bring on my good friend Nala. One thing about Nala, she is going to find her way home. No matter where she's, she is so good with directions north, west, east, south, whatever. She's going to figure out her way around. So I would bring her to for navigation purposes. And then there's me, of course, which I feel like I already told myself if the world ended and we were in a zombie. I'm unaliving myself. Like, I'm not even saying. I'm unaliving myself because it's not worth it. So, probably the last person I would bring, probably another one of my co-workers, Tyler. Because Tyler is really good at delegation, he's really good at organization, giving people tasks, making sure things are in order. Like, I feel like he's really good at calming people down. So, yeah, that's probably who I would bring.

SPEAKER_06 44:31

So the top of my list is, of course, Jeff. Jeff is a DIY, he will figure it out, he'll find a way, type of guy. And he will protect us at all costs. And then my son, I would take my son, his height, his youth, his strength would be needed. I would take my best friend Ronnie. She's very resourceful. She's my female version of a Jeff. Like she'd be putting stuff together. I'd be like, Ronnie, I said, girl, I got my husband and I got my BFF, a male and a female version. I'm so lucky. And it's just like, so with her, I feel like I would take her because of that, because she's very resourceful. And then I'm hijacking like Lex, and I would take my good girlfriend for line because she's a nurse, and we need somebody that would be able to grab their medical bag. Yeah, do the any nutrition and any kind of hair.

SPEAKER_01 45:34

Everybody just pour some alcohol on it, child. Put some liquor on it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 45:39

Don't try to no take back seats. No, I need Jeff to build a fire. I need J to go get the laws. I need Fly to put something together for some of us. One of us trip and we need to do our ankles and get some, you know, wood. You over there talking about.

Hyperempathy And Moral Choices

SPEAKER_04 45:56

My team can meet up with your team. Maybe we can like Lauren. Maybe we like Lauren.

SPEAKER_01 46:02

Like lower earth. Outside the wall. Lower earth. Okay. Yeah, we are outside the wall.

SPEAKER_06 46:07

We get later in the journey. We all just get together with our dream team and make it a bigger dream team so we can have our house with people of the man. Yes, mixologist.

SPEAKER_05 46:23

She said, so I need a mixologist.

SPEAKER_06 46:25

Right, right. I need. I need.

SPEAKER_05 46:28

It is a that is a necessity.

SPEAKER_01 46:34

Right.

SPEAKER_05 46:34

You know they have a real water place. She said she's a mixologist. She's a good time. Good time for what? You try to track to where are they gonna be? This is the end of the world.

SPEAKER_01 46:46

Where are y'all finding alcohol?

SPEAKER_02 46:49

That's what I'm saying. She might have to make some. That's what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_06 46:52

There goes the water, right? Was that your whole team? Yeah. That was my whole team.

SPEAKER_02 46:58

You didn't count yourself on the team. Oh, yeah. I mean, so yeah, and myself. That's a given, though, right? That was a given. It's a lot of fun. That's a dream team. So my dream team is first and foremost, and it's so funny that this is a question because we have literally had this conversation, and my mom knows it. My first stuff on my dream team knows it, and Chris knows it. The first person on my dream team is my homegirl Angel. Yes! Angel on my team. 26. No, no, no. No, no, no. You got the mythologies. You cannot have Angel. Listen, absolutely not. No, ma'am. No, no, no, no Texasybacks. No, ma'am. No Taxi Baxter.

SPEAKER_01 47:36

No, I know Angel too.

SPEAKER_02 47:37

I need her on my teeth. My homegirl Angel, 26 years in the military, we gonna be all right. She, listen, I'm not gonna tell y'all what she got, but find you something safe to do. If anything ever happens, I have told her, I have told Chris, I have told my mom. If anything ever goes down and you don't know, and we not here, all we gotta do is make it to Angel House. That's where we're gonna be. Put me on your team. I need to be on the team with Angel. I'm gonna see I gotta see what our rations look like. I got we gotta assess because we can't, everybody can't come. I'm gonna bring a mixologist though. Uh-uh. Everybody can come. Angel gonna, we're gonna eat. We're gonna have some water. For sure we're gonna have some water. Because the water stays stocked up. Spring water stays stocked up. And she knows how to make fires with just out rubbing alcohol and some non-toxic shit. It's not gonna have no angel is the best. Damn it. That's my one. That's a good choice. That is my one. How did I miss? Yeah. Put me on your team. Pick me. Put me on your team. My second person is my mom, for sure. Like, if she can make it from Cali, girl, this is the meeting spot. We meeting at Angel House. You come through, same reason. That's my foundation. She's a prayer warrior. Like, real life ties to God. Personal, gotta have mom. Chris is security. That's my security. Like, where I go, he go. You looking crazy. We don't even have to say much. We got like this thing where we just vibe. It's a look. I give him the look, he give me the look. It's a go or no go. And don't nobody even have to say nothing. So that's my third. My fourth on my dream team is my cousin Shayna. My cousin Shayna, and it's just because we just like each other. Like, we've had conversations about family and you know all that. I have a really, really big family. And I I love my family members. And I have quite a few family members that I like. But me and Shayna, like, we vibe for real, like on a whole nother level. I've always been her big cousin, like, always been her big cousin that she loves. And seeing her in the place where she is now, and all of that, and the conversations that we have about God and life and all the things. Like, we just we vibe. So she's definitely my fourth. And then I I need an honorable mention because I don't like the rules. My honorable mention is Antron. So I also mean Antron. So we're on the side. On my thing. So I tell you one thing. That's where he goes, I go. Before I link up, before I link up with Tasha and her mixologist, I'm assigned Lex and Antron and see where they at. We got rations. No, no, no. No, no, no. No, no, no. No, no, no. We got rations for Antron and Lex. We got enough rations for them. Tasha and her mixologists, I don't know. We'll have to assess. So you know what? But you know, we'll we'll send a minute. We'll send notes. You know what? We'll send notes and information and stuff, and like, hey, hey girl. Fucking all of this. Just this is what we did over here. Yeah, like try this. If y'all got access to some, you know.

SPEAKER_01 51:04

Yeah. If we have a squirrel on ration, we'll send it y'all's way. We got you, girl.

SPEAKER_05 51:10

For sure.

SPEAKER_01 51:11

But yes, that is that's the dream team for sure.

SPEAKER_04 51:14

Sometimes in life we know who your people are.

SPEAKER_06 51:16

And you know that mixologist is who your people is, girl.

SPEAKER_01 51:20

She said, I need mixologists. She wrote the question. Right. Now that we got all the medics. Now that we had all the medicine. Now that we're gonna survive. Right. She's like, oh, this is serious.

Earthseed, Sequel Hints, And Critique

SPEAKER_04 51:33

She said, wait a minute. Okay. In my defense, okay, I did write the question, but I did not really think in this. I was like, okay, well, let me apocalyptic. Let's be the end of the world, Sasha. I am trying to be as well. I gave them an opportunity to think. So I was like, let me go first. I gave them opportunity to think on their answers. So I was just kind of like, oh, I got these three, and I just I sort of fumbled on my medic situation. I do have nurses and doctors in my family, so I don't know why they're picking it up.

SPEAKER_06 52:03

Girl, why didn't you?

SPEAKER_04 52:04

Um so that was my bad. And they did come back with some other answers. But I would like to believe that if we cross paths in the apocalypse, that they would be like, hey, join our team, because y'all look like y'all have a good time over there. Because my team, hey, my GT is gonna be a good time.

SPEAKER_02 52:21

Listen, we would have to have a meeting and a vote for like they did in the book and say how y'all feel, what y'all think. Is she a risk?

SPEAKER_04 52:28

Apple was in the military who knows and stuff.

SPEAKER_01 52:32

I mean, you know, with the I was a Girl Scout.

SPEAKER_06 52:34

With the pyroheads that they got going on, Tasha. I don't know. I don't know. You would be the last group for me to pick up because with the mixologist, you're delayed.

SPEAKER_04 52:46

I was a Girl Scout in Abercrows. I need you to be alert for us come on now.

SPEAKER_06 52:50

When you rotating that night, taking patrol, and you had the mixologist mixing, how that would gonna work?

SPEAKER_02 52:56

So not for nothing. The book was meh, right? And obviously, the questions are it's I want to work. You really had to come a word. I don't want to uh the book was not it. Like it just it wasn't it. But in all fairness, right, we could circle back and talk about we could talk about her hybrid, her empathy, like how she feels about that was stupid. No, I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_01 53:24

That was just I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_02 53:26

I'm sorry, that was a silly superpower. Um I did not like it. But we can give some context. So her her superpower, her apocalyptic superpower was but that's not a superpower or issue or obstacle that she had to overcome was extra empathy. Empathy. So meaning that she physically, but physically, not just mentally felt, right? But like physically felt other people's pain. So she shot them if she saw it.

SPEAKER_04 53:56

She.

SPEAKER_02 53:57

Right.

SPEAKER_04 53:57

So she shoots somebody, and she seized it.

SPEAKER_06 54:01

She was shooting.

SPEAKER_04 54:01

She had to see it. Which did make me think. Because that that was my other option for a question, too. It's like, okay, well, if that really was people's power, if that was a thing, whatever, do you think we'd have as much killing and as harm in the world as we do now? If you really, if every time you shot somebody, you felt what they felt, well, would you still like you'd be like, mm, you're gonna really think on pulling that trigger?

SPEAKER_06 54:23

Well, you have to remember some of the people that she's the later on, towards the end of the book, two of the people that they brought along were the same way, but he purposely stayed away so he could never feel it.

SPEAKER_04 54:38

During that first gunfight, he was getting ready to run. He by trying to feel like it's a good thing. Yeah, because he means he was like, I don't want to feel it. Right.

SPEAKER_06 54:44

He didn't want to feel it. So once you're aware of it, I feel like some people just don't put themselves in a position to feel it. And that's where that guy, he was like, I don't want to be a part of this. So he made sure, like he didn't want to be a part of the group, but he wanted to be a part of the group. And he struggled with that, and you could tell, but he wanted to survive and he wanted his child to survive.

SPEAKER_04 55:08

If it wasn't for his daughter, he wouldn't have stayed.

SPEAKER_06 55:10

He wouldn't have stayed. I agree.

SPEAKER_04 55:11

He he only stayed because his daughter like found a friend and was like, oh, this is a little bit of normalcy.

SPEAKER_06 55:17

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_02 55:17

That was the only reason he stayed. And you have to think about too, like, um how difficult. So it was in this space, right? In this world, where in this time, how do you defend yourself? It's one thing to be the one, right, that has to shoot someone or kill someone or harm someone, and making that decision and thinking twice about it. But also, there were a lot of instances where she was talking about in situations that they ended up getting into where it was to defend. Like I have to defend myself, right? And I have to make a decision, and her defending herself or the group caused her to be incapacitated. You know what I mean? Like, so it was that dynamic of the story was interesting, and there were some parallels. Oh god, they were so deep, they were so hard to find. But there were some parallels in there that you could have connected and compared, and I think that was a big thing. So the empathy that was kind of the the biggest thing. The earth seed part was so weird.

SPEAKER_01 56:29

Oh god, that was so weird.

SPEAKER_05 56:31

May I ask? So remember when I think they had picked up, it was towards the end, they had picked up some people and they were sharers. Yeah, that's what we were just talking about.

SPEAKER_06 56:41

So that's where we were talking about the empathy.

SPEAKER_05 56:43

But no, she Lauren was the hyper empathetic, but then the two, it was like uh it was the same thing. They had the same thing, yeah, it was the same share of the hyper empathetic. Oh, they had hyper things. Oh, okay. Because I was like, what is that? And I feel like she didn't explain it, but I didn't realize it was the same thing.

SPEAKER_02 57:01

Yeah, as so yeah, we were discussing that. That was where you had to turn on your mind reading capabilities.

SPEAKER_05 57:07

Yeah, yeah, that went right. I saw what is the share? What is the color?

SPEAKER_02 57:12

Right, okay, yeah, same thing, different thing, different terminology. Okay.

SPEAKER_05 57:17

I'd be interested in it. It was a slave because they were slaves, right?

SPEAKER_06 57:21

And where they came, like he, I think he was a slave, and she was a housekeeper, but the hu It was also ended up being like a slave sustainable. But it was slave-like, yes.

SPEAKER_04 57:32

Okay. But I I I would be interested to see when we talk about like if we go live and see like what are the people who've actually read the second book that which clearly, because half of us was like, nah, we we barely got through the first one, so we're not gonna do the second book. I'm really interested to see our readers who've done the second book, like if they have some, they can offer some insight that maybe have some conversation we've not been able to have.

SPEAKER_02 57:58

Well, I will say this. I I started the second book just out of to be curiosity.

SPEAKER_06 58:04

I mean, I can I ask why from ascended back to the read the second book? Out of to be curiosity.

SPEAKER_02 58:09

Okay.

SPEAKER_05 58:10

Because it's almost like you're like you have to, like, what happened?

The Lit Challenge And Season Two Tease

SPEAKER_02 58:13

You don't. You don't, because then I'm gonna tell you why. Because the butcher and the wren didn't make me want to go. It started off the wren made me want to go. So the second book starts off with her daughter telling the story with Lauren's daughter? Yeah, she I told you she had a baby. Apparently she has a baby with the old man. I don't know. I said, when it started off saying my mother, I said, yeah no. Nope. Nope. So what yeah was so we're still, I don't, I don't know what I didn't get that far. I said, so we're still not gonna tell me how we got to this apocalyptic world. We're gonna go to move on to the she didn't have a whole ass baby, and now I gotta listen to the daughter give her a chance.

SPEAKER_06 58:58

I don't know. She did, but it was years later, and like it was a whole community like she had wanted to.

SPEAKER_05 59:05

Spoiler alert, spoiler alert.

SPEAKER_06 59:06

I didn't know.

SPEAKER_05 59:07

Did you read the second book? I didn't read the second book, but I she did the summary. You did a chat GPT. Spoiler alert. If you don't want to hear what happens, go ahead and log in. Yeah, I did a little overview. But I want to know.

SPEAKER_06 59:17

Yeah, like the brother, one of her brothers was still alive, but he ended up going into a Christian cult, basically, and they taught them one way, and they invaded her where she was with her people for Earth Seeds, and they invaded them and took over, and they ended up capturing them and doing horrific things to them, and she tried to find a way to explain to her brother what Earthseeds was, and apparently the brother took her daughter. And he was raising the daughter, and so the daughter was conflicted from what she learned versus what's based on the story. Yeah. So, but that's that's all I know. I'm not gonna, you know. I might tell me about it, girl. I might give me a call.

SPEAKER_05 1:00:01

Just to finish the plot.

SPEAKER_06 1:00:02

Give me a call. I got the box set over there. I might it might just be for decoration on the books. I mean, but I the the the only reason I think I really gave it a sip was because a lot of the questions she had in the book are questions that I've always asked, which is why God? She was like, Why would God do this? Is there really a God? Me being in the real world, for me, away from this book, once again, it questions me, why is there so much hate? God loves everybody. So if we can't embrace it, I'm not saying we gotta like each other, but why so much?

SPEAKER_02 1:00:38

Because free will is a thing, like free will is a thing, and we like there's nothing, and I think that's always a misconception, just a you know what I mean, like full circle. I think that's always a misconception, and you hear people say it all the time. Like, nobody where do we get this idea? Where does it say that if you believe in a thing, if you believe in this thing, whatever that thing is, right? Including if you believe in God, that you will not have any issues, you will not have any struggles, you will not have any adversity, you will not have any trials and tribulations. Like, who who said that? Like, where did we get that idea and that perspective that if you have a belief system, then life is gonna be perfect and you'll never have to deal with any challenges in life? Like, that's crazy. Because if that would be a perfect world, if that were a thing, it would be a perfect world. And we know that a perfect world does not exist because perfect people, perfection does not exist. Perfect people do not exist, right? So, where does this expectation come from? And again, speaking personally, like this year, I have had to say, why not me? Whatever challenges, whatever adversity comes, you know, people always like, why me? Oh god, why me? No, why not me? Like, why not me? Right? If I have an opportunity or I have people or I have a platform to share my experience and give somebody hope, and you know, whatever the case may be, like, why not me? Like, who said that because I have this belief system, life's just gonna be perfect for me? Like, that's crazy, right?

SPEAKER_05 1:02:27

So just a I don't know, but I'm still sending the book, I'm still sending it back, but you know, it was a good discussion, it was good for discussion, absolutely, and it's not a I just don't like when a book is hard to read, and that's really what it comes down to. And this book was difficult for me to read, it was difficult to read. I just had a hard time following, I had a hard time keeping up with the storyline, but overall, I think the message was definitely powerful, absolutely, and I think it was definitely intentional. Like, I'm I still think it was a very intentional for Octavia to make a black woman hyper empathetic, yeah, for sure, yes, and her being the leader of this new belief system. I don't think any of that was by common stance at all. I just didn't enjoy reading it. That was all, but I do think it was an intentional, and there is a purpose behind it, and that intention and purpose is powerful, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:31

But I just have a so to to piggyback on that before I before we go into the outro, let me see if I can find it really quick because I did have a note on that that I thought it helped me because I was like, what is happening? What what am I reading? How did we get here? Why, why, why? But something that I did find, it says like a description, it says a future set tale. So again, it's difficult because we're the future set is literally where we are now, right? Because this book was written in the 90s, so it's again trying to shift our perspective to 30 years ago where 2020, 2025 was like you couldn't even imagine the year 2025. It sounded so futuristic to say the year 2025, right? And like now we have all this technology and things. So I, you know, again, there's some perspective there, but anyway, it says a future set tale about a young black visionary trying to survive a collapsing America and birthing a new belief system along the way. An exploration of what happens when a black girl decides to trust her vision more than the world around her, right? So that perspective helped me understand what it was, what the intention was and what it was supposed to be, right? Very hard to get there, like to get there in this in this moment and like trying to read it, but that did help me understand what it was supposed to be.

SPEAKER_05 1:05:21

And maybe that was the purpose. Yeah, maybe that was Octavia's intention. I don't know, and I would like to think maybe it is because when you write a book, I imagine it's not necessarily that everybody will like what you write, right? It'll be that everybody learns something or has gains a new perspective, and I will say at least the book did give me that. Yeah, so if that was her purpose, Octavia, bravo, bravo. Right, and rest in rest in power. And rest in power and continue to rest.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:55

Um, but I don't know, it was tough, it was tough. As we do, as we do about this time, before we close, you know the vibe. We always save space, something to sit with, sip on, and carry into your week. A lit challenge to move you, a top for thought to ground you, or a memorable quote from the book that lingers like a good sip. As we wrap up our first season, we're gonna do a lit challenge. So we had a couple of options, but we're gonna do another listener lit challenge for the season wrap-up. And we're titling this one Plant Your Seeds. This month, in honor of Lauren Olamina's vision and courage, take a moment to identify one belief, dream, or action you've been holding back and plant the seed for it. Write down a goal, idea, or value that matters to you. Consider one small action you can take to move it forward, something that shows up for your vision, even in a messy world. Share it with someone you trust or keep it sacred. Just commit to taking the first step. Remember, this isn't about perfection, it's about starting, imagining, and claiming your own path, just like Lauren. And like BGL podcast. It started with hey, I've got this thing I've been wanting to do, and here we are, 15 books in. Season one done, only bigger and better things coming. So I appreciate this platform. I appreciate you ladies. It's been fun. It's been fun. And I'm excited about what's to come and tapping in with you guys and good stuff, good stuff coming.

SPEAKER_04 1:07:39

I would cheers to that, but somebody's drinking my dream. Somebody here, girl.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:43

Somebody here. I got an extra April spray. April. Yeah. It's a whole girl. It's a ready to go. I saved it right on for you. So that's it for this episode of Black Girls Lip Podcast, where fine women, fine literature, and fine libations always meet. So the words that found you, the part that held you, and the version of you that showed up to listen. If it made you think, feel or clean, pour it forward. Share us on all your favorite social media platforms and make room for someone else at the table. We'll be back next time, kicking off season two with the year of yes, the 10th anniversary edition with Shonda Rhines. Right, right, right. Good stuff coming. Good stuff coming. Until then, y'all still don't know the same. Read bold. Slip slowly.

SPEAKER_05 1:08:26

Slip slowly. Cheers. Cheers to season one. Bye. Bye. Drink responsibly.