More from Morgan

Books: Ordinary Light by Tracy K. Smith - The Ordinary is Still Beautiful

One of my goals this year is to read more of what I already own so I pulled ten books to prioritize and Ordinary Light is one of them. As a fan of memoir, I was expecting a more fast-paced recount of her life, however, unlike most memoirs by poets, it was a bit long and dragged during her childhood years. I didn’t really get into the book until she got into her teen years and it hit me that this book serves as more than a memoir but another picture of Black girlhood. Once I read this book from that lens, her life became more interesting, more proof that Black girls exist in many forms.

As she described her stay-at-home mother and her engineer father, I kept waiting for something exciting to happen, but the title was spot on. She is putting her ordinary life under a spotlight that shows its beauty. The quiet memoir reminded me that even ordinary lives are worth writing about and sharing with others. I appreciate her using her life to convery how a girl goes from only believing in what her parents tell her to realizing that she has her own desires for her own life once she starts to touch womanhood.  

Beauty: Finding the Joy in Using What I Have

In the spirit of making less makeup purchases, I decided this week I was going to wear some actual fucking makeup. And when I say ‘actual fucking makeup,’ I mean eyeshadow. I used to wear glittery and bright shadow in college, and then as a bookseller, until it started to look out of place in other environments. Once I started to work from home I tried to put on makeup as a part of a morning routine that would help me separate lounging mode from work mode. After three months of making sure I had makeup on everytime I had a Zoom meeting, I quickly stopped putting on makeup. I turn on my camera even less these days.

Anyways…I pulled out an eyeshadow palette the morning of my writing class and remembered how much I love the stuff I already own, and how much I actually have of it. I was also looking at the new Rhode Beauty lip contour stick and used that to inspire me to buff out the cork lip liner on my lips to achieve the similar look this new product is claiming to give. That saved me $24. 

Once I finished my makeup I realized that I have gotten so consumed in makeup purchases that I forgot how much I actually enjoy applying a full face of makeup. I forgot that applying makeup serves as a moment of me-time in the mornings. I’m able to gather myself and before I give myself and my time to others. It also felt good to know that I still enjoy the things I already own. I’m not interested in using five eyeshadow colors on my eyes anymore or wearing glitter eyeshadow everyday, but I can still use what I have to express who I am currently. This was a good reminder that I have everything I need in my makeup stash and in my life.

Love,

From Morgan