For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us - 2 Corinthians 1:20

A few years ago, I bought a card deck called 101 Promises of GOD. It is a deck with 52 cards front and back, with verses that are declarations of who I am in Christ and the promises GOD makes to us throughout the bible. I took to carrying it on my travels, but I left it behind when I moved to Spain. I absolutely needed it, as this transition has been hard, to say the least. When I moved into the casita, I prayed that God would abide with me there. I asked GOD to stay, keep me safe, and cover me. Holding the deck in my hands again, I’m reminded that the most frequent promise is that GOD is always with us. That we will be rescued from harm, and that if we stumble, we will be caught.There are days when I am in battle with thoughts that tell me it’s impossible, that I will never see it, that the things I desire won’t ever come to pass. In those moments, all I can do is read those promises and sing songs to tell the anxiety that I know the truth.

* The Lord’s plans stand forever; His intentions can never be shaken. - Psalms 33:11

* The word of the Lord stands forever - Isaiah 40:8

* Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your GOD is with you wherever you go - Joshua 1:19

* Overwhelming Victory is ours through Christ, who loved us - Romans 8:27

Those promises kept me upright and speaking life over myself and those that I love. I daily declared the promises I could remember. Praying Psalm 31, asking GOD to rescue me swiftly, in moments when it was. hard, but then remembering that the GOD I serve isn’t small. GOD isnt a regional GOD. GOD is GOD of the hills and valleys. No matter where I am so, is he. He is onmipresent, existing outside of space and time, and hears me when I call.Today, as I woke up, the song “ I am who you say I am” by Hillsong Worship was stuck in my head, and the idea to write this came to me. God’s promises aren’t just things He does for us. They reveal who we are to Him. Every single promise is a mirror reflecting our true identity.

When the thoughts whisper that my desires won’t come to pass, I can declare who I am to GOD. What GOD says he will do, and I take a deep breath, and I remember that I am not who my anxiety says I am.God’s promises don’t just change our circumstances; they define our identity. I am not who this hard transition says I am; I am who GOD says I am, and GOD’s word is Yes and amen.Throughout Scripture, GOD uses more than a dozen distinct markers to define exactly who that is, but these are my 6 ultimate declarations of who God says I am.

1. I Am a Beloved Daughter

One of my favorite types of content on IG is where people ask GOD for signs, and then they receive them. I find it the most funny when it is clear that GOD has a sense of humor, and that GOD is absolutely a girl dad - protector, provider, caring, gentle, and loving.In 2 Corinthians 6:18, it says, “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” In 1 John 3:1, it says, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” Those verses tell me that I can count on GOD for the very air in my lungs. That I will be protected and provided for with gentleness. It tells me that GOD will show up as a father in the moments when it is needed. When I was 15, I had my first breakup, the same week a few classmates were killed in a car accident. I remember my dad holding me on his lap and rocking me as I cried. The grief of loss was heavy, and he gave me safety while I navigated it. I often say if my earthly dad, a human with flaws, can show up for me like that, how much more will GOD.

2. I Am an Ezer Kenegdo (A Strategic Force)

In Genesis 2, during the more detailed creation story, GOD says it is not good for man to be alone and that he will create a helper suitable. A lot of biblical scholars say that “ helper suitable” flattens the intensity of the phrase “Ezer Kenegdo.” Ezer is a word that GOD uses to describe himself 16 times. The other times, it appears to be about military alliances and to describe women. He says that women are strong, indispensable allies. Strategic forces of nature. A fierce, vital, strategic force of rescue. I should not shrink back because I am designed to withstand the shift.

A few weeks ago, I had a dream about the Mack truck logo. As a branding nerd, I looked up what it represented. Their tagline is “Born ready”. It represents toughness, endurance, and reliability on the road. One of my favorite phrases is “you don't have to get ready if you stay ready.” It’s how I motivate myself when I don’t want to practice my skills, so I get up an keep going cause I the things i need are prepared for me.I like to say that my name means crowned victorious, generously blessed. She was born ready, and GOD had my parents name me so. They have daily spoken over me that I already have the victory.

In Joshua 1:9, God commands: “Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged.” He calls women to this exact standard. The Bible goes on to say in Proverbs 31:25, ”She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.” Suffering and worry are not my cup. I was made woman and told that in Christ we hold that lock and the key. (Isaiah 22:22)

I think of this declaration as who I am and not a role I take on. That I was always a force to be reckoned with, that I have always had the ability to think beyond right now, and not find myself worried about what is to come, cause I am confident, not in my own ability, but in who my GOD is. Jehova Jireh, Jehova Tsaba. I am provided for and protected. GO-El will make my paths straight. I dont have to worry about mistakes. I just have to go.

3. I Am More Than a Conqueror

This is one of my favorite verses in the bible, and probably one of the most quoted in general. Romans 8:27 promises overwhelming victory. To be more than a conqueror means that the battlefield of my mind doesn't get to defeat me. Philippians 4:13 declares that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. This, to me, is the 1-2 punch in the battle against not just spiritual foes, but also the humans who think that you are the one to play with.War is often the visual that we use for Romans 8:27. I even used a boxing metaphor for this, but I think about it a bit more expansively. The word says that we wrestle not with flesh and blood but with powers and principalities. (Ephesians 6:12) On this plane, I view it as the systems designed to keep you stuck. I can overcome all of them by persevering and pivoting my strategy when needed, because that’s what great strategists would do. Plan for three or four moves a head and not just one.If we are more than conquerors, it means that there is not loss, just lessons. It means you do not just survive a trial or barely defeat an enemy—you completely overwhelm the obstacle and come out of the experience stronger, wiser, and more secure than before. I like to say, I always win. I always come out ahead. Even if you think I lost, I know that I’m now equipped for something bigger, and better. No one will get me like that again, and the tactic, is one I can study to disarm it quickly should I come acorss it again. Also, the fight is over when GOD says its over, not when I do. I might be done fighting you, and know you’re dealing with Jehova Tsaba. There is also the frame for what you are aiming for. Your aim might be to make lots of money, while mine might be to learn what I need so I can build community and live sustainably. It makes it so that you dont need that title, or that position to make a difference or achieve your goals.

4. I Am His Masterpiece

When thoughts tell me my desires won’t come to pass, Ephesians 2:10 counters the lie. I am God’s Poiema—His handiwork. Every page in the story of my life is constructed. In Jeremiah 29:11 we know that GOD had designs for our lives even before we were born. I work to remember that when I am feeling low, or puffy, or not pretty, I can push past those moments and know I am a masterpiece. When I feel like I’m not good enough, I call to those verses. I dont position myself in competition with others because I trust that GOD has a different work for you in this great tapestry that he is weaving. I am a masterpiece of the greatest artist there is. The one who said, let me make these flowers, let me pull these colors together for a sunset. The one who said, “you know what would be cool, a white sand beach with Turquoise waters and tall mountains, lets call it Ayiti.” That’s the same GOD that made me. As an artist myself, I start projects, that sometimes change along the way. They evolve with each stroke of the pen into something even better. If I can trust my process in creating, then I can trust the creator of creation.

5. I Am the Head and Not the Tail

I used to feel intimidated in spaces I was new to. I recently shared a story about taking a call with the CEO, and CMO of an org that I worked at, and they came to the exact same conclusion that I did. The validation that I felt in that moment, with people who worked in that industry for 20 plus years saying the same thing I said was massive for my confidence. I know what people said after the fact, but I also knowthat my experience doesn reflect that. “And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not beneath” (Deuteronomy 28:13). I am not a victim of my circumstances, or dragging behind my problems. Because Christ is in me, I lead my environment. I set the tone in my home, at work, at school, and any room that I enter. Leader is not a role or a title but simply who I am. I remember being in a moments of distress and singing “I speak life” by Donald Lawrence. and “Las Avispas” by Juan Luis Guerra. reminding myself that I will prevail, I will live, that this struggle will pass and I will not be beneath. I won’t be distracted, or lost, that I can control the direction of my thoughts and I lean on the promise of GOD that he entered the room before me, and that he is always with me.

6. I am Joyful

Las Avispas echoes in my head, as I dance to the chorus that says “ Y tambien me dijo, ‘No te mortifiques, que yo le envío mis avispa' pa' que lo piquen”. The freedom of salvation anchored in Philippians 4:6 gets me hype. I am commanded and permitted to stop stressing. If God is managing my life, I dont need to carry the weight of the things outside my control. I just let them be. I count my breath as a reason to be joyful and do what I can to embody that. I learned recently about the nueroscience of joy when distressed. The amygdala, located in your temporal lobe, processes emotions, especially anxiety and fear. Laughter specifically, as well as other signs of joy, help to regulate your emotional state. ( For those of us who laugh at funerals, you’re normal friends). Laughter also reminds you that you aren’t alone, as laughter most commonly happens in safe social spaces.There is another line in Las Avispas that says” Jesus me dijo que me riera, si el enemigo me tienta en la carrera.” Laughter and joy is signaling to your brain that everything is okay. Its why the bible often encourages us to praise in hardships. Singing, and speaking life, joy, love, and peace helps rewire our thinking and helps us to move out of disregulated states much faster. In Proverbs 31:25 it says, She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.” Because we as believers know that for those who love GOD all things work together for good for those who are called according to his purpose ( Romans 8:28), So I dont have to worry about tomrrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. ( Mattheww 6:34) So, I can chill out.

7. I am saved by grace and justified by faith

In Las Avispas, Juan Luis Guerra sings about Deuteronomy 7:20, laughing because God sends His wasps to sting the enemy and clear the path for you. I remember in 2024, I was in distress, but I was sitting out on the patio with the kiddos and we were gardening. I saw a big wasp ( as you do in the spring) flying towards us. I said to it, “If you are here to cause harm, you can go”. The wasp flew over our heads and landed on the side of the house. We later went to Walmart to get somethings for Easter, so the kids could play and decorate. I saw two huge wasps in that parking lot, far from trees, plants, or anything that might give cause for them being there. Then two women approached me and said that you have to do a passover sacrifice in order to recieve salvation which is in direct opposition to a lot of doctrinal positions of most christian denominations and the following scriptures:

* Romans 10:9: “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.“

* Romans 3:28:“A person is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.”

* Acts 16:31: “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”

* Ephesians 2:8: , “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.”

I told them, that If that is so, then GOD will show me the paths I should walk, but as far as I know I am saved by grace alone. There is something in knowing I don’t have to be perfect, I just have to try my best. I can do things from a clean heart and trust that GOD will make my paths straight. The bible say, “He who loves purity of heart and has grace on his lips, the king will be his friend.” ( Proverbs 22:11) Which is a nice thought. That the one who created all of this is my father, defender and friend. That GOD likes me and loves me, cause I love his creation is humbling and mind-blowing all at the same time.

So, In closing, When you are in a battle with thoughts of impossibility, you don’t even have to fight the pests yourself. God sends His divine intervention to chase away the thoughts trying to torment you. This is why we can confidently close our eyes and know that no weapon formed against us will prosper.

Those negative thoughts, those heavy burdens, and those heavy moments of loneliness have no standing when you call on the LORD. The Word says His name is a Strong Tower; the righteous run into it and they are safe.

I find glee in knowing the angels, the butterflies, the birds, and the wasps are fighting for me. GOD’s word is Yes and AMEN. I can look boldly at any obstacle and know that my GOD is greater and that I am who GOD says I am.

Through the years, we have seen a number of tropes emerge from the formulaic recreation of successful Hollywood stories. These tropes make it easier for writers, directors, and producers to tell stories from points of view that they may not easily identify with. It also allows audiences to better understand characters and how they move through society and the story.This type of writing can enable studios to count on the film being a success due to the reception of other films using those formulas. These formulas worked to create stereotypes for women, Black and Indigenous folks, and other people of color. These groups are often used as props in the development of a male or white lead’s story. According to Molly Haskell, an American film critic and author. “The preoccupation of most movies in the forties […] is the man’s soul and salvation rather than the woman’s” (424). According to Braudy and Cohen the central argument of Haskell’s essay is that films find their shape through the presence of strong female stars and that Haskell was really pushing back against the emphasis on the idea that male actors as artists who carry films all by themselves.

Haskell uses examples through films of how the various women actors, such as Doris Day, Jean Arthur, Donna Reed, and Katherine Hepburn, bring their interpretations of femininity to the characters that they played. Haskell says that the male character’s development relied on the women as a point of reference. This is still used for the arch of male characters today. Women are often referred to as the moral compass for films and television.

In her analysis, Molly Haskell explains the characteristics of the most commonly seen stereotypes in films. They are the superwoman, the bad girl, the superfemale, the enterprising woman, and the sex goddess.The superwoman is “a woman who […] has a high degree of intelligence or imagination, […] adopts male characteristics in order to enjoy male prerogatives, or merely to survive” (428). The superfemale is similar, but different. She is feminine and flirtatious. She is too intelligent and ambitious, and when she gets bored, she is a mean girl. The bad girl is the character who does things she knows she should not do. The enterprising woman is a woman who wants to work. Haskell discusses the period during World War 2 when a lot of women went to work. They want to stay at work, and when the men returned from the war, however, a lot of women were fired. Haskell notes that films in that era looked at the tension that happened thereafter. It was a push to send women back into the household rather than them working. The sex goddess is the woman who kind of pulls men under her spell. Haskell talks about this in reference to “the jinx” (430). These are women who use their sexual wiles to seduce men to get what they want. Alternatively, they are women whom men desire greatly and who have a lot of men chasing after them or fawning over them.

While these stereotypes still exist, they exist in a hybrid form. Woman no longer just a man’s girlfriend, wife, mother, or sister. She isn’t just a representation of his morals or his maturity. She is her own person. Films today attempt to create identities for women characters apart from how they relate to male characters. We are able to view and create more films with women as the lead actors. While the films still heavily rely on various stereotypes to travel through the story. They tend to present hybrid forms of those stereotypes in an attempt to create more complex characters.

I will be exploring the film, Someone Great, and looking at how each character pays tribute to the superwoman, superfemale, bad-girl, sex goddess, and the enterprising woman mentioned as defined by Molly Haskell.

In a comedy, filmmakers are able to poke some fun at the stereotypes that happen in various genres. Someone Great is a coming-of-age gal-pal comedy that gives the actors room to make light of the heaviness of growing up, of being vulnerable in relationships, and of letting go of the things that we think make us who we are and embarking on a true journey of self-discovery. All under the cover of jokes about drugs, sex, and stereotypes.

Jenny, played by Gina Rodriguez, is the main character. She is initially introduced with her love interest, Nate, as they walk down the street talking about the concert they just went to. They meet up with her friend’s Blair and Erin, played by Brittany Snow and DeWanda Wise, respectively. Her friends support her and Nate’s relationship.

Jenny is a writer, Blair is a social media strategist, and Erin works in real estate. All three are navigating stages of relationships, and they go on an adventure around New York City to get concert tickets, get marijuana, get high, get laid, and maybe find some sense of themselves through the process. Some scenes are intensely hilarious, and then there are scenes that are a little cringey. There are also spaces where you see the characters develop beyond the bad girl, superwoman, enterprising woman, femme fatale, sex goddess, and super female stereotypes. However, there are still moments where you can clearly see the characters embodying these tropes throughout the movie.

Jenny is introduced as the superfemale. She is highly intelligent, she is a University student, and she is quite boy crazy. She also embodies the “Bad girl” in other ways. Typically, in films, it’s for the male gaze, but in Someone Great, I noticed, it is for her friends so that they can recreate some of those fun times that they had when all of them were engaging in debauchery. Jenny’s story arc shows her becoming a superwoman. She is still highly intelligent, but now she is highly ambitious. Jenny gets the job of her dreams, clear across the country, and Nate, whom she calls her person, does not want to go on that journey with her. The film follows her as she first tries to mute her feelings and then, in a very pivotal montage, she accepts those feelings and decides that it’s her choice to heal from them so that she can be the best version of herself.

You first see Erin with her “not quite” girlfriend. They are in a very intimate space, and the “not quite” girlfriend is seeking greater intimacy by asking Erin to meet her friends. However, because Erin experienced heartbreak in the past, she was not prepared to be vulnerable with this new partner. So, she tries to distract her “not quite” girlfriend in order to avoid having the conversation about increased intimacy. You also see through Erin’s story arc that she is holding on to her youth as hard as she can. She wants to party and live free and not take on more responsibility than necessary. You see this through the messiness of her room, the fact that she was very ready to call out of work without any hesitation, and that she was happy to be in the space of irresponsibility. I would say that this shows that Erin is a superwoman-type character because she takes on a lot of masculine traits in order to get the same sort of excitement that a man would have. She shrugs off responsibilities and just wants to be with her friends in the same way that a lot of male characters have been written in the past. Erin is also a sex goddess because she uses sex to get out of having a difficult relationship with her partner. Through an exchange with Blair, you learn that she also uses sex to avoid feeling her feelings. By the end of Erin’s story, you see that she has matured quite a bit through this journey of drug use and debauchery. She’s realized that she’s ready to take on more responsibilities and to have greater intimacy and more vulnerability inside of her relationship.

Finally, there is Blair. Blair is seen at the opening of the film as the good girl. She does what she can to make safe choices. She has a plan for her future. She wants to be married by 30, and she stays in a relationship that she isn’t really happy in because she has a plan. The running joke throughout the film is that the girls want “Bad Blair” to come out and play with them on Jenny’s last day in New York City. Bad Blair does, in fact, come out to play. She engages in all the mess that her friends are also engaging in. This includes drug use as well as sexual intercourse in highly inappropriate places. However, this was part of her journey of loosening up and letting go of the idea that she had to be perfect in order to achieve her goals. I think that this character falls in line at first with the Super female and transitions into the superwoman character.

While the women in this film are not in perfect alignment with the the tropes am proposed by Molly Haskell they do meet a lot of the criteria of being super females or super women With all the complexities I’ve being a 20 something and a large city trying to figure out who you are and what you want to do in your life while coming to grips with the fact that things are going to change and that change is good.

Bad Bunny is an EVIL GENIUS and I think I love it.

Okay, so hear me out. Yesterday, I wrote on threads it was time for me to go seek out this ADHD diagnosis formally cause my hyper focus on Benito had ended. I gathered all the information I needed, and I was satisfied. He is a cute celeb whose artistry I admire, but not more than honing my own skills.But here we are again. He has triggered my need to understand him and how he creates art, AGAIN. ”How?”, you ask. Well… I’m scrolling on Instagram, ahead of my afternoon nap, and Ojitos Lindos from Un Verano Sin Ti is playing. So, Li Samuet’s voice is like crack to begin with, and then the beat drops, and I feel transported to a new place. My parietal lobe is activated, and my curiosity is piqued. How are they doing this? How am I addicted again. Why Am I writing about this man, AGAIN.My immediate thought is that they must be recording at a different frequency than the 440 that is common in the music industry. So, I googled it. No, hypothesis was wrong. its in 440. So, I think, why do I feel like the song is touching me? That question activates my nerd brain, and here we are again, trying to understand this obsession with Benito.

Digital Crack

This past winter, just ahead of and a little bit after the Super Bowl, I listened to and watched a ton of music from Bad Bunny, which I found was this salad of sound and sensation. Bad Bunny and Tainy create this auditory drug that I just can’t put down. They are in the lab operating like neuro-musical scientists, engineering sounds that heal and sounds that trap. Ojitos Lindos is the song that triggered the relapse, and so that is the one I am going to dissect. The thesis, if you need it, Ojitos Lindos creates an unusually immersive sensory experience through vocal contrast, environmental sound design, and emotional pacing. The result is music that feels less like something heard and more like a place inhabited. In my opinion Bad Bunny strategically activates the brain’s tactile, spatial, and emotional centers by activating your senses creating this push pull dynamic that kicks up your dopamine and reward anticipation systems. I think he does this intentionally, so that you’re never quite done with him. There is always a yearning for more.

Travelling on sound

As the opening notes of the song play, I feel my Parietal lobe activate. (How you ask… you’ll have to read my Hashimoto’s posts, I have superpowers, now.) What sounds like horns and an organ play on a loop. The first loop doesn’t resolve the way that you expect, and it makes you feel like you need to keep listening. Almost compulsively. I get this same sensation waiting in line to board a plane. Like the journey has started, but it hasnt. So, your dopamine is kicked off before that singing even starts. Anyway, the Parietal lobe in the back of your head. It is responsible for interpreting touch, not SOUND. TOUCH. Which is trippy. When I listen to Bad Bunny’s music, I feel like he is TOUCHING me. Unhinged? yes, but I honestly think that’s the point of the mix. For you to feel like you are in the room with him. having this experience together.Once Li’s voice comes in, you are almost transported to a new place. The sweetness of the singing draws you in.The music climbs towards the beat drop, and the layers continue to build into the first chorus. and then drop off again. Emotionally, it feels like the start of a relationship, where you are climbing and building and layering in your feelings and emotions, and the relationship is part of your daily rhythm. The end of the chorus says “ And I’m born again ( or reborn) and the loop starts again in the other person’s perspective.

Storytelling in the production

The story isn’t just in the lyrics. The mix is also telling the same story. In the second verse, you hear Benito’s voice; the lyrics move you through the climb into the relationship in a different way. He says it’s been a while since I’ve held anyone’s hand. It’s been a while since I’ve sent a good morning text”. ( Actual lyrics: Hace tiempo que no agarro a nadie de la mano, Hace tiempo que no envío: "buenos días, te amo"). Here, you hear the sonic layers start to build again. The beat drops a little sooner here. As if to say he was sure faster. He was in it quicker. The beat cuts out again, and you get the sounds of paradise. You can hear the birds coming in. As he describes heaven. “There is no sin here” and “making mistakes is beautiful”. Which is an awesome sentiments for growing intimacy. ( Listen, I can make this about Jesus so fast your head will spin… but I won’t).I won’t lie, the very sound of Benito’s voice gets me going… lol. The depth of his voice activates my frontal lobe EVERY TIME. I often imagine what he smells like, cause I’m weird. The section where you hear the waves crashing and the lyrics are simply “Tu y Yo”, for me feels relaxed, easy going, soft, not rushed. It’s the sensation of just being. Being still and trusting that its good. that sensation of the calm you feel once your love is settled. You still get the heat in your belly when you see them but your heart and your mind doesnt race like it did before. Like when I lay on the beach and close my eyes to take a nap trusting the sun won’t burn me and I won’t get robbed.

The Music video

The music video is trippy cause that’s not at all what I expected. In the video he is on dates with multiple women, night after night, day after day, some one new. You then see him speeding down the a road and he’s clearly disconnected from anything. the thrill of driving fast is one I know well. Hitting 100+ in my honda accord on i-285 comes to mind.

It’s playing with his life in crazy ways. There is a scene where he has his eyes closed as he drives. The car wrecks and he ends up in the hospital. He gets a text and then his dog comes in the room and that’s who he is happiest with. That isn’t really the treatment you expect for the song. But love is love. So i guess it works.

That I would have done

If I was building out a story line for the music video, I would be boring and obvious.

I would follow a woman who meets a man, maybe on the beach, maybe at a party or at work, whatever. She is cautious like the music plays to, and it is a slow climb. The images are POV. So you dont see her, you just see him, and how she views him. The lighting and the environments would adjust as her feelings climb. They would reflect that its a slow climb, a slow burn for her. You get to the end of the first chorus and it rewinds. You go back and see it from his perspective, from the point where he decides its her. You watch her from his POV and it builds until the end of the second chorus.

Then I would pan out, and look at their relationship from the outside in. What observers might think or the perspective they might take seeing them together out and about. You just see them living life together in intimate spaces. Like laying on the couch with the male partner on top with his head on her chest as they read or whatever. Cause the music to me feels like a summer night with someone you vibe with. The organs feel like its something sacred. The waves crashing on to the shore and the seagulls singing feel like nostaligic family trips. This song to me feels like a deep tight hug from your lover who smells a little like outside, cologne, and arm pit, but like in the best ways. It feels intimate. It feels like love.Dont get me wrong, loving your puppy, or something else is fine. It doesnt have to be a straight love story, or even a monogamous love story. But that’s what I feel. That’s the “touch” that I get listening to this.

The contrast and the cuddles

I think the contrast in the visuals and the music is another piece of the diabolical nature of this media made drug, called Bad Bunny, but it also speaks to the way life is sometimes. Some of my most beautiful moments had dark clouds around them. Like sitting on the couch and cuddling with my cousins after my grandma died. That was beautiful but also deeply painful. The contract in the vocals also do something that i cant describe in my brain. both feel like a cuddles but in different ways. The lyrics themselves are calling to a nostalgic love and a softness that is clear by the way the song is sung. Also, as someone who has been deeply in love before, the feeling you get from the act of staring into your lover’s eyes, constructing this universe together, is nuts. Like, can’t explain the intense feeling. I think I chase that feeling of deep connectedness when looking for a partner. Its like open-hearted vulnerability and depth. Which can take time to build, but I yearn for it and this song fills that void for the 4:18 that it runs.

In 2022, I posted a reel that did NUMBERS about how I manifested a work-from-home job. At that point I had been working from home for about a year, and I wanted to share the how and why. Being a Kreyol and Spanish Speaker, Manifestation to me means “protest” or “working for change”. But using that word is all it took. For the next several years, I was in and out of witchy TikTok and Instagram. My algorithm was Elevation Church, Israel and New Breed, and a very pretty blond-haired, soft-voiced tarot card reader. The messages were a bit disparate in that one is telling me Jesus lives in me, and through GOD’s power I can do anything. The other is telling me, this is what is coming for you as a collective, all of you. Period. It gives a bit of cognitive dissonance. Am I powerful? Am I a powerless plot point in a cosmic story? What is the truth? I had a decision to make.

Magic and Spiritual Gifts

I didn’t immediately fall into watching it. I would usually swipe past. Then, I had a few very hard months, and their messages of change felt comforting. Sometimes they would come on, and I would let it play. I would listen, I would believe, and then nothing. Nothing came. Nothing happened. Nothing, and that rattled my hope more. Made me more desperate for answers. Made me feel like I should just throw my hands up and give up.I admit my Adventist upbringing had me holding these people at arm’s length. I don’t have condemnation for them. A gift is a gift. I’ve had dreams and “premonitions” that I can’t truly explain. From dreams telling me to warn a friend to make a change to knowing the exact moment when my grandmother passed away from across the sea, before my family even woke up to discover it. I should note that it’s not a magic trick, I can’t control it, and it has always been for me, my life, and the people on my path. After a few months of watching them, I realized I’m outsourcing my magic.

They don’t know what’s coming. No one does. Sometimes I can see little glimpses of things on my path, but that just tells me I’m either where I should be or I’m not. It was time to take stock and figure out what I believed about the metaphysical and my being. I started by leaning on my upbringing and belief about GOD as an anchor, and I started working to understand why this probably wasn’t the way to go for me.

Pop Culture Commentary on Psychics

The story of King Saul is an interesting example. He had anxiety, and he was going to war. Samuel had already died, and he wanted counsel. (Keep in mind, he drove all the fortune tellers, witches, and psychics out of the kingdom. ) He goes to a fortune teller and “summons” Samuel, who says, “ Because you did this, you will die,” and what does Saul do? He kills himself. What does he do? He kills HIMSELF! Who kills him? HIMSELF. In a clear juxtaposition, you see Jonathan and his armorbearer saying, “perhaps” this is the path forward. All while everyone else was waiting for signs and confirmation from the crystals and the prayers. Jonathan just decided to go, asking for signs to appear in his movement, not in his waiting.On the show Avatar: The Last Airbender, in"The Fortuneteller", Episode 1,14, Team Avatar visits a village run by a seer named Aunt Wu, who predicts Katara will marry a powerful bender. Aang tries to prove his love for Katara, and Sokka is skeptical about all of it. He notes on multiple occasions that the people are making the predictions happen and not that they are coming to pass on their own. The episode ends without a clear resolution to the question of whether or not the future is pre-destined or if the future is changed based on actions.Another example is That’s so Raven. In every episode, Raven Baxter is making her premonition happen by trying to avoid it. If she does nothing, then nothing happens. If she doesn’t try to change the outcome and lets things move forward, well, the show is less entertaining. However, her resistance is what is making it happen.And then everyone’s favorite witch, psychic, and empath, Phoebe Halliwell, honed her skills to the point where she could see multiple outcomes based on her choices and the actions of others. I like how the show ends for her: married to Cupid after being married to the Source of all evil, and she couldn’t have predicted that outcome. That something that the council of elders told her was taboo and forbidden in the past was now sanctioned for her, because of how much she worked for the good.Which brings me to the reasons that watching tarot card readers isn’t doing you any favors. Predictions don’t control outcomes—choices do.

That is your magic.

Yo Hago Lo Que Me Da La Gana

You have freewill. You have freedom of choice. No one can tell you what will happen to you. They can try to direct your path or tell you what to do, they can threaten you or scare you, but ultimately, your choices are yours. You can say no to it. You can laugh at people’s visions for you and make your own plans. Nothing is impossible, and nothing is inevitable. All of it has to do with the choices you make, the people you surround yourself with, and how much you’re willing to work to get it.By leaning heavily on the predictions of others and tarot readers, you are outsourcing your ability to make choices. THAT IS YOUR MAGIC! Stop outsourcing your ability to plan your own life. No one knows for sure what will happen tomorrow. You could be singing on a train like Tyrese or walking down the street being gorgeous like Whitney Houston. The magic is you being you, and being visible, and making choices.

What to Do Instead

So, you like a little tarot card reader. It is entertaining. You vibe with Astrological predictions about your life. Not gonna lie, I did too. haha! Part of choosing Valencia for me was the name of the city, the location on the beach, the cost of living, the fact that Spain isn’t bombing people’s children with my tax dollars, and because of an astromap. A lot of lines converge in Spain for me. So, I live here. But none of those things removed my agency. My ability to make choices is intact. I chose this life for myself, and used different kinds of evidence to support my choice. I didn’t outsource my decision-making to someone else. I decided. I moved. I committed. In 2024, I spent the summer here. I was exploring cities to see where I wanted to live. I took a train from Barcelona to Cordoba, and I had a layover in Madrid. For the uninitiated, Madrid has two large train stations. Atocha and Chamartin. I had to change stations and didn’t realize it until maybe 40 minutes before departure. I missed that train. I couldn’t have predicted it. Cause I had been VERY type A in my planning and organizing movement on this trip. That particular company closed the doors a few mins before departure and wouldn’t let anyone else on. I ended up on the last train out of Madrid that night, only to get off at the wrong stop. THE WAY I CRIED! I immediately called my father. I ended up spending the night in a small hotel in a tiny town called Villanueva de Córdoba. I don’t know what would have happened if I had gotten on the right train. I don’t know what would have happened if I had made it into Cordoba the night before. I do know that my dad showed up for me. The VERY handsome station worker helped me find a place to sleep and a cab to get there. I couldn’t have predicted that. I don’t think anyone would have been. I am able to trust that all my needs will be met and I will be taken care of. I can predict that I can count on doors to open and to find love in perfect strangers, even when the situation isn’t ideal.However, that’s all I can be sure of. Tomorrow is not here yet. So what can you watch instead of the Tarot readers and channel message folks?Neuroscience content. Teachers and coaches. People who can help you hone your power to manifest your future, and by manifest, I mean putting your hands in the dirt and sowing the seeds that help you get the win. Find communities with aligned visions so you can walk towards them together. Why? Because this will teach you how to build your own power. You aren’t consuming people’s predictions. You are taking aligned action toward the future you want to see.

Manifestation is Active

At some point, you have to stop waiting to be told what happens next and start participating in what happens next. Not predicting it. Not fearing it. Building it. Step by step, choice by choice, with your hands fully in the clay, molding your own life. The future isn’t something handed to you through a card spread or a vision; it’s something you co-create through action, faith, and a willingness to move without guarantees. So return to manifestation as participation. Trust that you don’t need full clarity to take the next step, just conviction. Because in a world full of Sauls, frozen and desperate for answers, you can be a Jonathan, who moves and decides. Let the signs meet you in motion.Happy Scrolling