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Ashanti

@thatoneblerd

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🖖🏾 i like doing stuff 🖖🏾
💻 tech + ⚡️apprentice
burn • transform • shine

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So I started welding last winter as a skill add for my electrical apprenticeship… Didn’t expect it to become something I genuinely love. ⚡️

In welding it’s kind of like a dance - adjusting my angle, my speed, my distance, all in response to what the arc is doing in that exact moment. One second too long and I’ve burned through the metal. Too far back and the weld won’t hold.

Also, hear me out - of all the elements, fire is the only one that exists as a result of transformation. That’s wild I think. There’s just something mad humbling about learning how to guide fire.

Still early days.
But I’m here for it.

DM me if you’re curious about getting into the trades (welding/electrical) — especially women and BIPOC. Always happy to talk about it, share resources, or just hype you up if you’re thinking about starting.
#Welding #BlackWelder
#WomenInTrades #EnergyNeverDies #dopeoplestillhashtag by @thatoneblerd

Earlier this month I attended RETURN - a production by @primaryrituals who created a real dope show simply from a desire to return to dance. Witnessing it felt like a mirror - a call to return that's been bubbling at my surface this year (past 3 years really).

Return. My Return.

The return of my voice.
The return of spontaneous joy.
The return of my purpose and passions.
The return of being in community.
The return of deep self love.

Usually in my “eat pray love” phase, I tend to isolate. Hop on a plane for a solo trip somewhere. Watch Black Panther 1 & 2 (on repeat). Learn a new hobby or skill. Sagittarius type shit.

But this "Return” isn't about me returning to a previous version of myself. Or about inventing a new identity. It’s been more so about releasing what is no longer mine. Like finally having this sense of clarity where I’m able to notice who I’ve become (and who I’m becoming).

Been taking walks/rides without my phone or a destination to be. Immersing myself into community. Peeping what really keeps showing up in my life.
And lately I’ve realllly been learning how to sit with myself…intentionally. Low key, haaated when a therapist would say, “maybe you could take a moment to sit with that. Not process or logic it, just sit with it.”
Like, “wtf you mean sit with it?!”

But grounding myself these days feels different.
Rooting myself IN myself feels different.
Sitting and talking to God/the universe feels different.
Not talking in a religious or spiritual sense. I mean talking to God/the universe aka me/myself/I on a deeper level. And it’s got me exploring what I actually want here and in this moment, what is true for me.

There’s a scene in Wakanda Forever where Queen Ramonda says to Shuri, "Show them who you are". Whole scene lives rent free. And I interpret it as letting my actions and character reveal my identity rather than letting my pain reveal it. Like a reminder to stop hiding and stop shrinking. Step into who I actually am even when it's hard.

I say all this to say-
1. I think I like who I'm becoming.
2. vision boards really be manifesting magic.
3. my mama stays being my #1 fan.

Stay tuned...promise it won’t take 6 years to post 😉 by @thatoneblerd