Happy Black History Month! I feel like I should say that because it is indeed Black History Month and as black people, we deserve to have every aspect of our being and contribution to this land celebrated as vibrantly and loudly as possible. Yet, every month is Black History Month at Black Ballad so I guess it feels a bit strange making a big deal out of something we already do.

While many of you reading this may be expecting me to spend the rest of this newsletter going down a route of celebrating our community, even more, this Black History Month left me thinking about how I define myself now and how I have defined myself in the past. 

When I first got married last year, I came back from Honeymoon and the truth is I felt a little lost. I had quit my job to go full-time freelance and concentrate on Black Ballad, but freelancing started off slower than I expected and at the time we were still bootstrapping a significant part of Black Ballad which really made me think about how I see success. I think these feelings were heightened by the fact that my husband was going to work every day as he was wrapping up his job, leaving me home to the sounds of a dishwasher, washing machine and bangs of slamming doors from our neighbours.