march

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It pays to leave the past in the past, even if the past was as recent as last month, last week, five minutes ago. Time waits for no man (or woman), & that includes the stories we tell ourselves about what folks can do. About what folks are capable of. Oxford Dictionary defines the word underestimate as: to estimate (something) to be smaller or less important than it actually is. Also, an estimate that is too low. 

I, personally, love an underdog. Take Malcolm X for example- an orphaned ward of the state, a gambler, a thief, a hustler, a blight. And yet he became, as Ozzie Davis put it, "a prince- our own black shining prince!"; an icon who still, all these years after his death, serves the most potent example of honorable black manhood. Even so, those who knew Malcolm Little might have had a hard time accepting the transformed Malcolm X because some folks are too lazy to change their sheets, let alone their mind. 

Over the next 30 days, folks may want to treat you (see also: pay you) based on who you used to be, what they used to know or what folks used to say. It's going to suck but you can't worry about all that. In fact, you shouldn't worry about anything except honoring who you are right now, appreciating how far you've come & seeing how you can be a  better bitch tomorrow. You can't lose when your only competition is yourself. 

And if, in sublime recognition of who you've become, you feel compelled to spread the word about yourself, save your breath. Folks who knew you on the bottom won't want to hear you talk about being on top. They won't want to know they've underestimated you. They won't want to see you get out of your place. Again, that will suck but you can't worry about all that. They'll come around as soon as it benefits them to tell someone else they know you. You better believe they'll come around when it serves them.

And when that happens, don't you dare make the same mistake they made & underestimate the lengths to which they'll go. They'll confess they were wrong about you, but deep down inside, they just want to prove, close up, that they were right. Even if they have to take matters into their own hands.  

Their schemes won't hurt you but prepare to be appalled. 

Let the side show begin.