Image by thestoryscape via Blavity

I'm a girl obsessed with goals. I write yearly goals, monthly goals, and even goals for the week.

But so often these goals get lost in my litany of daily tasks. When my daily to-do lists and my lofty aspirations go head to head in battle, the to-do list wins -- always.

Then I think of Octavia Butler, the black woman warrior writer who, as Kiara Collins so perfectly stated in a recent article for Blavity, "literally wrote her life into existence."

Within her personal journals, Butler boldly declared that her novels would be a success, that she would be "a bestselling writer," that her books would be "read by millions of people" and that she would help "poor black youngsters" by broadening their horizons.

I couldn't believe this was happening to me. I'd become one of those people who start feeling down as their birthday approaches. This was happening to me, me who looked forward to 30, me who often utters the words, "I can't wait to turn 40!" because my friends over 40 are so fabulous and fierce.

Yet as I saw 35 in the horizon I started to feel sad, even a little scared. Is this it? I asked myself. Is this all I will ever become? Are my best years behind me? 

But then my hard-won confidence and past accomplishments put an end to that pity party. I wrote myself instructions on How to Turn 35 and now I'm taking my own advice.

As I turn 35 I will laugh, I will dance, and I will dream as I did as a girl.

Dear Javacia,

When you turn 35, you must celebrate all month long. When you turn 35, you must celebrate first with a look back. You will discover that 34 was quite the year.

Thirty-four was the year you built your labor of love—See Jane Write—into a business and learned that if you take yourself seriously as an entrepreneur, other people will, too. Your 2015 “Top 40 Under 40” award from the Birmingham Business Journal is proof.

Thirty-four was the year you and your husband bought a house, something you never thought you could do. When you were younger, you saw homeownership as something reserved for folks from wealthy families. Your family never had much money. Even though your parents worked very, very hard, they always struggled to make ends meet. They weren’t able to purchase a house and you saw your fair share of eviction notices taped to the front door. But 34 was the year you declared you would go after all those things you once believed were beyond your reach—and it worked.

Thirty-four was the year you were deemed “inspirational.” Because of your work with See Jane Write, Girls on the Run Birmingham recognized you among other local “Women Who Inspire,” such as legendary TV news anchor Brenda Ladun. At the awards ceremony, you felt like a fraud because that night you didn’t feel “inspirational,” you felt like a mess. You were in the midst of one of your most stressful times of the year, a time when you were ready to quit everything. You spent most of the evening in tears. Then several women came to you sharing how you had changed their lives simply by inspiring them to share their stories and write their truth. Thirty-four was the year you realized you could be a mess and still be inspirational...

Read this entire article at B-Metro.com. 

Beyonce has had enough.

Beyonce has had enough of y'all talking about her baby's hair.

She's had enough of y'all talking about her man's big nose.

She's had enough of her people being killed by the very people sworn to protect and serve them.