The veil

     Scripture explains that God’s veils are not to keep us I darkness but to protect people until they are sufficiently sanctified to pass through the veils and receive more light. Thinking of this quote, I’ve always wondered if people see me as I am, or do they see an altered version of me based on their own assumptions. In time, I would learn that most people don’t take the time to get to know someone and would rather absorb falsities. Middle school was a time in which I met real friends, and when adversity challenged me to be strong and courageous. I developed character and critical thinking skills while participating in social constructs. In basketball practice, which I hated yet was forced to play, I found what I was good at- running. You might ask yourself why I played when I didn’t like the game. Well, it’s because she got a discount on tuition regardless of whether I even liked playing or was good at it. I was terrible at it. I wanted to play tennis but wasn’t allowed to, and no one ever encouraged me to join the track team. I was perpetually on the backburner, and between the ages of then and thirteen, I learned that my life was dictated by what other people had going on in their lives. This meant my life and the things I wanted to do were stamped maybe or it depends, so naturally I developed a modicum of patience and silence.

     But God put a few mentors on my path who understood me better than I knew myself at the time. They provided a different way of looking at my life and encouraged me to have my own mind and to never compromise my morals. My home was not a religious home, but I am a believer and attended catholic schools where I learned a lot about God and his teachings. What intrigued me the most was indirectly gaining knowledge about the spirit world, and how to navigate it. I am still quite amazed at the things God has shown me, and even more amazed at others who are experts on this matter. My grade school, St. Cecilia is famous for the athletes and celebrities that would visit Detroit to play in our infamous gymnasium, and because of the short time I played basketball, I was able to experience other schools in the Diocese.

     One school in particular, Gesu is where I met Aaliyah Haughton. Well, maybe “met” is the wrong word for this story, so let’s go with “saw” her. I was in eighth grade at the time, and she was in the seventh. It was a normal Saturday of extracurricular activities when one of the most profound moments of my faith-based life happened. I was visiting Gesu and had just finished up a meeting. We were on the second floor of the building, standing around talking when a girl came running up the stairs looking frantic. She could barely catch her breath when she loudly whispered, “Aaliayh’s here”. I was clueless because I’m looking around at the other girls, like who?  The girl calms down enough to share that Aaliyah is a singer and is going to be famous. I thought that was cool and the rest of us continued our conversation. I wasn’t privy to the happenings of the music industry then, and since I was not enrolled at Gesu, I didn’t know who she was even though we lived only two miles away from each other. I then stepped over to my usual spot at the window to look out and see if my mother had arrived to pick me up. She indeed was waiting just outside the front door. So, I said my goodbyes and made my way to the staircase.

     As I approached the landing, she emerged from around the column of the curved staircase and what I saw was out of this world. My steps stuttered a little due to the sight of her, because what I saw I could not immediately understand. As we walked towards each other, I saw a very bright white light surrounding her. The moment we were near each other was when I observed what was creating the aura or light surrounding her. I saw two faces, one on either side of her head as if they were sitting on her shoulders. They, the crayon-colored white faces were positioned as if they were whispering something to her. Aaliyah’s eyes were cloaked by dark shades as time seemed to slow down and even stop. As she reached the top landing, I had descended a few steps and continued to be awestruck. But when I turned around to get another look at her, the glow was gone, no more white light, just her turning down the hallway to continue going wherever she was going. I continued down the second set of stairs and thought to myself that people would think I was crazy if I told them this story. My thirteen year old brain tried to process it, but only God could unveil such a thing.

Ms. Black & Gold

A Different World was one of my favorite shows growing up and I could not wait to have the college experience because of this show and the positive impact it made on all of us. So, when the time came, I had several options like The University of Michigan, but it was too large and didn’t really fit my personality, and besides this school was too elitest for me anyway. There was also Morgan State University, but it was only on my interest list because of my friends.  My first acceptance was Michigan State University, but a lot of familiar people were going there. Arizona State was a favorite, yet too far. Wayne State was too close, while Eastern Michigan University was just far enough and was originally a Normal School, which is a school for teacher education. This was the perfect fit.

My freshman year was eventful, and a learning lesson. My roommate was someone whom I knew through my mom’s friends, but our suitemates were from Ohio. Now, this situation was apparently something that is common. Later in life I thought about why so many Ohio residents choose Michigan for college. After a few visits to Ohio as an adult, I understood why they wanted to go to a Michigan University and assimilate into our culture. It’s so funny because when my younger cousin moved into the same freshman dorm I lived in, we went to support her move-in. The first thing I did was walk over to their suitemates, who had everything already in its perfect place and asked, “Y’all from Ohio aren’t you”? Their response was a resounding yes of course. The day brought back so many memories.

It particularly reminded me of my freshman year and the lack of black sororities and fraternities on campus. Through research, I learned that they all had been suspended for several years and didn’t return until the last year of my education program. It was an exciting time learning who was involved in the secret pledging while being summoned to the quad for probates and midnight impromptu step shows. The most profound moment of my college career was the Ms. Black & Gold Pageant. I attended with my roommate who was also GDI. If you don’t know what GDI stands for, just don’t worry about it okay. The contestant who won was someone I had a class with that year, and it broke my heart to see her up on that stage in a beautiful black and gold gown pouring her heart out to someone a few feet away that didn’t give a shit about her.

When I would see her in class, she was always bubbly and vibrant and had a good head on her shoulders as the elders would say. She was also intelligent and friendly to everyone. She simply glowed, and I observed all this from only seeing her in maybe eight to ten class sessions. So, when she walked down the runway and decided to read a poem she wrote to a boy she was in love with, I was excited. But when she started to cry, I realized it was a breakup message, and that he had broken her heart and she was not afraid to share her feelings with all of EMU’s black student body. Every girl at my table was crying at this point, except me. I was seeing redrum, and not because of the color red he was wearing. My eyes were locked on him since he and his buddies were joking and laughing. I knew then that he was boy a who didn’t know love or compassion. Which means, he and his friends were not of God.

 A while after this event, I was in the campus library and found her combing through books on the second floor and making photocopies. I was on my way out but decided to stop and speak to her. After making small talk, I noticed that she was not the same person I met a few months prior. She was different. Her light was gone, and I felt really bad for her. I wanted to hug her and tell her that everything would be okay, but I didn’t. I didn’t tell her she would meet someone else that would truly love her either. I learned that love is fleeting in most people, and protecting yourself is essential for your soul.