(more) Words For Chocolate
words, black words, beautiful black words and thoughts.

10 Things That Changed Me (for good)

Now, I firmly believe that at its best art (and i’m using that term generally here) has the capacity to change those who witness it. I think we all can testify to this. There’s that book you read years ago that changed the way you look at relationships, the song that always reminds you of summer ‘98, the movie you watch that always makes you feel better.. hopefully the list goes on and on. Well, I’ve decided to put together a list of the top ten things (movies, plays, books, etc.) that have had a tremendously positive impact on the way I see myself and the world around me. Hopefully, you will check some of this out and get conscious. Or, even better, compile your own list and share it with others. Let’s get conscious together.

(for the record, I’m way too passionate to put things in a certain order. So, everything is equal here.)

-  One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

-  “The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle The Master’s House” by Audre Lorde (essay)

-  The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill

- “On and On” and “I Want U” by Eykah Badu

- The Poetry of Christa Bell

- The Work of Toni Morrison

- The Music of Nina Simone

- Tell Me by Kim Addonizio (collection of poetry)

- The Music of Jill Scott

-Dave Chapelle’s Block Party (documentary/concert)

This is just the list. I will be going into detail on each of these wonderful items one at a time. They are all worthy of a little attention.

2 Responses to “10 Things That Changed Me (for good)”

  1. Hm.
    10 things that changed me for good.
    Well, they’re not all things like books and such. I’d be superficial if I said that my entire life has been an inspiration…but honestly, a lot of my life has. So a lot of things that changed me for good, well, are events that took place in my childhood. (As though my childhood’s over. Heh.)
    But on with the listing.

    -My 12th birthday
    -The poetry of Nikki Giovanni
    -My parents’ divorce
    -Moving to Kentucky
    -Losing my virginity
    -The poetry of Lizz Straight
    -Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
    -The music of Zap Mama
    -The first time I got dumped
    -The day my father married again

    Some seem like they wouldn’t have changed me for the better. But hey, different strokes for different folks, right?

  2. Wow. That’s a great list – especially “the day AFTER my father got married again” – that’s deep.

    Thank you for posting this list, sister.


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