photograph taken by Ms. Latoya Beckles
I'm up early on this Saturday morning cleaning my room. If my desk is a mess I'm less productive. There's a line of flats and sneakers collecting dust against one wall, clothes neatly bagged and ready to go to Buffalo Exchange against another, my laundry (I skipped a week) has started collecting into a not so small mound next to my hamper on the third and final wall. Just too much shit! I despise clutter. "Get up and just do it, Jas. Don't waste another day." It only takes about two hours, because I'm quite meticulous when it comes to...well, almost everything. Finally, I get to my desk...when I chose this beautiful little white opal faux croc leather and rose gold brass piece of furniture it wasn't with the intention of having so many things on it, but life happens constantly and you need something to lay it all on.
Another thirty minutes goes by with me purging my desk of endless lists and diary entries on loose leaf paper, receipts and napkins. Lots goes in the trash and I can see the champagne colored glass top...just magazines to sort through now. This is quick, cause most of them are old af. Then, I stumble upon this little gem...
I stare at it. I can't throw away Angela, she's too fucking gorgeous and I've never even opened it. So, I sit in my chair and flip through the pages. When I find her, I lean back and swirl ever so gently as I read. Soaking in every single word.
She is literally my idea of what perfection looks like. First of all, this is the November 2018 issue of Allure magazine. You may be able to follow it online at allure.com, although I'm not sure and didn't check.
Back to magnificence... her interview took place at Bed of Nails, a nail spa right here in my neighborhood. I've been meaning to go there, but I do my own nails. Apparently, Angie is from Harlem World... who knew? She lives in LA, but was here in New York filming Otherhood, a Netflix original which I obviously have to keep my eyes peeled for, because I will be watching that.
This issue is all about anti-aging and clearly she is the queen of that. I saw a small clip of her circulating on the internet once, where someone asked her how does she do it and she rattled off an impossible list of things that she ingests and how she keeps her body right.
I can't do all of that shit, so I will just carry right on. It did not stop my joy of reading the entire article with a proud smile on my superbly slim brown face.
Her accomplishments only begin with her graduating from Yale School of Drama in 1983 and accumulating three degrees over time, despite the fact that she came from very humble beginnings. After starring in What's Love Got To Do With It, she rarely had to audition due to her astounding depiction of Tina Turner. Also, I absolutely loved watching her on a few seasons of American Horror Story. She's an amazing actress. My favorite scene of all time will always be her playing Bernadette, the scorned devoted wife in Waiting To Exhale.
this requires two gifs...
I know a little something about that, but that's a story for another day.
A G I N G:
Aside from speaking about her career, the article briefly touched on her aging quite gracefully at sixty. Yes, 60. She keeps the message short and sweet this time by saying, "as we advance, you have to keep the stress down and the attitude hot". Check and check. I'm a part of that movement and have to say that at forty-one, I'm not doing so bad in the aging department. It's all about the calm and focus of it all. I truly believe staying active in your body and mind while remaining as happy as you possibly can internally, helps a whole lot.
Let's be honest, our society does not like looking older much. However, I feel that age is something to be applauded, especially when you show that you have a deep appreciation for doing it as slowly as possible. Let's be clear, I am not talking about size, nor shape. We can all take great care of the skin we're in sans alterations (although, I'm not opposed to that either). Just as I took almost three hours to clean this dusty room filled with yarn, shoes, writing and art materials, rest assured that I also take my sweet little time when massaging my cuticles, oiling & massaging my scalp (I do this every other day), taking a bath, reading all the books and finally walking. Easy does it. Perfection is what Y O U make it. You don't have to be like Angie, just be the best version of yourself.
L O V E yourself, C L E A N your room & L O V E the world.
J A S