Back in The Habit.

A few months ago, one of my cohort mates from my Alternative Spring Break in South Africa experience asked me to conduct a workshop for girls at her church. She was part of the planning team for a women's day event themed "Forward Focused Women: No Turning Back". The segment that she asked me to facilitate was "Beautiful Me: Loving Who God Made Me".

Today, I arrived at the church at around 9:45am and was welcomed by a team of women who had helped coordinate the event. I spent the morning with the assembly in the sanctuary and then veered off with the teens to their day of workshops. I sat in the background of the bible study classroom where they convened and observed them in discussions about faith, maturing as young women, and etiquette, and then, after lunch, it was my turn.

As I did my introductions and ice breaker activities with the girls it was as if I almost got entirely lost in the moment. I forgot about the sea of adults in the back of the room who had now taken my seat as observers, and I just got real relaxed and hyped with the girls.

We started a pretty engaged conversation about self-esteem and growing up as brown girls. The youth talked openly and freely about their personal experiences and what they've witnessed of their peers. They shared and I shared and it was pretty cool how much we quickly felt comfortable around one another, like we had known each other for way more than the few hours that we'd just spent in the same room.

Unfortunately, time got away and we didn't get to finish all that was planned, but the time mishap created an opportunity for me to return in the future.

Being there today reminded me so much of Sundays back in NYC sitting for 5-6 hours among my Rites of Passage girls. I was grateful to be back doing this work in some capacity, particularly at this time where the nation is resounding with rallies and petitions surrounding the Trayvon Martin murder and related acquittal. I felt like I was in my truth, and in some way, doing my part.

I look forward to returning to the group and finishing what we started...or laying the groundwork to begin something even bigger.

In the meantime, I'm also preparing to teach another workshop for DC summer youth participants. Wish me luck on that one, there will be about 70 youth in the room that time.