Hey Reader!

Last month of 2025. That went by fast as heck. Like.. whiplash fast.

But before we get swept into holiday chaos completely, let’s get into what’s on my mind this week. 👇🏾

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RANT

Where has all the color gone?

So Pantone just announced their 2026 Color of the Year: Cloud Dancer. Which is... white. They chose WHITE. 😒

They described it as "a lofty white that serves as a symbol of calming influence in a society rediscovering the value of quiet reflection." Okay, sure. But also... the color of the year being colorless? In THIS economy? In THIS climate? As fascism rises? As people are being loudly white supremacist?

Fun fact, the 2025 color was Mocha Mousse. So they went from brown to white. It’s a bit too on the nose and we will not be gaslit into the fact that it’s some coincidence or not a statement. EVERYTHING is political. Everything is purposeful at a time when people are bringing Nzsm back.

This is part of a whole movement. There’s been many conversations about how there has been a muting of our society through color. A 2024 study by iSeeCars found that over 80% of new cars are now black, white, gray, or silver. EIGHTY PERCENT. 😩 When they used to be green, blue, red, yellow.

It's not just cars either. Our homes. Our clothes. Our logos. Everything is beige, taupe, "greige," and "quiet luxury." The color is being sucked out of EVERYTHING.

It’s a dog whistle. The rise of fascism and the elevation of the literal color white is not some random unlinked phenomena.

But it’s so funny cuz folks have been crashing out about this since it was announced. And it feels like at the same time, we all decided that we are rejecting this Cloud Dancer foolishness. And we’ve come together to choose a new color for 2026. We’ve agreed on a deep, rich green. The emeralds, deep teal, gorgeous forest.

I refuse the de-melanification of our world. I will surround my home, my life, my work with color. That, for me, is luxury.

REFLECTION

Bring your most grounded self into every room.

We've spent years telling people to "bring your full self" into spaces, whether that's work, relationships, or communities. And I get the intention behind it. I do.

But here's where I've landed: I don't actually think we should be encouraging people to bring their FULL selves everywhere.

I think we should be telling people to bring their MOST GROUNDED selves to work, and other spaces. 😮‍💨

Your full self includes your traumas. Your triggers. Your unhealed parts. Your need for attention. Your firstborn and elder-child overcompensation tools. Your "I cry every time I'm challenged or somebody makes me feel bad" quirk. 🫠

I don't think all of those belong in every room.

People forget the middle ground. There's the LinkedIn robot voice folks who ain't bringing no parts of themselves anywhere, because they give fake too much. And then there's the people who act like they have no home training no matter where they are.

We can be who we are authentically without bringing every unprocessed part of ourselves into spaces that don't need to hold that. Your authenticity also includes the part of you that knows better.

Being authentic doesn't mean being unfiltered. It means being intentional about what you bring into shared spaces.

That's the version of you that doesn't blame everybody for everything. That's the you who isn't walking around with your childhood wounds in a brainstorm meeting. That's the you who can receive a critique without crumbling into a puddle.

I've had to learn this myself. I've had to figure out which parts of me serve the moment and which parts of me need to stay home and journal. 📓

Your grounded self is still authentically you. It's just the you who understands that feedback is not a personal indictment.

So here's my challenge to all of us: instead of "bring your full self," let's try "bring your most grounded self."

It still means you're being authentically you. But you're the you that has done some work. You're the you that can navigate hard conversations without spiraling. You're the you that understands the difference between a disagreement and a personal attack.

I think we'd all be better for it. 🤌🏾

RECOMMENDATION

It is time to write that book that’s been on your heart. Start now.

We’ve been talking about refusing the world’s slide into beige. About choosing vibrance over quiet quitting your soul. About bringing the most grounded, most you-you version of yourself into every room.

Well… color can be created.

And some of you have been walking around with whole technicolor worlds sitting in your chest. Entire stories. Big ideas. Narratives that could save somebody, free somebody, or at the very least, make somebody feel less alone.

But you keep telling yourself:

Readiness is a scam. A lot of the people writing the books you love were not “ready.” They were willing. They started.

The story you’ve been carrying? It’s heavy because it’s not meant to stay inside you.

One of the deepest colors I want to leave in this world is the knowing that I didn’t just tell my own stories; I helped other people tell theirs. Because your book? Your voice? Your point of view? That’s part of your vibrance. That’s part of your grounded self.

And if you’ve been waiting for a sign… 👀 This. Is. It.

2025 is wrapping up and The doors to The Book Academy are opening soon​. Like, SOON soon. 👀

Every year people walk in with nothing but an idea and walk out with chapters, clarity, confidence, and in many cases… a book deal.

A year from now, I want to be celebrating your book journey. Not the one you almost started. Not the one you thought about. The one you claimed.

Let it be the year you wrote the thing that only you could write.

Pantone chose basic white. I'm choosing deep, rich green. What's YOUR 2026 color of the year? Hit reply and tell me. 💚

With vibrance and vision,

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P.S. Speaking of adding color to your life, I talked about investing in art for yourself in my stories recently. Check out my thoughts here. 🎨