I love everyone, but it’s something about my fancy friends. They make me hold my head high when I walk through these Oakland streets. Don’t get it confused, not high with self-righteous pride, no. This is high off self-love and an awareness of our values. They celebrate me. They say things like, “Yaaaas, Queen, you are!” or “Shine bright, don’t you dim that light, honey!” One of them is named China. Her skin is silky and the shade of honey, and she’s just as smooth. She comes into the room and all the men and women stare. She is a star. You see her and know she’s in control. She holds her head high, works a full-time job, and goes to school at night. A mother and a wife. Strong she is. Her words are truth, but they come from a pure place. Relentless in her dreams. She introduces me to self-care and massages. Where I’m satisfied, she demands I come up a little higher.
Sapphire is the room filler. Her voice roars like the ocean, her smile lights up the room. She dresses to perfection, always perfectly groomed and put together. Her gift is style and coordination. She listens with her heart, and gently calls me out on my hidden truths.
Reign is a Native Queen. Family is her core, and nurturing is her purest state. She is wild and free, and yet perfectly rooted in love and life. We laugh and dream together. We have no boundaries. Like me, she is a flower child. We know abandonment, which affects the way we love. We speak with no words.
Char is the youngest, and yet her drive is that of a woman twice her age. She’s focused, and her family roots have caused her to value hard work. She is hard and yet soft to the few she lets in. I understand this: we are sisters. Her mind is that of an entrepreneur. She says, “Queen, as much as black women wear weaves, they should be owning every beauty supply in the town.” She’s right, we should … do your friends pose questions that make you think? Who plant visions that are larger than the club, a baby daddy, or some other drama? My fancy friends allow me to fly free, to fly high, to be me. Crazy, distant, close, frail, loud, silent, hidden, bold, loving me. All of me is welcome at the table, and they bring all of themselves. They are my tribe. We are a collective of strong women who love. I love my fancy friends.