The Beginning & Why

So after all my years of blabbing about writing, I'm actually finally committing to it. Why? While in graduate school at San Diego State, I was going through a "how-to" travel guide book in preparation for a trip to Mexico and I thought to myself, "this is awful!" Not the book it self, but the fact that it was like every other travel guide or self-help book that really doesn't help anyone. I decided I would just wing it with my travel partners. On this trip, I just happen to be the only black woman. It really wasn't an issue to me, in fact it kind of made me the center of attention (of course, it could have also been that I'm 6 foot, but I digress) and I had no problem moving among the various ethnic circles and representing SDSU and the United States at this International Conference. Because a writing assignment was a condition of the funding for the trip, I decided to take notes to use later rather than rely on my memory.

During one of the lecture that was being delivered in Spanish first - I made a notation "American black girl able to translate without translator in Mexico, indication of assimilation or adaptation?" and from that an idea was born. Writing about myself in the 3rd person give me the idea to create a story of sorts about my experience on this trip, rather than a traditional term paper. That was the beginning of the end. For the last several years I have written up short, and hopeful, insight pieces that will be shared.

The concept of Black Gurl's Guide should be seen as a resource based on of my experiences and those shared by from friends and associates. It is not a "black girl's" or "black" female guide , but rather a "how-to" seen through the eyes of a black female who often hears "gurl!" from her friends after talking about one of my unique experience. Hence the name "Black Gurl's" guide.