Well, if you haven’t read the post about my future goals for this blog here you go.

Now, let’s get into it, shall we? Not to brag or anything, but life has been a little wild lately and I still can’t believe that anything has actually happened. My trauma response is so succinct, my imposter syndrome is so elite that it almost feels as if I’m living in a simulation. And after surviving the years between 2020-2021, aren’t we all wondering the same thing? There’s no way we’re all living in the same reality pre-2020.

February 2022 has been good to ya girl. I was able to see “Tick, Tick …Boom!” on the big screen for Valentine’s Day, I was graciously invited to speak for the first time on a Spider-Man related podcast (more on this below), I traveled to New York (a post on this later), I was interviewed about the challenges of being a Black entertainment journalist (more on this below), my job allowed me to do online coverage for the NAACP Image and SAG Awards, and the “Tick, Tick…Boom” blooper milkshake reel, and to end the month… I was honored with a completely unexpected invitation to the 5th Annual Hollywood Critics Association Awards (a post on this later). All of this to say that it’s left me with deep exhaustion and immense gratitude of which I can never adequately express.

Being able to exist in this space is still something I don’t think I’ll ever be able to fully believe. It’s a belief that stems from my early childhood and the difficulties of the environment that I grew up in and something that I go into at length in Anissa Durham’s wonderful piece about female journalists of color who struggle for access. There was a large period of self-doubt (not that this is completely erased) where even when I successfully got internships at TheWrap and The Hollywood Reporter and PBS, I just didn’t believe I belonged. And it took me a long time to find my way back to being comfortable to write and believe in myself, that my words do matter. So, experiencing these things will never be lost on me, and it means more to me than words can ever express.

Another particular highlight is the podcast guys over at Into the Spider-Cast who allowed me to drone on about my love for Peter Parker, “Spider-Man: No Way Home“, and my favorite comic book Spider-Man: Blue. This was my first ever invitation to be on someone’s official podcast and to talk about one of my fictional heroes no less, how lucky am I? If you haven’t had a chance to read Spider-Man: Blue, I highly recommend it. It’s a great Peter Parker story that centers around his relationship and eternal love of Gwen Stacy, and how he continues to reconcile with his grief long after she is gone. If the Marvel powers that be are considering picking up Andrew Garfield’s final feature-length film as Spider-Man, this would be a great comic arc to adapt from on the basis of that “I stopped pulling my punches” line alone.

So, that’s what I’ve been up to. And believe it or not… this is the brief version. Perhaps I should consider hiring an editor? Ha! If you’ve made it this far, just know I am thankful to you, and everyone who has given me a chance to exist in their presence. Onward and upward. New content is on the way soon…

xo DJ