Leslie F*cking Jones

by Leslie Jones

from my one of my cousins,

We have created so many systems for people not to make it in life—especially Black people. It’s as if some Republicans don’t want people to be successful. They need certain people to be poor, to be disenfranchised. They’re banning books? You’re not banning porn! And you’ll trust teachers with guns but not with books? You say you want to protect kids, while making them have children they don’t want or can’t look after?

The problem is, in the past thirty or so years we’ve just stopped paying attention. As a people we’ve become lazy, so involved in our lives that we don’t care about anything else; we’re just functioning, waiting to die. All those old white muthafuckas have noticed our complacency, believe: “They don’t care,” they seem to say, “so we’ll take away voting anyway—they won’t even notice.”

life is life. It’s not supposed to be easy all the time, and it’s never as easy as we want it to be. But live through your trauma, stop running from yourself—you are your best friend.

someone hurt your best friend?

You will get the biggest reward: happiness, even in a storm. Grant yourself some grace because life can be short, but it can be long as fuck,...

you make it back to your bed safely. You hope you get good sleep, and you hope you wa...

you are not better than the craft—it will go on after you are dead; you have to pay your dues; you have to learn from those who’ve gone before and who have experience. But most of all, work to be you. Find out where you really fit. Open yourself up to all new things—you never know where they lead. Yes, you might be afraid, but do it anyway.