So someone stole my bicycle off my porch. I felt violated, I felt angry, and I felt ready to shoot. I rode up and down Pompano looking for the culprit. If you got a purple Huffy, just know the Lord handles my battles better than I can. In all honesty, it’s better that I ain’t find him, because I would have been trying to bond out and wouldn’t have been able to bring this issue of Villij to you. Listen, I was ready to risk it all over the principle, and there is no telling where my emotions would have taken me. It reminded me of so much other trauma, so many other times I’ve been violated, and I’ve been stolen from. Looking back, I can’t believe how mad I was over a bike, when I’ve had lives stolen from me… I’ve had freedom stolen from me… I’ve had love stolen from me. As black people, our emotions are everywhere. Just one thing may make us snap.
My daughter asked me the other day, what is the worst thing in the world. To me, it’s the fact that everyone dies. While it’s the only truth that we have, it hurts the most. Especially if there was love lost. If we are born in this world, we will leave it. But why does parting bring such sorrow? Maybe my faith isn’t strong enough. Maybe my belief in heaven isn’t where it needs to be. The thought of death and meeting my maker should bring me peace, but not yet. These thoughts and more moved me to make some changes in Villij. We’ve added the One Minute Preacher section to inject some much needed spirituality in this publication. It’s for the people, and my people need scripture for hope and perseverance through our tough times.
As I write, I’m mourning for those who were gunned down at Tops grocery store in Buffalo, NY and the loss of 14 little kids at an elementary school in Texas. Yes, everyone dies but we have to admit there is a problem. There is a real problem when 18-year-old’s hyped up on YouTube manifestos and haterade can spray up any one they feel like. That’s not the only problem, we have climate change, we have pandemics (not just COVID-19, but high-blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, and more), we have jobs that don’t pay the bills, we have a lot to stress about, but as long as we have life, we have a lot to be thankful for. Keep that same energy as you go through your days this month. I’ve also made another change to Villij, we will now be coming out during the first week of the month instead of mid-monthly.
Enjoy,
Attiyya Atkins
Editor-In-Chief
