Back in October, I saw Tomi Adeyemi post on Instagram that she was going on a book tour when Children of Virtue and Vengeance came out in December, and she was coming to Philly!! I’m not about that driving-into-the-city life, so I got extra excited when I saw that she’d be in Germantown, a neighborhood of Philly that’s closer to a suburb than a downtown city and isn’t as annoying to drive in.
The event was this past Wednesday and I had SUCH a good time! Tomi is freaking incredible, and I can’t wait to get through the next book in this series. On my drive home I realized the event was kind of a milestone that showed just how much I’ve grown over the last couple years, so here’s my thoughts on my personal growth as well as the event itself.
GROWTH
- I took the day off from work to go to something fun for myself, not just because I was sick. I can definitely be a homebody, but I’ve been making it a point to get out of the house and go to events that really interest me at least once a month. It helps me feel more fulfilled and get out of that rut of go to work, come home, work, home
- I drove into the city at night AND in the rain! Germantown isn’t as bad as Center City, but there’s still a bunch of one-ways and parallel parking and that makes me nervous sometimes, especially when I’ve never been to the place before. I’ve legit cancelled plans before because I felt so anxious driving or trying to park somewhere (don’t judge me) but I’m getting better!
- Going to an event by myself- this is a big one! I was the girl who cried in her room when her friends bailed on going to the mall together back in middle/high school. I didn’t want to be seen as a loser or feel weird walking around by myself. Maybe that’s just a middle school thing, but that thought process stuck with me for WAY too long! I’ve been working on going more places alone and the more I do it, the more I realize just how much I love not having to wait on other people and I get to do exactly what I want, when I want (#introvertlife)
- Going to a book event. If you read one of my older posts, you know I stopped reading for fun when I was younger (thanks mean kids). I remember going to the midnight releases of Harry Potter books and they were so fun! Once I stopped reading, there was no way I’d go to a book event and have the chance that someone would call me a nerd again. The fact that I’ve moved past that, gotten back to my love of reading, and actually went to a book event is HUGE growth for me! Thanks to my real friends I made in college, I started reading for fun again and not being ashamed of this hobby.
- I allowed myself to take up space! I’m not talking about a rude way, just a way that shows I deserve to be here and get what I want too. The organizers said only one book would be personalized no matter how many you brought up. When I got to the front I put my mom’s book down first because if I couldn’t get both our names, at least she’d get hers. Then something told me to just ask if I could get mine personalized too. So I did, and it worked! Tomi personalized both of our books and it made me so freaking happy that I asked (the old me wouldn’t have asked and then gone home thinking ‘What If’ the whole night)
EVENT
The event itself was so much fun! Tomi is just as cool in person as she is on Instagram (go follow her if you’re not already!) and it’s inspiring AF to see how much success she’s earned at such a young age- she’s 26!
A smart as hell black girl who graduated from Harvard and hit the New York Times Bestsellers List with her debut novel is the DEFINITION of Black Girl Magic!✨ I wish I saw someone like her out there killing it when I was younger; maybe I wouldn’t have been so quick to hide my own talents when someone didn’t like them and teased me for them. I relate to Tomi so much, and I’m so glad she’s out here representing for smart black girls.
During the talk, she brought up Harry Potter like 4 times, which of course made me so happy 😂 She talked about the hate that a bunch of people had when the Cursed Child play featured a black woman as Hermione, and how detrimental that is to young black kids reading the story. “We can have trolls and wizards and a snake man with no nose, but we can’t have a Black witch?!” – FACTS. She said she never pictured herself in that world while reading the books growing up, and it made me realize I did the same thing. I thought Hermione was great and so cool to be a really smart girl, and I related with that, but I still never thought of myself in that role. Tomi’s stories feature black characters as the main characters and not just sidekicks, and we need more of this! The upcoming generation of kids will see more characters that look like them than most of us had, and I’m all the way here for it.
Whether you’re in school or at work, you get put in a room with a bunch of people who may or may not have the same interests as you. They may even talk bad about the things you love because they don’t like them. The way to not let this bring you down is to FIND YOUR PEOPLE and make it a priority to spend more time with them. Going to Tomi’s book event surrounded me with my kind of people, and I’m so glad I went. I even stepped out of my comfort zone and actually talked to the people around me!
Take some time to look back at how you’ve grown, and celebrate yourself for it! Looking at the progress you’ve made can help you feel better about yourself and continue pushing forward. Your story matters, so keep telling it! 💜
