Ijeoma Oluo: Behind the Book

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Hey y'all! Happy New Year

ijeomaoluo.substack.com

Hey y'all! Happy New Year

Ijeoma Oluo
Jan 2, 2023
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Share this post

Hey y'all! Happy New Year

ijeomaoluo.substack.com

I ended 2020 2022 - ugh - with a storm that knocked out our internet for a week, so I wasn't able to write shit.

It's finally working again today but I still don't want to write anything....so let's blame it on the outage too!

Happy New Year y'all. I really hope 2023 is gonna be a good one.

I've learned a lot of really important lessons this year but one that really helped a lot was one I knew on one level and needed to learn on another, deeper level:

I've written before that I don't really believe in forgiveness, and I still don't. But I had to really learn this year that when you are angry at someone you are still in relationship with them. And sometimes you cling to that anger, not so much as a measurement of harm, but out of fear of who you will be outside of a relationship that asked so much of you that you forgot all that you really are.

Also this: who you are able to share joy with says a lot more about love than who you are willing to suffer for.

I've been lucky to learn these lessons again and again this year through the boundaries I've needed to set and fight for, and the beautiful love that showed me how much joy I really have to share.

I love you all and I hope that whatever lessons you may have to learn this year, you're able to learn them through love and joy

.

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Hey y'all! Happy New Year

ijeomaoluo.substack.com
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Ijeoma Oluo
Jan 2Author

GODDAMNIT IT'S 2023

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Sarah Kmon
Writes Growing Hearths
Jan 2

"who you are able to share joy with says a lot more about love than who you are willing to suffer for."

I'll be chewing on this for a while.

Happy New Year.

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