There is this saying, "When the student is ready the teacher will appear."  My first teacher appeared to me as a classmate named “Pierre “in Kearny Mesa High School in San Diego, California. He would always get onto me about eating pork (pepperoni pizza) and he would drop little nuggets of wisdom that I did not understand. So, I was not ready to expand my mind beyond what I had been taught.  Then came the golden age of Hip-Hop in the 1990's and I remember being greatly impacted by the conscious rap community. One song in particular was "Self Destruction" , I remember being in a trance like state listening to the lyrics because it touched my soul. I loved that these rap artists had banned together to help with stopping the violence in our communities. Hip-Hop prepared me for expanding my state of consciousness. From that point I attracted the teachings of  a master teacher (Dr. M.Z. York)  who would forever change the way I see myself.  I no longer saw myself as society taught me to see myself. I understood that the melanin in my skin was not a curse nor the kingly texture of my hair, but a blessing.  From there I would go on to encounter other master teachers that would help me discover that our essence is very spiritual one and our soul is who we really are.These events of my life have led me to conclude that I am a spiritual being having a very black experience.  I am having this experience as a black woman, but my essence is so much more. All of these things have shaped me into a confident woman who knows how to navigate this world. The same way I needed these things I know that others in my community need to be uplifted the same way. This is SoulSeed Apparel.