Photo by Volkan Olmez on Unsplash
There’s this T-shirt I keep seeing everywhere, classic black Tee with a few simple words on the front and a rose in the middle: “Good Enough.” Maybe it’s just because I’m twenty years old and it’s that awkward time when everyone’s doing something different, but I’ve been wondering about that phrase.
How do you define what “good enough” looks like?
That T-shirt comes from former Vine sensation turned YouTuber Nathan Zed and he wanted to make a shirt that people could put on as a reminder: whatever they’re doing and whoever they are in that moment, if it feels good, then it’s good enough.
He has this quote in his You’re Not Good Enough video, saying “I just hate feeling like the most unqualified person in the room.”
I don’t think anyone likes that feeling. But when someone wants to get good at something, they’re going to have to learn the ropes and let themselves feel unqualified at first. If I wanted to be better at piano, I would need to learn how to read sheet music, play easy songs and slowly raise the bar.
Because that’s the thing— in this case I set the bar.
It doesn’t always feel like that.
Take college for example; people can judge you off the school you get into, whether or not you leave home, the major you apply for, and what you want to do for the rest ofyour life. If you’re liberal arts at an engineering school, you’re not good enough. If you stay home for school and go to a CC (and save copious amounts of money among other benefits), you’re not good enough.
I want to know who makes these rules, but I guess the answer is that technically, we do. We should change them.
I’m at the age where some people are getting married or starting families while others are working or going to college and travelling the world. Everyone is at a different place and it’s hard to say that what you’re doing feels like enough when everyone else seems like they’re doing more.
On social media people post things like “just got back from Cancun!” or “made the Dean’s List again lol.” You see all the good things or accomplishments because of course people 
are going to publicize things when they’re going well, not even for other recognition, but just to acknowledge themselves. There’s nothing wrong with that.
There is something wrong with us believing that because someone is smiling or things look like they’re going well, everything is as fantastic as it looks and we just don’t have what it takes to get there.
Now for those of you who are doing great, know you’re doing great, and feel secure in that, fantastic! Good for you, keep doing your thing.
For those of you who aren’t or don’t quite feel that way, remember that it’s okay because I know I struggle with feeling like I’m doing enough or being enough both for myself and the people I love. This is a reminder to start from where you are and do what you can to get yourself to where you want to be.
I know it sounds like I’m preaching self-love here… Because I am. Before you please anyone else, you have to figure out what you want for yourself and make that happen. No one else can. Once you’re happy with that, be okay with it and wherever you end up next.
Photo by Justin Luebke on Unsplash
You are good enough only if you can accept where you’re at and do what it takes to get to where you want to be. So here’s to a weekend that just might be good enough for you, good luck and happy Friday everyone.
PS. If you’re looking into those shirts I talked about, check them out here because I think the concept is a pretty wholesome one.
Black History Month Week 4 and today I want to tell to you about something that isn’t quite our history yet— here are some of the people who are in the process of 
Let’s start with the artists, here is one guy to know the name of: Tsoku Maela. Raised in Cape Town, this young photographer focuses on the idea of mental health and normalizing the stigma of it, especially for black people. Earning the spotlight with his series of Abstract peaces (take a look 
Now for your activists, let’s take a look into the life of Martese Johnson; if you think you’ve heard that name before, you probably have. That’s because he was one of too many caught on video being thrown to the ground in a police misconduct situation back in 2015— he didn’t quite fit the stereotype of a black kid in handcuffs though. As a student on the black alliance board at University of Virginia and an accompanist to Bernie Sanders at several rallies in the 
Growing up in times like these, it only makes sense to talk about the business masterminds: 
Last, but never the least, let’s talk about someone we all should know by now: us. We are the people who may not always feel that we’re making a difference, yet somehow, one little thing can become everything. Take someone like 
to remember that this celebration goes beyond 28 days. It is a culture. One that we need to pay attention to. Because this world truly is changing and the people who are changing it come from an immense amount of cultures and backgrounds. Soon enough, some of these people will be making new history and I am excited to be a part of it. 