*Alexa, play Solange - "Mad".
From Atatiana Jefferson to Botham Jean, it seems like news headlines seem to get more and more unbelievable and at this point, sis is tired. Sis is me. I am sis.
As a Black woman living in modern America, the truth can be hard to swallow. Luckily, hip hop artist-turned comedian Amanda Seales is here to shell it out in small doses.
Famously known as the woman who got Becky with the Bad Attitude all the way together during one of her comedy shows in January, Amanda isn't new to being a multi-hyphenate force of nature, she's true to it. The Inglewood-born mogul-in-the-making initially made her debut on network television in 1994, and two decades and an HBO special later, she's here to let the industry know that she's just getting started.
On Tuesday, the 38-year-old Insecure actress released her first book Small Doses: Potent Truths for Everyday Use, a compilation of illustrations, photos, and essays that offers self-help from a "hip" perspective and promises to help you find your truth and laugh your ass off at the same damn time.
In honor of Amanda's latest drop, here are 5 potent truths from the starlet that are sure to give you your weekly dose of realness:
You Won't Be Everyone's Cup Of Tea & That's OK
Some people are just dedicated to misunderstanding you. It just is, and for a number of reasons that may not have anything to do with what you're saying.
A Clapback Isn’t Always Necessary
In a previous interview with The Breakfast Club, Amanda revealed the reason why she decided to take a short hiatus from social media to focus on her mental health.
"I took a social media break because I realized I had not adjusted how I was interacting with social media, even though my social media had shifted. I went from having 40,000 followers in like June of 2017 to almost a million by March. I was still operating the same way, trying to interact with everybody, clapping back. And I'm like this is not healthy."
According to Amanda, despite her consistent quest for justice in the media world, she ultimately realized that not every comment deserves a response, a note that we should all take when it comes to both our personal and professional lives.
"That's when I shifted and I decided I need to be more about calling people in, instead of calling people out. I need to be more conscious about how I speak about things and trying to be more positive. And that's just my life in general."
You Are The Table, Sis
"The more that I learned about myself and what I bring to the table, it made it clearer for me to chart what courses I should be going. I talk a lot about your worth versus your market value and that dichotomy is so important for a lot of us coming up in business because it saves you a lot of stress."
"For a long time, I didn't have a balance in terms of my worth and my market value; I was just a very talented person who hadn't done any work that truly demonstrated my talent. I had to make a conscious decision to change the type of work that I'm doing...I needed to change the type of spaces that I'm speaking in. It's not as much about strategy than if something feels right."
Self-Doubt Is Part Of The Journey
Last year, xoNecole caught up with Amanda at the ESSENCE Black Women In Hollywood Awards, where she shared the truth about making it out on top in a saturated industry; for Amanda, the key was having stamina in the midst of self-doubt.
"This game is so much about stamina. It's not just about talent. A lot of us got talent, it's definitely not about being cute. We are all cute. The game-changer is who can last, through the trials, tribulations, the self-doubt, the fails. The misdirects, you think you are going in this direction and it's like 'uh ha! Got you b-tch.' That's really where you find out who has it."
Truth Hurts, But It's Necessary.
"You may not like how I'm saying something, but you know what the f*ck I'm saying. I don't speak no sh*t unless I know. Free speech doesn't mean freedom to talk out your ass without being checked. And I don't talk out my ass. I know what I'm talking about it. I didn't shade you. The facts shaded you."
Featured image by Instagram/@AmandaSeales.