Why I am detail oriented

Celebrating my blackness has never been confined to black history month. Naturally, I am who I am wherever I go and every minute of every day. The other great thing is that my blackness is NOT the only thing to celebrate. My ethnicity and gender are strong and loving parts of me despite the unnoticed attention from the larger society. This does not stop me from celebrating myself and the different parts of me.

This is a huge reason why respected colleagues and friends see me as detail oriented. I never really saw myself in this way. After a number of years of hearing this word from colleagues and friends, I asked myself why am I detail oriented. I did not fully embrace nor understand why until recently.

My lenses, these perspectives you are rooted in; I have learned how to call upon them intentionally. Like everyone else, I have so many lenses. There is the gender lens, my experience of identifying as a woman, the dismantling racism view, the Afro Latina view, the Latina view, the writer view, the poet view, the blogger view, the hip hop view, the New Yorker view, the community view, the wellness view, the introvert view, are you seeing the layers?

Pulling in my different lenses when I need to, enables me to ask questions others may not. It invites me to take a larger, inclusive view. This is why having a diverse team is so profitable, effective and relevant. Diverse teams on all levels, gender, race, region, religion, etc... Are cutting edge, unique, forward thinking and realistic problem solvers. You have to practice what you preach, right? Unfortunately, I have been excluded from decisions, invitations, and so on because of some of the lenses I possess, therefore, I make sure to practice diversity and inclusion where and when I am able.

Let me take this moment to thank all of my colleagues and friends for sharing this and other feedback with me. Everyone has views of themselves and it is great to get to know the view from a different vantage point. I now move proudly between the big-picture visionary that I know myself to be and the detailed oriented person driven by curiosity and small acts of kindness that brings groups all together. I have an even deeper appreciation for the smaller things in life. I have embraced the detail oriented side of me.

What lenses do you mostly view from? What lenses do you need to explore more? I learn new things about myself when I ask for feedback from others. Having embedded the Four Agreements (book by Don Miguel Ruiz) into my life, I know NOT to take things personally, and NOT to make assumptions, I have learned to do my best to listen whole-heartedly and to keep my word. My hip hop view allows me to create, be inventive and use all available resources. I think some of you know this about me already. This is why I can say I am detail oriented.