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Annetta Jackson
A Day at Sanchi

My first detailed post from my trip to India is reserved for my favourite outing… a visit to Sanchi, a World Heritage Site. The only other Heritage sites I had been to are ones in London and our very own Nelson’s Dockyard in Antigua.

A Day at Sanchi
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Annetta Jackson
The City of Lakes

Bhopal is a beautiful city with amazing scenery and is said to be one of India’s greenest cities. Bhopal is also home to 10 lakes and is aptly tagged as “The City of Lakes”. In this post, I’ll recap with words and images my picture perfect day trip to Bhopal’s Upper Lake.

The City of Lakes
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Annetta Jackson
Two Weeks in India

Back in 2022, I secured an amazing Scholarship opportunity from the Indian Government to spend two weeks in the country learning about Women Empowerment, Policy and Vocational Training. I had the most amazing time and met amazing women who I still keep in touch with to this day. This post is an introduction, obviously, but over a series of post I will be unpacking how I spent my life changing two weeks in India

Two Weeks in India
Food For Thought
Annetta Jackson
How Long Has It Been?

How Long Has It Been? Too Long! The last time I published anything on this blog was three years ago and in that time so much about me has changed. I feel as though I’ve let this Cotton Tree grow unwatered. I suppose I should take this as an opportunity to reacquaint myself with this space and reintroduce myself. It truly has been awhile.

How Long Has It Been?
Food For Thought
Annetta Jackson
Unpacking: Patriarchy & Toxicity in ...

A lot of toxic behaviours in relationships are deeply rooted in patriarchal thinking. The sense of entitlement men develop in these relationships as well as the desire to take more than necessary from men acting on the “instinct” to provide. Patriarchy has tipped the advantaged far into the male corner certainly but women also use the patriarchy and have developed “trash” tendencies because of it. Men and women are both toxic and “trash” and this has led to a very unhealthy relationship dynamic.

Unpacking: Patriarchy & Toxicity in Relationships

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The Creamy Crack Rehab

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This year, I found a feed on Instagram that helped me through my natural hair journey called "The Creamy Crack Rehab". Whenever i felt slightly tempted by the luster and sheen of a perm, that feed had multitudes of photos of men and women who embraced their natural hair. The name of the feed was perfect, and it did rehabilitate me from the temptation of the perm.

It provided a better appreciation for natural hair textures and some motivation for how i wish my hair to be in the future. Not only does the gallery focus on hair textures, the curator posts lovely illustrations of everyday issues faced by persons with natural hair. It's highly comforting to come to this space and see that many others faced those same twist out fails and comb breaking days that you have. It also lets you know that if these people have those rough days and haven't given up, that you should still push through.

Once again, when I'm interested in something or someone of interest, i always feel prompted to post it to my blog. I decided to get first had information instead of just my own perspectives and the curator of the wonderful gallery, Beulah Davina, kindly agreed to give me some insight into her inspiration for her masterpiece.

Here We Go:

My name is Beulah Davina and I am 22 years old. My favourite things are music, hair, photography, books and anything that involves acting or performance (theatre, films etc.) I currently live in the UK and I have a degree in Religious Studies and Theology.

I started The Creamy Crack Rehab in September 2012 because I decided to go natural but had no idea how to look after my hair. I used the Internet to research natural hair care and then I shared what I learnt on the Tumblr page. I also used the page to upload and reblog images of men and women with natural hair styles as I realised up until then that a majority of photos I had seen were of people with straight hair. I've always thought representation is important and I knew that people with natural hair weren't being represented or celebrated as much as people with straight hair so I just wanted a platform that naturals could go to to see relatable and inspirational images of women with kinky, curly and coily hair.

I started creating my cartoon illustrations almost accidentally. One evening during the Christmas holidays, I was extremely bored watching YouTube vlogs and doodling with a pen and paper. I remembered my friend had Bantu knots the week before and when she undid them she started walking around like she was Beyonce lol. I drew an extremely basic picture of a girl with Bantu knots and an image of her with curls with the caption: Naturals Be Like: I woke up like this #Flawless| When they really woke up like this.

I decided to upload the cartoon on The Creamy Crack Rehab's Instagram and Tumblr page because I thought my followers deserved a laugh, but honestly, I was worried that some people would be offended. When I uploaded it, I got a crazy amount of love and followers and so I kept creating more and more. Most of my cartoons are inspired by personal experiences or experiences that my natural friends have had.

I'm no artist, I just love to express some of my thoughts with simple illustrations. I draw my cartoons because I enjoy making people laugh and I like it when people can relate to each other. Whenever I upload a cartoon, my aim is to get at least one comment or message from somebody saying, 'this is me lol' or 'this is so true'. I think the natural hair community is amazing and I love to point out the things that make us all similar no matter how different our curl patterns or hair textures are.

Website: TheCreamyCrackRehab

Instagram: TheCreamyCrackRehab

 

Insta Feature: Nichole Burton-Fleming

If you are like me and enjoy looking up creative and interesting people on instagram, then you are going to love what i'm introducing. I've decided to feature some of my favorite instagrammers here on my blog and show my readers why i decided to follow them in the first place... maybe you'll even want to follow them too. My very first 'Insta feature' as i've so cleverly called it, is on one of my all time favorite instagrammers... Miss Nichole Burton-Fleming who goes by @niiiiiiichole on instagram.

Nichole is very keen on making one of a kind, hand-made, artistic creations. She is an amazing artist and is frequently admonished by her followers to create an Etsy account to benefit from her work. She's really crafty and can do alot with paint and paper. Not only is she a good artist, but she's an excellent photographer as well. She has an eye for detail and captures lovely shots. She is truly a master at her craft and uses her instagram as a medium to showcase Antigua's natural beauty as well as the wonders of the earth.

Her feed is a really wonderful one which matches her wonderful personality. I've met her in person once and her sunny personality and wonderful smile just made my afternoon. I really admire her and her work as well as her beach goer life. It's really cool seeing things from her perspective and it truly allows you to find beauty in the little things around.

 

all Photos courtesy of @Niiiiiiichole on Instagram

OJO AGI

The internet is a very interesting place. You are exposed to a world of possibility and creativity and you are made aware of so many different things. It was through the glorious mechanism that is the internet that I came across the talented OJO AGI. She is an amazing artist who creates afro centric portraits and shows the beauty of every day women. She declares her self the creator of feminist pieces and takes quite a deal of time to ensure that her pieces are nothing less than perfection. Her pieces are inspirational and i enjoy her creative output.