I subscribed to Chelugodu recently, and this would be the first time I'm officially getting your newsletter. I read it a few hours ago, and I've been thinking of how I was going to respond. Not trying to be tongue-in-cheek, but I'm really sorry for all the cruelty you've ever known; only you can have the most accurate context of what you have gone through. From this article, I can also sense that you are an artist that hasn't fully expressed herself yet. Sometimes I tell my friends that it's one of the many curses of being an artist: the hypersensitivity, the shock when the most outrageous things become normalized. We know it's not ideal, and it haunts us why it's not and why it can't be better. It is a heavy burden. But I'll say that in the long run, the art always saves the artist. Whatever your medium is, please express it to the fullest form. You don't even have to make it public until you're comfortable. In some ways, I am speaking to myself too. I really hope it all works out for you. In a world full of cruelty, I hope you can allow a random reader on your Substack to believe in you, Nne. I am rooting for you (The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron is a great place to start if you haven't read it yet).
"artistic mastery is a function of divinely graced talent, rather than just technique and hard work." - This assumption is so true.
I still like to give grace to people that they might not know better. Plus there is a social capital to paying for AI art and sharing it publicly that is hard not to feed into. We like our digital validations.
Just the way curiosity made you try it out, so did it for many others.
I remain incensed by Senator Natasha's experience. But I am also inspired by how it continues to play out because at least now no one can pretend or deny that how we treat sexual harassment, assault and even the complicity of others is not cultural and social.
It is holding a mirror to how boldy and consistently people behave and treat women when they share such experiences especially in Nigeria.
I think we have people who care. Maybe not as brave as you've been in sharing it publicly.
And you're not naive, there are people who care and have integrity and acknowledge power imbalances.
We just have conditional empathy tbh.
Unto once bitten, twice shy. So that care is only shared in our bubbles.
Plus even some people with siblings and close family also get scarred tbh.
And the fact that you've gotten diagnosed means you're taking the right steps towards earning that tax the world owes you. Continue to lean on the professional support you can access.
Remain stubborn and keep painting your internal landscape for it might be marred now but it remains unfinished. I am actually excited for how cooler and brighter your final version could become.
Every single line of this! Being labelled a false accuser, even by my boyfriend at the time. Even how painful it is to see Ghibli used like that knowing Miyazaki hates AI and even right-wing people were using his style when his movies are very leftist
I subscribed to Chelugodu recently, and this would be the first time I'm officially getting your newsletter. I read it a few hours ago, and I've been thinking of how I was going to respond. Not trying to be tongue-in-cheek, but I'm really sorry for all the cruelty you've ever known; only you can have the most accurate context of what you have gone through. From this article, I can also sense that you are an artist that hasn't fully expressed herself yet. Sometimes I tell my friends that it's one of the many curses of being an artist: the hypersensitivity, the shock when the most outrageous things become normalized. We know it's not ideal, and it haunts us why it's not and why it can't be better. It is a heavy burden. But I'll say that in the long run, the art always saves the artist. Whatever your medium is, please express it to the fullest form. You don't even have to make it public until you're comfortable. In some ways, I am speaking to myself too. I really hope it all works out for you. In a world full of cruelty, I hope you can allow a random reader on your Substack to believe in you, Nne. I am rooting for you (The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron is a great place to start if you haven't read it yet).
"artistic mastery is a function of divinely graced talent, rather than just technique and hard work." - This assumption is so true.
I still like to give grace to people that they might not know better. Plus there is a social capital to paying for AI art and sharing it publicly that is hard not to feed into. We like our digital validations.
Just the way curiosity made you try it out, so did it for many others.
I remain incensed by Senator Natasha's experience. But I am also inspired by how it continues to play out because at least now no one can pretend or deny that how we treat sexual harassment, assault and even the complicity of others is not cultural and social.
It is holding a mirror to how boldy and consistently people behave and treat women when they share such experiences especially in Nigeria.
I think we have people who care. Maybe not as brave as you've been in sharing it publicly.
And you're not naive, there are people who care and have integrity and acknowledge power imbalances.
We just have conditional empathy tbh.
Unto once bitten, twice shy. So that care is only shared in our bubbles.
Plus even some people with siblings and close family also get scarred tbh.
And the fact that you've gotten diagnosed means you're taking the right steps towards earning that tax the world owes you. Continue to lean on the professional support you can access.
Remain stubborn and keep painting your internal landscape for it might be marred now but it remains unfinished. I am actually excited for how cooler and brighter your final version could become.
The people who care have learned not to reveal that they do because they end up being scapegoated.
Integrity and empathy are rare commodities in Nigeria I’m afraid.
So relatable. Basically echoing my last Substack entry
Every single line of this! Being labelled a false accuser, even by my boyfriend at the time. Even how painful it is to see Ghibli used like that knowing Miyazaki hates AI and even right-wing people were using his style when his movies are very leftist
I’m sorry that happened to you.
Not being believed is such a painful experience.