You can Still LOVE your MAN and Be MANLY DAWG

Something for the brothers today. But I'm certain the women out there can relate, too.

So men, who are your homies? Your guys? The ones who you  know will never creep with your girl and have your back if anybody from around the way get outta line? Your dawg who would slap somebody up for you or sit their asses next to you in a cold, dirty jail cell? Those types of friends don't come around too often. But when they do, hold on because they could change your life. Sometimes for the worse. Sometimes for the best.

Listen, I know the high levels of testosterone and the big Beyonce' egos make it hard to show your homies love in a certain type of way. And of course there are certain gestures that you and your dawgs won't display in public... yall give each other daps instead of hugs. But you guys have a mutual love and understanding that only yall need to understand. But understand this, you can still love your man and be manly dawg.

Truth of the matter is, I never understood some guys' friendships with one another. I mean, I know it's not cool to refer to your dawg as your "besty" or "BFF" but I never quite understood the dynamic of the dawg to dawg relationships. But I do know this: When two guys or a group of homies get together, there is some type of crazy, loud, chaotic, beer drinking, cursing barbershop type shit that goes on. Underneath all the discussion about women, baby mommas, sports, cars and whatever else yall discuss, lies an unbreakable bond. Most bonds that started in third grade classrooms, kush cloud sessions, house parties or shit, jail cells.  And I love it.

I love to see the absence of egotistical bull shit and see just pure love among male friends. There is nothing gay or lame about that yall. Regardless of what the media dictates, love among brothers (blood or not) is still love. As long as the friendship between you and your guys are genuine, and you both respect one another's manhood, I love it.

And women, well sometimes we get pissed off due to the fact that he chooses his dawgs over us. But see the bond is hard to explain. And most men won't give it most explanation because...well, hell, men hate to explain shit.

It needs no explanation.

Love,
Vee

VISION of LOVE

Yesterday this blog made 1 year old. Wow. I can't believe how fast time goes and how much I've been able to accomplish with From Vee to You. And it all started as a vision.

I literally, like Myriah Carey in the 90s (back when she made good music) had a vision of love for this blog. I was scared that most people would think I was lame, corny and just plain wack as hell for launching a love  blog. But I said to myself, just do it. I knew the world needed my words. I knew I needed my words. And that is exactly how dreams start. With a vision. A thought. A daring moment to do something a lil bit crazy...but with good purpose.

Last night I stayed up reading my blog posts. Some made me cry, laugh and some made me cringe when I thought about how much of my damn business I had shared with the public. Damn. I shared a lot. But I promised that I would. My own honesty blew my mind. However, the vision would not have been the same if I had not stayed true to what I was set out to do.

But like most visions, I needed people to make me help it happen. I knew that just launching my written work wasn't gonna cut it. It's like every producer out here making beats. Your beats are nothing without a lyricist. And my words are nothing without a reader. So thank you. Seriously. THANK YOU.

I always said when I was younger (especially after hearing Tupac say it) I don't need fame. But I did always have a vision to use my purpose to strike some kind of change. And even though the world is still jacked up and I haven't gotten my hope for world peace, I do think I've encouraged some people to look inside themselves and redefine LOVE...

So with my vision this time last year, I continue to push the same vision. This year, a little more wiser, a little more smarter and I plan to go a lil bit harder. Again, thank you. From the top of my heart, down to the bottom. This vision is nothing without you.

Love,
Vee

Ladies if you LOVE your MAN, Show Him You're the FLYEST

Ladies...how many of us know how to get a man? Better question: How many of us know how to keep one? So in today's world, where any woman or any man can take our man, we gotta know how to keep him. Understand too, that the jewel between your legs isn't enough to keep him. I wanna discuss that internal fly that keeps your man heart... and not just hard.

So over the years of womanhood, I have realized that most real mean are turned on to a woman at her most natural state. Ladies, many of our men are disturbed when your entire face ends up on their white tee. And men, sometimes we want to keep you so bad, that we misconstrude how you determine our sexy. To be fly for your man is to be you. That's the shit.

But do understand there are times to show out for your man and be fly in a way that reminds him why he's still around. Being that lady in public and his sexual weakness in private is what a real man loves. Show him you are the flyest by exclusively being his, catering to his needs and respectfully demanding he caters to yours. Deal with his sports, his homies and bad ass habits. Understand that keeping your man and being fly for him is all about being ok with you and having standards that are the reflection of a Queen. And a King will recognize that. If you embrace your flaws, more than likely he will do the same.

Being fly for your man goes beyond just nails done, hair done, everything did. It's class, your attractiveness; internally and externally. That is nothing like he has ever experienced before because you are his force to be reckoned with. Being fly is respectfully catering to his needs and being G enough to verbalize yours.

Ladies...if you love your man, show him you are the flyest...understand, however, that your flyness is in you. And if he genuinely wants you, he doesn't have to search too far to find it. And gentlemen, if you love your lady, recognize her flyness...

Love,
Vee

I Don't Wanna Be LOVED, I Don't Wanna Be LOVED...I Just Want A QUICKIE

Let's talk about sex...shall we? More specifically, let's discuss casual sex in today's world. Let's discuss hittin and quittin, fuck buddies and bust downs. Excuse my French and I can't say that I'm in France. However, I am in a world where bodies, hearts and souls are handled without care. I'm in a world where we openly admit to sharing our men with other women and in a world where SEX no longer equals LOVE.

Youngsters, log off of From Vee to You. This is adult content only.

Ok, so as adults we won't always mess around with strings attached. And I'm not pointing fingers because I've had my share of stringless situations...and we'll just call them situations. Sometimes, we just want the private parts and that partner to stay private. We want the booty, not the drama. The draws, not the laws.

We want casual sex and for her not to call the next day. Shit, don't even text the next day. We want to be able to call him when our baby daddy act up, put the baby to sleep and "do us." And when it's all said and done, we want to just have the memories and feelings of what that moment brought. And have the ability and freedom to press rewind or repeat at our own leisure. Because after all, it's just sex. It's just pussy. It's just dick. Just a lil head. Right?

Hell naw! Wrong! And we can convince ourselves this if it helps us sleep at night. We can convince our homies and our bffs that casual sex trumps monogamous love anyday. But deep down, outside the bed and unwrapped from the sheets, we all want love from this shit. And a lot of us engage in casual sex relationships, QUICKIES, and straight up hoe activities based on lack of self love.

We've all been there. Don't front. You may have gotten hit from the back and all you've seen after was his back. You do wanna be loved. That's what sex is all about. Or at least it should be. These music videos, song lyrics and famous personas are just entertainment. At the end of the day, those fools want that down ass woman too...not the chick he hits while in tour in her city. At the end of the day, she wants a man to provide and love...beyond the bedroom. And love her deeper than any orgasm.

So look, without a judgmental tone but more of an inspiring one, let's learn what sex really means. The feeling of sex and is not the foundation of sex. The love is. Love you and demand that your body is loved.

Love,
Vee

BROWN Skin, You know I LOVE your BROWN Skin

I'm falling in love with with a white man. And not to say that his skin matters to me...not to say that it doesn't.

And now that I have your attention and put you one step into my business...let's take this a step further. 

The world looks and feels so much different than it did back when racism seemed really alive. But if you ask me, not much has changed. Because when me and my man walk down the street, I wonder what the crazy stares from other people are about. And I get all wrapped up in him and forget all about our skin. But the world won't let us forget...

So because folks are not usually staging boycotts and black folks proudly seat up front on the CTA, don't be fooled. Racism is still underneath the surface of many live souls. Many people can't see it because they are ignorant to what it is. And many people don't believe it because our President is black. And many don't mind because black people are not enslaved, or at least that's what society wants us to feel. But as long as we continue to separate our love for one another based off of where we come from, we will never freely love.

Racism is not just in our history books. And most of those are outdated and full of lies anyway. Racism is right in our faces. But so many people ignore it, so many people confuse it. And unfortunately, some blacks are racist against one another. I don't want to be penalized by rap music because my skin is brown and I'm not a red bone. But I am.

Brown skin...how many of us love our brown skin? How many of us can see past what the world wants us to be and embrace who we are, where we're from? My ancestors fought hard for me to love this skin of mine. And for them, I love who I am. And I want you to do the same.

Racism is ignorance of love. See because love has no color, no skin tone. Love beyond what you see...


Love,
Vee

I LOVE you SO. But Why I LOVE you, I'LL NEVER know

I don't focus too much on haters. Got too much positivity to live for...however; that doesn't mean I'm unaware of the haters. In fact, they're hating asses keep me loving. Ironic, isn't it?

We don't know why. And we can't explain it. But we love our haters...yes, we need our so-called haters to ignite the fuel that burns inside of us; the fuel that keeps us moving. Keeps us hustling. The same fuel that wakes us up and keeps us up. And we know that any hater, of any kind, from anywhere, can either piss us off or pump us up. And here's my top 5 reasons to why we LOVE our HATERS:

5. MOTIVATION: Think about it, whose better to get you motivated than somebody who hates and proclaims that you can't do it? Use their negativity against them by staying motivated and actually doing it.

4. CONVERSATION: We love to be talked about. Good or bad, human nature has taught us to consume attention and this is exactly what a hater does. And the way I look at it, hatin on Vee or not, I'm on your mind! Talk about an easy way to gain street credibility.

3. INTIMIDATION: We won't all admit it, but we like the thought of someone being intimidated by us. And as much as they get on our nerves, we love this about our haters. It does something for our ego.

2. WISDOM: From our haters we learn how to maneuver other personalities and situations. As much as they try to catch us slipping, we regain wisdom for other mishaps caused by haters. Thanks haters!

1. COMPETITION:  We love to compete. We love to be number 1. And our haters make us strive to win...and we should have a goal to win. Remember though, your goals are about you...not your haters. Use their negativity to fuel your fire but convert it into positivity to achieve your goals.

And you will win. You can win. But not if you spend your every moment concerned about your haters and their next move. I get so concerned about my loves out there who constantly claim that everybody is hatin on them...this may just be a figment of some people's imagination. The more attention you give the haters, the easier it is for them to hate. Let them be concerned about your next move. And when they think they know, give them something unexpected. Trust me, they'll hate on that, too.

Stop hatin'...

Love,
Vee

LOVE is a GUN

Man, I'm with Kanye on this one. Killing some wack shit. And excuse my language, but it's truth.

Folks don't fight no more huh? Man I remember memories of Cooley High fights where dudes in tight ass leather jackets and old school hats fought; and be it wrong or right, nobody ended up dead...well, most of the times.

Not anymore. Seems to be that our generations are quick to shoot. Shoot first, ask questions never. Too many of us swear that human souls are bullet proof. And love is a gun.

And guns are these punks fists out here. They killing babies, grandparents...themselves. Pretty soon, there's not going to be  anymore generations to prepare for and raise. They are all due to parish by bullets in the next decade or less. At mass amounts.

Killers most of the times pull that trigger because they're confused. And angry. And mislead. And because of stingy budgets for after school programs. Neighbors who'd rather watch than call the damn police. Haters who can't channel their own insecurities so they take a life to validate their own. Young, lazy ass daddies and momma's too busy "doing them" and not protecting their children. Crooked police....The list goes on. And on. And on.

I blame all of us. Even me.

What are we going to do? We're like the machines and the guns took the form of human life in our streets. They speak for our pain and misunderstandings. And the madness is everywhere. People laying each other down with no respect of life and the life that our Lord gave us. His only begotten son out her getting sprayed by 16s and 38s. How that make you feel? Because it hurts me. Like hell.

So who has a solution? Because I spend my nights thinking about a movement where I can help keep my baby alive out here in these streets. And your babies, too.

So initially, the sole purpose of From Vee to You, was to spread love...my way. Here's my part...I've always been better with words on paper. And of course it's not enough. But it's my start. Because my fear is rising for our babies out here yall. And they're not safe to even go outside and embody their innocence. Hell, neither are we. We have killing with no remorse, depicting a life my ancestors lived hundreds of years ago. And gun shots travel with harsh winds and end lives on petty dealings and mistakes where the bullet wasn't even intended for the young man whose momma won't sleep tonight. And I don't want to be that momma. I don't want it to be my momma. Or yours.

Be serious about what you can do to take your hood back. Because it sickens my stomach to turn on the news and hear about it. I get tired of logging on to Facebook and Twitter "RIPs"... And in Chi City alone, our summer has taken so many souls. I call it trigger happy season.

Wonder what the next season will bring...and just thinking about the possibilities hurt the depths of me. Because as you're reading this, gunfire is ending somebody's future.

Love,
Vee

Marty Mart LOVES the KIDS

They're our tomorrow. And today, that's my biggest fear.

Besides this writing thing, I've always had a heart for children. Even as a child, I was the "momma" of the crew. I've always noticed how they'd flock to me. And as much as I'd front like it drove me crazy, internally, it made me feel good. I knew, like my passion for words, it was a gift from God. One that I had to use.

But it's something about young people today that's not so innocent. And hidden inside of their premature souls are tales of growing up way too fast. Learning the hardships of life, when life should be carefree. Dealing with parental issues while their parents are still battling the lines of adulthood.

And most kids these days miss out on just being a kid. Whatever happened to just going outside as a kid with no worries of losing your life before the street lights came on? No worries of someone taking advantage of your innocence. And no one challenging your youth. I hear so many grown folks whine that if they could do life all over, they would. But Vee, well, I beg to differ. In today's times, I wouldn't want to be a kid again. Hell, it's just as hard as being a damn adult these days.

Most kids I teach and mentor are so angry. And the adults in their world call it bad attitude problems. Or flip ass mouths and disrespectful behavior. But do we, society, have any idea where all this anger comes from? Do we know why so many of our young people are bullies to their peers and why so many of them have hatred that we can't seem to explain?

Well here's why: they're hurting and damn near nobody listens! They're alone and damn near nobody's there.  Instead we blame them, we cuss them, we label them, medicate them, we whoop their asses and turn away. Not many people utilize the patience that is needed to nurture the pain that these kids can't quite articulate themselves. Pain that turns into attention seeking and anger issues. Pain that leads most of them in juvenile detention centers, street gangs and in bed with each other to create more unwanted beings with blurry visions of life and love.

So sick of seeing so many young, frustrated mommas whoop their kids in public for crying or asking for something. News flash: kids cry and ask for shit!! The pains of young parents tryna make dollars out of dimes has become the pains of kids wanting a way out. But let's remember, that kid didn't ask to be brought into a world of chaos. So their peace should be well deserved.
Our kids need us. And not just the ones in your family or on your block. These babies are all of our responsibility. They need our guidance and we can't guide them if we're lost ourselves. They're our future leaders. Our world.

So before I start sounding like an old school MJ record, allow me to make my final point. The love of tomorrow solely depends on our kids. So let's try harder to understand them. Nurture them. Love them.

Love,
Vee

LOVE the way you LIE

Telling lies, for some, are just like breathing. The shit is natural. But lies can sometimes be bullets to the soul...the soul of the liar and the soul of the person receiving the lie.

Truth is, there is not truth in it at all. One lie can simply lead to another, which needs another just to make sense. It becomes complicated to keep up. And hell, by the time you're done telling the lies, you've forgotten the truth... as you live a lie... that you can't live down.

And we all do it. There are no saints that can deny the use of lies. They've gotten us jobs, saved our marriages and sometimes helped us save face. And we could sometimes live in a river of lies that flow from our mouths to a stream of temporary satisfaction, but with permanent pain. We convince ourselves to believe what we know to be untrue...

Because like they can save our jobs, they can be the cause of losing them. And while lying could be the saving grace to a rocky marriage, lying could also serve your ass with divorce papers. So when is it right and when is it wrong? Well, it's one of those battles we fight and lose since lying is one of those wrongs that can be conveniently right. And like most wrongs, the act consumes us.

The truth. Trust yourself enough to risk telling it. Love yourself enough to embrace it.

Love,
Vee

We LOVED HIM, cuz In HIM, We Saw Some of US...

...From the mouth of Jay-Z to the heart of billions...our generations are living a vicious cycle...

And I'm scared. I'm scared that the streets are going to take my only brother, maybe my daddy...perhaps my future husband or my future son. And leave their memories blowing in bad winds that I don't even want to brush my damn skin. I worry that we, society I mean, have validated and allowed a lot of the same systems that keep the male mentality down, and we glorify this shit, re-live this shit and leave it for upcoming generations to mimic. It's sick.

And I speak solely about the man because they are indeed the functional aspect of society that shall rule: at least according to the God that I serve. And they are the part of life that has given me life. I am the rib of man. And because of this, the cycle begins with them. They should be head of their homes so that families can positively build, thrive and survive. And of course behind him, on her throne...a woman that mirrors his image.

However society has showed that our generations are doomed for failure. Partly because we don't know better. And this is because generations before them has not done their part. Not Cool.

Examples: Statistics say that it is pretty damn likely that if a man's daddy spent most of his kds' childhood life behind bars, so will his son. And if a man grow's up with a drug ridden daddy...how likely is it that that same kid is going to Harvard...or even community college? And it's very likely that if a man never steps up to the plate for his son and teach him manhood...he'll struggle looking for what real manhood is. Perhaps he'll find it in the streets...the same place his missing daddy found it.

And NO, I'm not saying odds cannot be beaten...I beat them bastards on a daily. But what I am saying is that we are regenerating these same lives in our children, because we're too irresponsible for change. And sometimes we notice how our lives are now the lives of the impressionable minds around us. And we look into the lives of our sons...hell our daughters too...and we're looking at our own choices; good or bad.

And we love them...cuz in them...we see some of us. But the cycle continues, until our dying days.

Love,
Vee