🌻 Rooted Souls in a Rootless World

Reflections & Growth | Simply Flava

I’ve been paying attention lately — to how people move, speak, and try to connect in this fast, loud world.

Everybody’s chasing something — a career, freedom, peace, a new start — but very few are grounded in where they came from.

I watch it every day.

People running from their families, from their pasts, from the lessons that shaped them — and half the time, they don’t even realize it.  Some are escaping confusion, control, or pain.  Others are just trying to breathe in a world that never gave them permission to be who they are.

Me?  I came from something different.

I was raised inside structure — two powerful cultures that shaped my backbone and my softness all at once.

The Japanese Way

In a Japanese home, you don’t talk about family business outside the house.

You honor your parents, you carry yourself with quiet pride, and you understand that respect is both spoken and shown.  There’s discipline in that.  There’s peace in it, too — a kind of dignity that keeps you from spilling your chaos everywhere.

It taught me the art of composure — how to hold my tongue when silence says more, how to move gracefully even when life feels messy.

The Black Community Way

Then there’s the community that raised me — the Black neighborhood where 75% of the homes went to church.

There were rules, there was laughter, there was music and Sunday mornings full of pressed clothes and gospel sounds.

You respected your elders, you said yes ma’am and no sir, and if you acted up, any adult on that block had the right to check you.

That’s where I learned accountability, strength, and faith.

That’s where I learned that family isn’t just blood — it’s community, shared meals, and prayers that stretch across generations.

Understanding the Disconnection

Now, I look around and see people who didn’t grow up that way.

They talk about everything — their pain, their parents, their trauma — to anyone who’ll listen.

They overshare because they were never taught how to process.

They lash out because they never learned emotional language.

They don’t mean harm; they’re just unanchored.

We’re all wired differently — in how we learn, love, and communicate.

But when you’ve been raised on respect, structure, and quiet strength, this new world can feel like standing still in a room full of static.

Finding My Place

I’ve learned that my job isn’t to fix or judge anybody — just to understand.

Some people read numbers, others read emotions.

Some crave order, others crave freedom.

Everyone’s doing the best they can with the wiring they were given.

But I also know this: roots matter.

They hold you steady when the world spins fast.

They keep you from losing yourself when everyone else is unraveling.

Closer Thought

“I was raised on respect — taught to listen before I speak, to carry my family’s name with grace, and to keep my peace sacred.

In a world that’s forgotten its roots, I’m grateful to still know mine.” 🌻

Simply Flava | Reflections & Growth