Oh hey! You came back to hang with me.
This blog is a bit more personal. I find myself thinking aloud sometimes, so I figured—why not start a blog? Honestly, it’s kind of genius.
So, I guess this post is about why I actually wanted to start blogging and how I got into journalism. Let’s take it wayyyyyyy back. Haha.
I’m originally from Paterson, NJ, and I grew up with a bunch of nicknames: “Lucy,” “Mama,” “Mookie”—it was never just Yahjanae. Which was fine with me, honestly, because I hated my name. No one could pronounce it. In grade school, I was bullied because during roll call, the teacher (or substitute) would always butcher it. It wasn’t my fault, but I still had to deal with it. Eventually, I moved on.
I became Nae. Simple to spell, easy to pronounce, and honestly, it made me happy. (It’s even how I came up with this site name!)
Anyway—school was something I was always good at. I was a great reader and an even better writer. Writing became my outlet. It’s how I expressed myself, how I made sense of my emotions—even my anger. And trust me, I had a lot of that, especially from a young age.
Being African-American is hard enough—being a female African-American adds another layer. I was bullied for my size (I had “baby fat”), and even for having a big personality. So, I wrote everything down. Somewhere deep down, I knew that one day I’d be someone. Maybe even a writer?
Fast forward to college—because COVID made high school kind of a blur. (If you know, you know.)
College was the beginning of me finding my joy and passion. I had never been 100% sure what I wanted to do with my life. I come from a long line of nurses and healthcare workers, but I knew that wasn’t my path. Don’t get me wrong—I love helping others. But those long years and even longer hours? Not for me.
I ended up going to college in Massachusetts—a little ways from Boston. I committed to Western New England University with so much excitement in May 2021. I knew I wanted to study journalism, but I also wanted something broader. So I chose Communications: Media/Journalism.
Do I still have your attention?
To be continued… tomorrow 🙂