I have 6 best friends. Add me to make “The 7”. Seven best friends that have all known each other since at least high school. Some longer, some, MUCH longer. But collectively, we have been a unit since the early 1990s. I know having such a large group of women as best friends may seem immature and childish, but that is exactly the point. It is with this group of women I am my craziest, most confident, silliest self. Nothing I do surprises them, and I have been involved in some mess. I can always count on them to have my back, and if one person is unavailable, there are 5 others I can choose from. We are inseparable. The sanctity of our friendships has far surpassed clique-ish and teeter-totters somewhere between “clan-ish” and “cult-ish”. We make monthly appointments to spend time together so that we can nurture the friendship as a whole, although there is always a small cluster of friends together at any time. We have been together through births, deaths, exes, marriages, first homes, job loss, loss of homes, evictions, foreclosures, repossessions, college graduations, job promotions, court cases, infidelities, etc. If it exists, we have weathered it. And quite gracefully, I might add.
Last week, we took a girls’ getaway to Miami. And per usual, we were our wildest, most uninhibited selves. Of course, I can not disclose the specifics of our shenanigans, but here are some pics from the trip. Yes, these are the only ones I can share…without being arrested.
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| Teriyana – the self-appointed “CEO” of the Seven. She is obnoxious about the Seven being and remaining friends. She planned this girls’ getaway, and tried to act as our tour guide. Annoying, at times, but that is why we love her! |
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| Cheeks, the one that holds us down. She balances us when we go too far, which is usually all the time. Our voice of reason. |
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| Tameelah, our workout queen (doesn’t it show?), who is known for her passion for all things African, and for devouring both food and books with the same voracity. She is the life of the 7 party. Out of control…smdh |
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| Don, perhaps the most giving person you will ever meet. But at the same time, the one person you would be a fool to cross. She has been there for me in thick and thin, and she binds the entire group together. |
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| Lenny, the quiet, silent one. Beautiful, both inside and out, she has very little to say and could basically care less what you do. Every friend group needs a Lenny, right? |
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| Jamila. I think the picture says it all. My fellow Sag sister, she is loud, outspoken, intelligent, passionate, and will beat your face in seconds. I have never seen a closet as extensive and trendy as hers and her fashion sense is impeccable. Always on the cutting edge, she shows us what others will be wearing in a few months. She has never met an accessory she didn’t like, and she doesn’t mind wearing it all at once. |
