Amber Shephard
Bio
I am a freelance writer living in Baltimore. I am passionate about black women's lives, education, culture, & politics.
Stories (2/0)
Taking Up Space After The Pandemic.
I’ve always dreamed of seeing the world. Growing up I couldn’t wait to explore all the places I had learned about in Geography class. I remember the excitement of learning about faraway magical places with beautiful architecture and history. I dreamed of fully immersing myself into a culture; making friends with locals and learning their stories. I dreamed of sitting in cafes drinking coffee (coffee always felt grown to me). I would write stories and read books. I would be a woman who travelled. I couldn’t wait for the feeling of being overwhelmed by the beauty that the world had to offer. That moment when you see something you never thought you would see. The amazement and the wonder; having your breath taken away. I can remember cutting out pictures from magazines and posting them on my bedroom walls; Istanbul, Paris, Madrid, Nairobi, Fez; so many places; so many worlds. I would see this all before 21 of course. It was a big world and I had an even bigger imagination.
By Amber Shephard4 years ago in Motivation
I am because she was.
There's a photo of my great-grandmother; she is standing with her sister and sister in law with the biggest smile on her face. It is my favorite photo of her. She is in her twenties with her two best friends, my Aunt Nunnie her sister, and my Aunt Willa Mae, who would eventually become her sister in law. I love this photo because it is rare. It is unique because I am seeing her before she was a wife; before she was a mother, a grandmother, and great-grandmother. I'm seeing her as just Mary, a woman in her twenties dreaming of something more. I had seen this photo many times before. It had a place in all of the homes she lived in until her death. But it wasn't until after she died that I understood the depth of this photo. I realized that I only knew one part of her life and story. That I only knew her for a brief period of her life. But that short period profoundly impacts my life.
By Amber Shephard4 years ago in Families