It’s officially Halloween season, which is always the best time of year. It's a gorgeous reminder that we survived the months leading up to September and all of the life that hit us in the chin. We mark it by revisiting our favorite horror movies and trying to taste all the autumnal-flavored treats. Personally, I have reunited with my TARDIS cardigan and have it wrapped tightly around me as I write this. Like a final girl who has escaped her would-be killer(s) and is finally starting to think she can stop looking over her shoulder in panic mode. Sadly, like final girls who find themselves the subject of a franchise, I might have let my guard down too soon. Halloween season in 2026 is like any other relentless killer coming to snatch us by the ponytail and yeet us through a glass door.
Is that dramatic? Yes. Is it an accurate depiction of what the first few days of September have felt like? Oh, hell yes. Most people in my circles are trying to keep from actively drowning in work, finances, life, etc. They’re holding onto the glimmers of light in these seemingly never-ending dark times. After all, anyone’s good news feels like a small win right now for EVERYONE. On the wider scale, things are still so bad that you have to make peace with the fact that it has to end soon somehow. All of the food has been recalled, we still have Satan in office, and the economy and job market are possibly the only things doing worse than I am. I assume I ate something deadly (because everything is lethal now) and have been…not good. I did get to taste a pumpkin spice eggnog before becoming the body horror I never wanted to see in the world, though. In 2026, it’s a kindness to let us taste the good stuff before stomping the shit out of us, though.
I’m not sure if I find it comforting that this too shall pass. Things keep passing, but shit keeps getting more annoying and even scarier. What I do appreciate is knowing that I’m not done being the problem yet. I’ve been sicker and still eaten people who tried me for breakfast. Unsurprisingly, this is another testimony that spite will always see me through. I think realizing anger is a powerful source of energy is what changed my trajectory as a kid. Sure, I want to be everywhere that I'm not wanted to take up space. That’s why I have so many podcasts and have been known to keep a bag packed in case an opportunity presents itself. However, what really gets me out of bed each morning is my haters. I need them to know that I’m thriving (on some level) and that they are the only people who could never do any of the things I do.
I’ve gone on record many times telling people if a Midwestern bumpkin like me can do [insert whichever thing I’m talking about at the moment], then anyone can. That’s very true, and I sincerely believe that. Unless it’s one of the people who have tried me, because their jealousy is rooted in their knowledge that they don’t have what it takes. They want to fight with me because they don't want to look in the mirror at the person they're actually mad at. Most of them are even more unemployed than I am, and their podcasts/articles/content are as dry as my edges.
I didn’t become an award-winning angry person by not reflecting on why so many people believe they hate me. I think (for the most part) they’re upset that I don’t give up and become complacent like them. I would rather quit doing a thing than settle for mediocrity. To be completely fair as a Black woman, being mediocre was never an option for me in any of my careers. I never had that privilege to explore if it is something I could live with.
I initially sat out to write one of the things I owe people, but I got derailed as usual. That’s okay though because I don’t celebrate everything spite has done for me enough. I damn sure don’t acknowledge the fools who keep that spite battery filled as if they were born to salt my tines. Mostly because my gratitude posts/statuses get long (probably because of that annoying Cancer moon). But behind everything I accomplish and/or am proud of, at least one fool tried me. Proving them wrong is how I find people who believe in me, and I owe those ghouls for leading me to so many friends I adore too. Without enemies, I might still be in Kansas City, MO, living my most miserable life. The power of spite compels me, and I'm excited to see where it takes me next.
An angelic picture of Poppy (who is the most spiteful cat I know).