CULTURES OF ART, POETRY & STORIES

Rising Above: The Giraffe, the Shaken Tree, and the Rocket | Handling Haters & Growth By Nelly Vee There’s a moment on The Oprah Winfrey Show where T. D. Jakes delivers a message that doesn’t just inspire… it demands alignment. He talks about a giraffe and a turtle. Same space. Different vision. The turtle stays low, focused on what’s directly in front of it. The giraffe moves from elevation, seeing further and accessing more. That difference in perspective doesn’t just shape opportunity. It shapes reaction. Because when you rise, when you start building something meaningful, visible, and intentional, you don’t just attract opportunity. You attract attention. And attention brings everything with it. Support, curiosity, and resistance. When Growth Shakes the Tree Growth has a way of shaking your tree. When you elevate and move with purpose, your environment gets tested. People get tested. Alignment gets tested. And just like a tree being shaken, not ev...

By Nelly Vee There’s a quiet tension shaping modern relationships, and it usually shows up the moment communication gets uncomfortable. At the beginning, everything flows. Conversations are easy. Attention is consistent. Both people feel seen without having to ask for it. But that phase, as beautiful as it is, isn’t the measure of a relationship. The real test begins when friction enters the room. And that’s where patterns start to reveal themselves. In many younger relationships today, communication is often avoided the moment it feels heavy. Difficult conversations get labeled as “drama” or “too much.” Instead of leaning in, one person pulls back. Instead of working through it, they create distance, go quiet, or disappear altogether. Not always out of disrespect, but often from a lack of tools. Confrontation feels like conflict, and conflict feels like something to escape. So they run. Not always physically, but emotionally. They disengage. They deflect. They delay....