A few weeks ago, I had the blessing of joining the amazing artist community of Soulciety on a school visit to the kids of the Aeta Tribe, where I was there to represent LitWorld’s work. What an incredible experience to see a different side of the Philippines, work with these students on a writing workshop, see the energy that the Soulciety artists bring, and bring a feeding program to the youth. My heart was swelling with gratitude that day.

One of the most memorable moments of the day was watching all the young women being in awe of Jazz’s long, cascading dreadlocks. They looked up to Jazz as a role model, a beautiful person they could admire. When they saw that their hair was like hers, that their complexion was like hers, they saw a reflection of their own beauty through her image. As you can see in one of the photos, Jazz taught the girls how to do their own hair, so they can fall in love with their own beautiful locks too.

Thank you Soulciety, for the inspiration you bring, and for letting me come along. You are doing so much to uplift young people in so many ways. I am grateful for you!