Most Incredible Studio: "So, Nadirah Simmons, who held you down?"
Nadirah Simmons: "how fitting that i would be writing this piece as i sit next to the queen of legos herself, my mother. she has a special chair at our family home that she sits in to do all of her crafts. from coloring books to custom flower bouquets to the occasional nap, that cow-print chair has seen it all. and lego sets are not exempt. in fact, if you walk around the crib you’ll find some sort of lego build in almost every room.
the funny thing is, i never connected how much my mom’s physical action with those legos mirrored how she’s moved through this world. each lego set, whether it is a flower, a scooter, a bamboo plant in a pot, or something even more grandiose-because those lego sets get wild, each one is worked on with patience, focus, and humor. some of the lego sets are laborious. some of them take a really long time to build.
some of them have really big pieces. for some of them, the pieces are really small. and yet they always get done. over the course of my life i’ve watched my mom be all of the things, a sister, an aunt, a cousin, a caretaker, a wife, a friend, and a mother. that last role in the one i know the best, and the one i’ve gotten an up close and personal view at for over three decades.
she built me up the same way she builds those lego sets. in that role, and i’m certain in all of these other ones, she’s applied patience, focus, and humor. but guess what’s better than that? i’ve watched her build up herself and create the life that she wants, on her own terms, and on her own time. that’s inspiring in a world that constantly tells Black women to shrink themselves or change who they are to fit a particular mold.
my mom is a reminder to build it up exactly how YOU want to and rest assured that whatever you build is exactly how it’s supposed to be. and that notion has always held me down.
you deserve to be who you want to be for yourself and for others, authentically. after all, you built this, brick by brick."