swim good

Journal entry exert | 06.06.2023

"in everything you do, put God first and He will crow your efforts with success." 

- Proverbs 3:6 (Living Bible Translation)

Made a wave and rode it until I crashed and burned, but like a Phoenix that rises from the ashes, I have a new found determination to achieve my goals "for the good of all, harm to none, and by any means necessary" (Shoutout to Napolean Hill and Malcolm X, great teachers of the truth). I will be successful (period.) I am no longer 2nd guessing myself or doubting what I'm capable of. I'm also not going to continue] keeping God at bay, thinking I can exclude the MOST HIGH from my plans, because doing it on my own is a scam if nothing else...

I've missed blogging the way I imagine someone who just lost a vital limb would. The same way my novel in progress misses me and probably wishing I'd get back to its development. The same way I miss swimming. The same way I miss...my dream job, but I'm not quite ready to dive into THat Part just yet. So much of me is missing to the point where I feel incomplete and there's no gratitude for the potentially necessary break, only grief that my strong arm is no longer a part of my daily routine. And I don't mean to sound insensitive to individuals who are - quite literally - missing body parts. Only a metaphor to emphasize my point: it's been a while since I've written a word outside of my journal and quick blurbs on social media, due to my life spiraling out of control so forgive me if my writing is a little rusty and all over the place. 

Speaking of life, I guess I can start with a life update. The best way I can put it...life has been...LIFE-ing...to the extreme of the term that "the collective" so eloquently uses to define life when life has been kicking our asses. The events that have transpired over the past few months have been chaotic. Bizarre. Frustrating. At times confusing. When all I do is chill and mind my business! Or at least that's my intention. However, when I do my best to reach as high as I can for the positive that seems so out of reach, I can at least say I'M STILL HERE, rising like a Phoenix from the ashes...alive, breathing, and quite frankly, thriving. With that energy, I figured getting back to the things I love, things that help me breathe/exhale - including writing, blogging, being creative, and expressing myself - was long overdue. 

On a brighter note, a few things are in motion that I'm hella excited about, one being the "soft launch" of my ath-leisure and swimwear brand, Seventh (7) Infinity (8) Athletics. It's been a work in progress for quite some time, but the biggest thing holding me back from launching sooner was fear. Now that's it's out there, I'm not even sure what I was so scared of in the first place, like so many other things I procrastinate on out of fear...but I digress. I'll also be re-launching #TheSkyBoxSuite [online publication + brand dedicated to Sports, Music | Style | Culture | Entrepreneurship] at some point this summer and I'm beyond hype for that as well. "Oh how I've missed you, my love..."

Relaunching #TheSkyBoxSuite this summer… 🏀🏈⚾️ (purrr) pic.twitter.com/3uhWoyEAWt

— summertime chy. 👩🏽‍💻🫶🏽🧜🏽‍♀️ (@ChymereA) May 3, 2023

The product that I'm most proud of is the exclusive Bad Gyal, Soft Life cropped tee, because the message behind it is a genuine reflection of the journey I've been on for the past year or so and it was designed especially for the girls who get it. It embodies the yin and yang effect when both feminine and masculine energy within all of us as humans - but especially in women - are working together in perfect harmony. Around September of last year, I wrote a blog post explaining this concept, from my perspective at least, in case you're reading this and wondering what it means to be a bad gyal living a soft life. It's essentially a message for the girls who are on a hu$tle wave, the ones who are chasing their dreams to attract a bag, but also maintain the duality of living a soft life when the time calls for it. There's also the Stay Pretty Stay Focused merch that promotes the same message. More items will be added to the collection as time shifts closer to the official launch day in July.

Shop The Gorgeous Citizen Collection Online | new customers can use promo code: SOFTLAUNCH78 for 20% off orders of $30 or more!!

In a society where women are told they can only be one or the other (masculine or feminine, never both) this whole brand is my way of celebrating duality and empowering women who do - or who have a strong desire to do/achieve/go after - it all. 

When I initially birthed the idea for a complete ath-leisure brand, which was some time during the pandemic, as a retired NCAA Athlete and proud swim coach, only naturally, I wanted to include a swimsuit line. Since it's a little late in the game for swimwear shipment and Seventh Infinity is something like a flagship store for everything I have my hands in - style wise - at the moment, there's a nice little sneak preview on the site as well, now available for online ordering. Driven by my love for swimming as a sport and inspired by the one and only Gabi Fresh, it's my intention to have a full collection out by Summer '24 (my Kobe year) hits. Hopefully by that time, I'll be living out my wildest dreams in Los Angeles, the city that -if you know me or have been following me for a while you know - has my heart. 

Shop the Summer '23 Collection Online | new customers can use promo code: SOFTLAUNCH78 for 20% off orders of $30 or more!!

As I was curating the playlist for the official launch day of 7th Infinity Athletics <scheduled for 07.08.2023>, a song that super nostalgic that I hadn't heard in ages came to mind: swim good by Frank Ocean, hence the title of this post. When I tell y'all I used to love this song...the whole album...I had to put it at the top of my list, because just like my ambitions mean a lot to me, even in the midst of me running away from my purpose...(whew...did you catch that?) this song holds the same weight. When that EP came out, I swear I was this tenacious girl who had the audacity to believe she could never lose, and 11 years later, and with tomorrow being exactly a month before my *cough, cough, sneeze* birthday, I find myself needing THAT GIRL now more than ever. 2011...what an ERA. Like I explained to "the girls" on my HU$TLE-nomics 101 post outlining How to BO$$ Up, which - ironically - was the last time I blogged, it's time for me to BOSS tf UP (fr this time).

"...I'm about to drive in the ocean

I'ma try to swim from somethin' bigger than me

Kick off my shoes

And swim good, and swim good..."

Whatever ever happened to Frank Ocean anyway? Probably somewhere off the grid, getting his life in order in private. FELT.

stay tuned. 

Chymere A. ♡