The Departure
So you wanna take it to freedom, huh?
Hop on the plane.
Slide on the train.
Whatever it takes get outta here and fly toward something better.
You’re not running.
You’re just not waiting anymore.
Not for permission. Not for clarity. Not for the right time.
You’re moving.
But before you go let me say this:
Unless you got money... real money, not that check-to-check camouflage.
Or a network so solid it can crack concrete.
Or family who can change your trajectory with one call…
Then you’re not flying to freedom.
You’re flying into another system.
Different country.
Different language.
Same cycle.
Because those whispers you’ve been hearing about France
those media projections, those Instagram reels, those sugar-coated brochures
they told you about:
Luxury.
Pastries.
Art.
Long lunches.
Midday wine.
Cobblestone streets with timeless beauty.
They showed you a painting.
But they never showed you the brush strokes.
Because what is France today?
What’s playing on the screen and what’s playing out in real life don’t always match.
And the people the citizens what are they really feeling?
What are they being fed?
What’s being prioritized?
Wellness… or capitalism?
Let’s be real with it:
We’re all up against it.
Whether it’s Ohio or Paris, it’s the same cycle wearing different clothes.
Where do we fit?
Where do we grow?
How do we break the loop?
Because if this world’s gonna keep handing out the same puzzle pieces,
then we’re gonna have to flip the table and make our own game.
My team told me it was you, France.
I knew then we were gonna speak differently this time.
So we packed.
We planned.
And now we’re here.
And I don’t care what they’re saying in those fancy offices.
I don’t care what’s trending this week.
If you’re done suffering under outdated systems and ready to set a new standard…
You’re exactly where you need to be.
Welcome.
1. Burnout & Work-Life Pressure
Let’s not play games.
This whole concept of “work-life pressure”?
It’s designed tension.
Pressure built into the foundation of a system that never meant to hold you.
Let me ask you something.
If someone paid you to sing, dance, paint, build, film, fix, lead
something that lit you up from the inside
wouldn’t you do that over clocking in for somebody else?
Of course you would.
But that’s not the problem.
The problem is that even when we know what we’d rather do,
we still gotta eat.
We still gotta pay.
We still gotta survive.
And surviving takes math.
Real, everyday math.
How much comes in.
How much goes out.
What’s left to flip.
What’s left to build.
And that math?
It don’t lie.
It shows you what your year’s gonna look like.
And it tells you something most systems won’t:
The job isn’t enough.
Not for the rent.
Not for the debt.
Not for the healing.
Not for the dream.
So we burn out.
We get up early.
We grind.
We sacrifice.
And when we’re too tired to finish our own goals?
We blame ourselves.
They say “work harder.”
They say “be grateful.”
They say “discipline.”
But they don’t talk about what happens when you give everything
and they still tell you it’s not enough.
That’s not pressure.
That’s suffocation.
You ever feel like they’re squeezing you?
Like juice from a fruit every drop until you’re dry?
Then they ask you to come back and do it again.
You know that feeling.
You didn’t miss it.
You didn’t imagine it.
It’s baked into the agreement.
Invisible line that says:
“Give us everything. And be quiet about it.”
And sure we sign up for it.
We apply. We accept. We clock in.
But what choice do most of us have?
We’re trying to live.
Unless you got capital.
Unless you got rare skills.
Unless you inherited position, property, privilege?
You’re running on a treadmill that won’t stop.
And it’s not just 9 to 5 jobs.
You can be burnt out doing gigs.
Burnt out from hustle.
Burnt out from trying.
Even burnt out from scrolling.
This system doesn’t care what kind of work it is.
It only cares how much of you it gets.
So don’t confuse “hard work” with “hard chains.”
Don’t confuse “discipline” with “disrespect.”
Even gym rats, million dollar actors, fighters they grind, yeah.
But it’s with purpose.
Not just survival.
Burnout ain’t always about effort.
Sometimes it’s about effort without ownership.
And that’s the worst kind.
Because when you burn out?
You don’t just lose energy.
You lose your edge.
Your inspiration.
Your time.
Your clarity.
And the worst part?
You still got work to do.
Work on you.
Work on your plan.
Work on your exit.
Work on your next level.
But your gas tank is on E.
Because nobody taught us how to refill.
They just taught us how to keep going.
We’re not machines.
We are creators.
Breathers.
Feelers.
Builders.
Innovators.
But if you don’t name your value,
they’ll treat you like inventory.
And when they’re done pulling from your shelf?
They’ll leave you out back unused, unhealed, unimportant.
That’s not a mistake.
That’s a design.
So let me say this real:
You might be working today.
You might be pushing hard.
You might be doing “everything right.”
But until you build something that feeds you,
burnout is gonna stay waiting at the door.
You could be a driver.
An artist.
A single parent.
A freelancer.
An immigrant.
A student.
This system don’t care what costume you wear.
All it sees is how much labor it can get for the lowest cost.
And you?
You gotta start seeing something different.
Because this isn’t just about exhaustion.
It’s about reclaiming what feeds you.
And if they won’t hand it to you?
Then you build it.
Or you burn it down and start again.
2. Mental Health Stigma & Emotional Suppression
Let me bring this all the way in.
When we talk about slavery
Yeah, that.
We’re talking about a people who would cross oceans…
Snatch life off its roots,
Throw bodies on boats,
Break up families,
Ship humans across waters like inventory.
Force them to work,
Erase their names,
Silence their spirits.
And then centuries later
Turn around and tell their descendants:
“Get over it.”
That’s not just injustice.
That’s emotional colonization.
They didn’t just take land.
They tried to take our right to feel.
So don’t be surprised when today’s version of the same voice says:
“You’re not tired. You’re just weak.”
“You’re not stressed. You’re just lazy.”
“You’re not traumatized. You’re dramatic.”
Same energy.
New vocabulary.
New mask.
But it’s the same disrespect.
Let’s be clear
There’s nothing noble about hiding your pain.
There’s nothing strong about swallowing your truth
so other people don’t feel uncomfortable.
There’s nothing powerful about letting a system
gaslight you out of your own humanity.
It is okay to not be okay.
It is okay to fall apart.
To rest.
To cry.
To scream.
To say no.
To back out.
To not be “on.”
To want something softer than survival.
Because this version of “freedom” they’re selling?
It ain’t free.
And it sure ain’t built for your full healing.
You know what suppression feels like?
It’s when you in your own damn car,
music up, finally feeling something,
and someone tells you:
“Turn that down.”
You paid for that car.
You chose that song.
That was your moment.
But to them?
It’s too much.
That’s what suppression sounds like in this world.
Everywhere you go
“Turn that down.”
“Turn that off.”
“Don’t say that here.”
“Don’t feel that loud.”
You could be in a restaurant,
tasting something foul on your plate,
and when you speak up?
They tell you:
“Shh, don’t embarrass us.”
Why?
Because your discomfort makes them uncomfortable.
Your truth breaks the illusion.
And illusions are what they live off.
But let me tell you something rooted:
You were not born to make everyone else comfortable.
You were not designed to carry other people’s peace
at the cost of your own presence.
Your feelings?
Are divine data.
Your body knows when it’s not okay.
Your spirit knows when something’s off.
Don’t silence that.
Don’t smother that.
This society?
It’ll teach you to run from yourself.
To mistrust your own heart.
To shame your own tears.
But your emotions aren’t enemies.
They’re maps.
And if you follow them long enough,
they’ll take you to your freedom.
It ain’t easy.
It ain’t quick.
But it’s real.
3. Social Division, Racism & Identity
Let’s talk about the setup.
Every system whether it’s a country, city, or street corner
has landlords.
Not just property owners.
Asset holders.
Power protectors.
Gatekeepers.
And then there’s you.
You show up.
Hungry for growth.
Ready to build.
Just wanting a shot.
But the people at the table?
They don’t always want more seats.
Because your presence challenges their comfort.
Your excellence exposes their stagnation.
They don’t just question your skills.
They question your existence.
They try to say:
“You don’t belong in this room.”
“You’re not part of this region.”
“You’re not one of us.”
And it’s not just shade.
It’s structural.
It’s coded into opportunity.
Into funding.
Into policy.
Into neighborhood borders.
Into looks exchanged at crosswalks.
Into who gets to feel safe and who gets watched like a threat.
But let me give it to you straight:
That’s not just resistance.
That’s fear.
Because what they call “intimidating”
is really illumination.
You’re not too much.
You just make them see what they refuse to face.
And that?
That’s power.
Racism ain’t about supremacy.
It’s about insecurity with privilege on top.
Because the truth is:
You think.
They think.
You bleed.
They bleed.
You dream.
They worry.
But when you rise?
They panic.
Because your glow says:
“You can’t erase me.”
Your presence says:
“I’m not asking to belong. I already do.”
Your moves say:
“Whether I’m allowed or not I’m here.”
And that’s what terrifies them.
So don’t get trapped in proving yourself.
Don’t fall into explaining your right to breathe.
You owe nobody that.
Social division is a distraction.
A performance built on ownership and image.
But beyond the noise?
You are not divided.
You are whole.
And every time you show up
in your fullness,
your color,
your brilliance,
your truth
you’re doing more than surviving.
You’re rewriting reality.
4. Disillusionment with the System & Political Instability
Let’s look at the system not the slogan.
You apply for a job, and they say:
“We’ve got benefits.”
“You can buy life insurance.”
“You can pay into a retirement plan.”
“You can invest in your own protection.”
But if you’re paying for it all…
Who’s protecting you?
You’re not receiving benefits.
You’re just spending money to stay eligible.
They hand you a system that looks like safety.
But it’s really a maze.
And every turn costs you.
You’re working.
You’re grinding.
You’re being a “good citizen.”
And the second something shakes?
They let you go.
No notice.
No therapy.
No grace.
Just, “We’re downsizing.”
Just, “Your role has been dissolved.”
See, behind the logos,
behind the flags,
behind the shiny campaigns and polished statements
there’s just people.
And when it comes down to it?
They’ll choose their circle over you every time.
That’s not hatred.
That’s self-preservation.
But in a system?
Where the people in power can build walls, codes, gates, borders?
It becomes a structure of exclusion.
So when I say I don’t vote,
don’t beg,
don’t kiss no flags…
It’s not because I’m wild.
It’s because I know that real freedom isn’t handed out on stage.
Real freedom doesn’t wait for a law to pass.
It moves like nature.
Nature don’t need permission to grow.
It don’t apologize when it takes up space.
It don’t check in before it blooms.
And that’s how we have to move.
Because these systems?
They spend money on war before wellness.
They debate about your worth while you’re out here making miracles with scraps.
If they really wanted to support the people
they would.
But the truth is:
This isn’t a support system.
It’s a profit system.
And if that bothers you?
It should.
Because you weren’t made to be a product.
You weren’t born to be squeezed, sold, or silenced.
You were born with rhythm in your blood and legacy in your lungs.
And when the system fails to recognize that?
You build your own.
You organize.
Not just protests.
Economics.
Blueprints.
Ownership.
That’s what we need now.
Because the old system?
It’s running on fumes.
It’s dragging its feet through outdated beliefs and inherited power.
But us?
We’re growing.
We’re innovating.
We’re creating businesses with purpose.
We’re raising kids with consciousness.
We’re planting roots with intention.
That’s how the shift starts.
And you don’t need to be perfect to take part.
You just need to be present.
You just need to care enough to create.
Final Word: This Is the Activation
To France.
To the broken ones.
To the brilliant ones.
To the ones who already packed but never had the words
This is the moment.
This is the message.
This is your activation.
Not because I said it.
But because you already felt it.
From this moment forward, the Resilient Arts Department site is fully available in French.
No more guessing.
No more side doors.
No more back seats.
Go to the language selector.
Switch to French.
Read this again in your native tongue.
Let it echo.
Because this right here?
This is not a blog.
This is a mirror.
A declaration.
A ticket.
To something freer than what they tried to hand you.
You’ve been holding it down long enough.
Now hold it up.
Your truth.
Your healing.
Your edge.
Your stillness.
Your clarity.
You are the new system.
And we see you.