As I make my way through this sunny Sunday, my heart is full. If I’m being honest, that feeling didn’t come from everything being perfect.
Because right now…
- I’m at the heaviest weight I’ve ever been (outside of pregnancy);
- I don’t feel like I’m where I want to be in my career;
- I’m still doing the work of healing old childhood wounds;
- And some days, I question whether I’m truly showing up as my best self—as a mother, wife, cousin, sister, auntie and friend.
But even with all of that, I’m smiling anyway. Because I know who I am.
I am a storyteller.
A woman of purpose and faith.
A nurturer of my family.
Someone who still believes—deeply—in a better future. Not just for me, but for the people around me… and honestly, for all of humanity.
Maybe that’s why I can’t stop thinking about Artemis II—this idea that we as a society, amid political turmoil and war, are still reaching, still striving, still becoming something greater than what can been seen on this planet.
Yesterday reminded me just how powerful that widening one’s perspective and forging community connections can be.
To Me, Community Is the Real Glow-Up
Being out in the world, meeting people face-to-face, fuels me in a way like nothing else can.
Yesterday, at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum‘s annual children’s book festival in Baltimore where I was a featured author, I was surrounded by something we don’t talk about enough:
People choosing joy
People choosing presence.
People choosing community.
Families came out on one of the most beautiful Saturdays we’ve had in months, not to scroll their feeds, not to rush through the crowd, but to connect.
Parents dressed their children with care and pride. Little girls wore soft, beautiful Afro puffs tied with big pretty bows. Boys showed up with fresh cuts, clean sneakers and T-shirts that spoke their language: Anime, Manga, Wakanda.
Forever, in that space, something clicked for me:
This is what legacy looks like.
This is what intention looks like.
This is what it means to pour into the next generation.
As a featured author, I didn’t just feel seen and heard. I felt aligned.
That’s the kind of feeling and energy I’m committed to creating more of in my work, in our community and in every space my both professional and personal life touches.
You’re Invited Into This Space
Moments like this aren’t just mine. If we are truly in community together, then they are ours.
If you’ve been craving:
More meaningful connection
More purpose-driven work
More spaces where you feel seen and inspired, then…
I want you to come experience it with me.
I’ll be sharing more at upcoming events soon, including a Mother’s Day weekend author reading and whimsical tea party May 9 at Sumner Hall, a Black history museum on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. I truly hope to meet you there in person.
Because what we’re building here is bigger than content creation.
It’s community. It’s legacy. It’s a glow up.
With an open heart,
Markette “Sugar” Sheppard
Author of Grandma Dee’s Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
www.markettesheppard.com
P.S.—Subscribe to my new WhatsApp storytellers community. It’s free to join! And, another treat for you… a PREVIEW of my forthcoming book. You can pre-order it here.
