2020, Seriously?! This shit hurts. She was 39. She would have turned 40 on October 21st, 2 days before my birthday. She should be here.
While restructuring the blog, I've been brainstorming ideas of new segments, toying with the idea of podcasting, and a few other things. I was supposed to introduce "Winning Women Wednesday" a few weeks ago, but after recent events and my last article pleading for people to stop killing us, it seemed a little tone-deaf.
Today, we got the news that JasFly passed away and I screamed when the post popped up on my IG feed. Jas was going to be the first woman highlighted in this new Wednesday segment. JasFly, Demetria L. Lucas, and Kid Fury were the voices of my life in the early 2000s. Many browsed news sites, I went to their respective pages to see what was going on in the world. They are the reasons I ever thought I could write/blog in the first place. In preparation for this post, I revisited Jas' Tumblr page to reread her stories as she kind of disappeared from Instagram over the past year.
Jas' writing always resonated with me because she was real. Jas cursed. She had a slick mouth, which was evident in her writing. Jas was outspoken, she held her own, often in a room full of men. She had a way as a storyteller, where she always related to the subject of her writing personally. Jas let you in as much as she wanted to IF she wanted, but she also purposely omitted the details she didn't want you to know if she was writing about her life. Jas was on a consistent journey, and she made us feel like we were a part of that journey. I felt like I was on her weight-loss journey with her, I vividly envisioned her home when she wrote about her childhood experiences being raised by her Grandparents, I felt pain when she detailed how she dealt with her Grandmother's death and paid close attention when she explained her process for overcoming writer's block. I loved that she wrote birthday posts, documenting what she learned/experienced the previous year of her life.
Jas was a force. Jas let her audience in. Jas wrote about her life. Jas wrote because she needed to, not because others needed it. Jas is an inspiration to many, myself included. Jas worked hard. More recently, Jas wrote for NBC's "This Is Us", and Showtimes' "Kidding" with Jim Carrey. I'm deeply saddened by this news. She will be missed. I send my prayers and condolences to her family and friends. I pray she is resting peacefully in her grandmother's arms.
T.Nicole