Karamo Brown is the culture expert on the Netflix reboot of Queer Eye (2018). He is a former social worker and psychotherapist who starred on MTV’s The Real World in 2004. He is the author of three books, Karamo: My Story of Embracing Purpose, Healing, and Hope; I Am Okay to Feel, and; I am Perfectly Designed. Karamo Brown is also the host of his own talk show, Karamo, which airs on NBCUniversal.
One of my Christmas gifts I received this year was the book that talked about the Netflix series Queer Eye. The title is Queer Eye: Love Yourself, Love Your Life. In it, the show’s Fab Five talk about themselves and provide tips on their line of expertise. For example, Tan talks about fashion while Bobby talks about design. I am in the middle of the book right now, picking up some pointers from culture expert Karamo Brown.
I became a fan of Queer Eye (2018) in September of this past year. Currently I am on season six with five episodes to go. There is a seventh season on the way and that premiere will be sometime soon, hopefully. The Fab Five, as they call themselves, are a tight knit group and their job is help their “hero” make a better life for themselves.
Bobby might redesign a room, living room, or even a patio while Antoni helps that person remember an old recipe or teaches them what wine to pair with a meal. Jonathan does their hair or gives them a facial to help them look more presentable.
Karamo sits down with the “hero” and gets to hear from them. There’s never a dry eye when I’m watching this show because there’s so many moments that make you cry tears of joy. I’ll have a top ten list of my favorite Queer Eye episodes once I wrap up the series in a few weeks.
While reading the most recent chapter, Karamo tells us how to break down in smaller steps what we can do to make a better life for ourselves. Being honest (myself included), most of us don’t know the answer to that question. He also hits on some life skills that we as adults were never really taught in school.
Learn how to budget (your time)
We all need to make a budget for our finances (myself included). But equally as important, we need to make a budget for our time. For example, if we’re taking the time to go to school to better ourselves (just as Karamo was doing), we need to prioritize.
I make a budget of my time every day. How much time do I want to spend on a project or a hobby. When do I want invest my time in my physical or mental health? This is a great thing to do if you want to curb screen time on your phone and use it elsewhere.
Detoxing from your phone
Let’s face it. We’re all guilty of being on our phones too much. The constant scrolling on social media can be a huge time-waster if we’re not careful. It can also have an effect on your mental health if you’re not careful. I know that firsthand.
Charge your phone across the room or, brownie points, outside the room altogether when you go to sleep. It’s possible, trust me.
Leave your phone in the car if you’re eating out. If you’re eating at home, put it in another room altogether. This means less screen time and more conversation. There’s plenty of time to check emails and Facebook notificationsafter dinner. If you really need it with you in the store or the restaurant, just in case of emergency, put it in your purse or in your pocket.
It’s OK to hear the word NO!
Rejection is a part of life. If we get turned down, that God’s way of telling us there’s something better. When one door closes, another door opens.
I wish I looked at rejection that way. I was turned down in a relationship and thought I was in the wrong. I let that decision break me for years and it took a toll on my mental health. I’ve been turned down for jobs before. I let myself think I wasn’t good enough.
I volunteered to be an evaluator for a keynote speaker at a previous Toastmasters meeting. While I got turned down for the evaluator role, this gave me an opportunity to volunteer as Table Topics master. Instead of putting myself down, I made sure my questions would be awesome and get some laughs.
End result: I got many praises from the general evaluator and my other fellow club members, as well as the keynote speaker himself.
Stylish 🍒 