Reclaiming Wellness
Article By Makenna Underwood Photo: Courtesy of Nicole Cammack
Reclaiming Wellness: A Journey of Boundaries and Self-Care in the Digital Age
I
t was 2017.
A
mericans watched as Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif, sat in a congressional hearing with Donald Trump’s former Secretary of Treasury Steve Mnuchin. She asked why he hadn’t responded to her letter questioning Trump’s financial ties to Russia. Mnuchin, who responds by complimenting Waters’ work in California, is interrupted by Waters in a moment that would be streamed thousands of times on social media.
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Although Waters carries a soft tone, her quips pack a punch that is still being recited today: reclaiming my time. Since the viral moment in 2017,
the phrase “reclaiming my time” has been used as a rebuttal to those who want to waste other people’s time, resources, or energy. Whether it’s used in congressional hearings or in a sample from the 2021 Jazmine Sullivan song “Tragic”, the phrase is popular among those who want to set boundaries. Now, almost a decade after the viral moment, people are focusing more on what it means to reclaim their wellness instead of reclaiming their time. Ashleigh Brabham, a senior mass communications major at Winston-Salem State University, a historically black college in North Carolina, created BlkGirlDiaries in 2020 after a
