read or listen, your choice

So it’s 12:32 AM on a random-ass Thursday in the beginning of 2025. My feet are crossed, Lauryn Hill’s “The Sweetest Thing” is playing, and my locs are touching my lower neck. Yes, you heard me… the lower neck.

Now! Am I cross-faded due to my current lack of responsibilities? Possibly. But can I just say, people are not making music videos like they used to. A music video encompasses the whole aura—purpose, aesthetic, The Message of the song. I, for one, find it vital to know what the artist was envisioning when creating the song. It’s like that affinity moment where everything spontaneously makes sense.

Even though the quality back in the day was distorted and sometimes hard to see, it almost made it feel more real. I’m watching Lady by D’Angelo, and no shade it looks like it was created on Google Slides. But somehow, that adds to the dream-like quality. Like, I can see what they’re going for, but it’s not all the way complete. Just like a dream.

You Don’t Know My Name by Alicia Keys? Listen, I SWEAR ON MY MOTHER AND FATHER, it feels like there’s a beginning, middle, and end to her song. I mean if we wanted to sum it up the whole story is…..

OOOOOO OO OOO OO OOO OOOOO OOOOOO OO OOOOO OO OOO OO OOOO OOOOOO OOOOOOO OOOOOOOO OOO OOOO OOO OOOOO OOOOO OWOOOWOWOOOOOO. DAMN. Will you ever knooooowwwwww…

Like when have we gotten another body of art like this!? And while the marketing and thought process of videos nowadays truly piss me off, I really can’t say I don’t understand why. It’s almost like the hardest battle I’ve had to face is true: “Simplicity is key.”

But of course in a generation of immediate gratification, short attention spans, fake morally high mfs and niggas (non-binary) who don’t understand the importance of context. Doing the absolute most with just the acceptable amount of vulnerability, minimal critical thinking, and a lack of original effort is almost guaranteed. Especially when it comes to art.

Some artists make the song, and that’s it. Can I appreciate art on its own? Of course. But I want the whole meal. Unprocessed. Like, if I go to Chipotle and they only have brown rice over white, at first, I might be like, “What the hell?” But by the time I’m done with the bowl, I realize, This is really all my hungry ass needed.

Oh! Or when you’ve been driving and niggas aren’t trying to let you over, even though you’ve been trying to get over since the last light. Then you finally see a way to switch lanes right before you had to turn anyway, so you feel even more proud of yourself because it was either that or look like a dumbass and miss the exit.

Now, if you’re still confused about what the fuck I’m talking about… honestly, me too. Hehehe.

But just wait, I’m getting somewhere… let me cook.

My point is for this newly created blog, I don’t want to be some processed, halfway-ass storyteller, fake deep with the most to prove ass bitch. I mean, in Floetry’s Say Yes, all she had to say was:

Uhh Ahhh OOhh AHh Ooowhnn AHHH.

LIKE, YOU MAKE ME SOOOO WHATT??

We don’t know. But we know. You know! She just said what she wanted in the moment, whatever words would depict exactly how she felt right there… right there… right thereeee.

Okay imma stop… ANYWAYS.

All of that is connected to why this exists in the first place. I’ve been wanting to start this blog for about a year now. Bought the domain, the name—all of that. But if I’m being honest, I didn’t know how to say what I wanted to vocalize on Beyoncé’s internet. How could I be mediocre on the Queen’s platform?!

Even with my perfectionist personality, I’m going to ATTEMPT not to hold myself to unrealistic standards.

I say this as someone who’s been sitting with this entry for damn near a year now.

But fuck it. At this point, I just want to welcome you all to the madness of my mind. My name is Mackenzie Tanei Henry, and my strange addiction is… my fault, wrong confession. I mean, this is my blog: Kooky Khronicles. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the rollercoaster of my Koncious.

I’ve lived with my unhinged mind for 23 years, and now you get to experience it, too. (Good luck.)

Here’s the rundown. I’m in a Clinical Mental Health Counseling master’s program because I care about the parts of people that don’t always get seen. The layers, the history, the things that shape how we love, cope, and move through the world. I’ve always been drawn to healing, to understanding why we are the way we are, and to helping people feel safe enough to become who they actually are. Particularly pertaining to underserved black areas.

Outside of the formal info, I’m a personal development fiendddddd! I genuinely don’t go a single day without trying to understand myself a little better (we can debate whether that’s healthy later). At my core, I care deeply about healing, self-reflection, honoring my ancestors, and the act of being alive with intention instead of autopilot.

Through this blog, I want to compile my random thoughts, interests, classes, career experiences, regular everyday occasions, and knowledge of people into something more: a relatable life lesson, a creative activity, and a life timeline.

Here, I hope for you all and myself even, find out why you and others think the way you think, in some aspects, at least, and in the end, receive a revelation about who you are, your own tendencies, and your awareness of the people around you.

Basically I want y’all to watch me eat toilet paper but also understand why it brings me comfort.

Got it? Got it.

I want to be Genuine. Expressive. Creative. Intentional. Direction-driven. Hungry. Compassionate. Kind. Comedic. Understanding. Thankful. Positive.
…and also Monotone. Uninspired. Unintentional. Directionless. Empty. Indifferent. Inconsiderate. Unamusing. Ignorant. Disappointed. Negative.

Everything.

This blog is my new artistic outlet. My music video! Because a song without a purposeful video is like a man whose face is always down in pictures. Like yes you put yourself out there but he might be chopped.

Music and culture references will come up often because when words fail, a song/meme will prevail.

At least, that’s what Google said. Idk.

At the beginning of each blog you’ll find an audio version of me reading my entries. I’ve linked my Instagram where I post when new entries drop, along with random reflections and life things. My Substack has previews of longer posts(like this one). And if you click the “Turned in at 11:59” tab (i’m ngl this is under progress at the moment), you’ll see work I’ve submitted as a master’s student, proof that I do, in fact, be thinking.

So y’all know I’m not lying and shit

If you’re curious about the specifics of my journey or want to know more about me check out the ‘My Purpose and About Me’ section.

Stay along for the ride where we will dive even deeper into the Kooky Khronicles of Kenzie’s Komplex Koncious next time.

(Korny? Yes. But you can’t say it doesn’t got a ring to it 😉

At the end of the day, this space is where I connect the random, the personal, the academia and the cultural just to prove that nothing is really random at all.

Because it actually is, in fact, that deep.

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