I'm Jenese — but most people call me JeeJee.

I grew up in spaces where so many people had expectations and ideas of who I should be. The oldest daughter in a pastoral family, I learned and thrived to show up for everyone else. I was able to readily tap into being what was needed in the room for everyone else. What took me so much longer to learn and consistently learning is how to just be me!

Girl Be You started as mantra on a notepad of my journal back in 2015. It turned into a blog then a podcast and what I feel now is the Girl Be You universe. Girl Be you has become the reminder to both myself and the inspiration to other women.

It’s become the question I ask me daily…Am I actually living as myself, or am I performing a version of myself for someone else's comfort?

I'm a podcast host, storyteller and aspiring novelist. I read books exclusively black books by black authors voraciously (ask me about my ARC pile). I write about faith, family, identity, and the creative life. I'm building a brand that I believe in, and I'm doing it as honestly as I know how.

This community exists because I needed it first. And I think you might need it too.