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“All She Needs is a Little Support” We need more than just flowers and a card on Mother’s Day. We need your support year-round! Have a project that never quite got off the ground due to lack of funding? Fund Her Projects (FHP) is an innovative funding platform just for women. FHP is not your typical crowdfunding site, as it allows members to promote a well-intentioned cause and request needed items within the community.
We even support needs that help you support those people and ideals you hold dear by offering:
Why FundHerProjects.com? • We Understand and Value You • We Are Community Who Cares About Your Success
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Editor-in-Chief, Annette Johnson Design Director, Joey Shepherd Page Layout and Design, Kiryl Lysenka Design Assistant, Nairobi Guillory Online Editor, Bianca Nelson Home Editor, Jennifer Adams Financial Editor, Deborah Hightower Travel Editor, Peggy Hattendorf Social Media Director, Tamara King Editorial Assistant, Iman Combs Sales Manager, Mary Taylor Special Projects Manager, Veronique Thomas Contributors: Brenda Davis Allyn Evans Jaime Johnson Sara Lanier Cassandra Parks Anetta Pool Tommeka Semien Special thanks to Macy’s for Mother’s Day Gifts Cover/Inside Photos of Kristi Castlin: Derek White, photography Fallon Armbrister, make-up Meleena Murray, hair Tyiesha Mitchell, hair Natasha Harvey, nail design Shonett Arnold Hill, custom jewelry Customer Service For subscription service or change of address, including email, contact info@hersmagazine.net or write to P.O. Box 1071, Atlanta, GA 30301 Hers (ISSN 2372-3785) is published six per year by Allwrite Communications Inc. 50 Hurt Plaza SE, Suite 1448 Atlanta, GA 30303
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Guide to Air Travel
Find out where your favorite airline ranks in safety
September
CONTENTS
F E AT U R E D S T O RY 64 Olympic Medalist Kristi Castlin
The brains behind the beautiful Olympic medal hurdler.
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Beyoncé ‘Formation’ Represents Her Transformation What her ‘Formation’ really means for her and women in general
HER HEART 72 Last Minute Halloween Centerpieces Decorative eyeballs, pumpkins and ghosts, oh my!
73 Are You the 3 a.m. Girl? The science to determining if you’re just the side chick.
H E R H E A LT H 70 Meditation Reduces Emotional & Physical Pain
Meditation outperforms medication when treating your pain.
HER FLAVOR 60 Natural Remedies that Grow Longer, Thicker Hair
Repair your hair with these everyday items found in the pantry.
62 Simple Salads
Try this creative cooking with crisp cucumbers.
63 Three New Food Trends
Keep up with the trends that taste good and are good for you.
r/October
ON THE COVER 8 50 Most Beautiful, Brainy Women
Scroll through our mind-bending, eye-catching list of women.
HER WORK 87 Your Money Life Will Get Better When... Here are personal issues that have nothing to do with money but may be affecting your money.
HER LESSONS 74 Danielle Spencer
The former child star almost died twice before discovering life’s true value.
78 Hers Poll Results: Women and the Draft
Since women are now allowed in military combat, should they also be required to register for the draft?
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Editor’s Letter For the second consecutive time in the summer Olympics games, U.S. women won more medals. This year in Rio, the U.S. women captured 61 medals and the men had 55. Among the noteworthy winners was our cover girl, Kristie Castlin, who was on the threemember U.S. medal sweep in the 100-meter hurdles. Similarly, we highlight 49 other women – some you likely know and others you should come to know. They are probably all considered “attractive” to a greater extent than most women, but what makes them really special is that their brilliance is not merely anchored in their looks. In fact, many of their accomplishments have absolutely nothing to do with their physical makeup. As you flip through our compilation of the 50 Most Beautiful, Brainy Women, keep in mind, we sought and included everyday women too. We hope to expand the inclusion of everyday in next year’s issue, so look for our announcement. With all this talk about beauty, we certainly couldn’t miss the opportunity to feature one of the most beautiful, inspiring entertainers in the world, Beyoncé, or Queen Bey to some. Her “Formation World Tour” started in Miami, Florida, earlier this year, and every city’s review after that summarized the show itself as “spectacular” and so forth. We, however, took a closer look at hers-magazine.com
the symbolism that was repeatedly projected on backdrop videos, pictures and even costumes. Read the article and tell us if you see what we saw if you went to the show. Otherwise, we’d still like to hear from you on this story or any of the others, including our picks for brains and beauty. Remember, more than anything, as Coco Chanel once said, “Beauty begins the moment you decide to be yourself.” No one on Earth should respect and appreciate the woman you are more than you.
Until, Annette R. Johnson
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50 Most
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Beautiful, Brainy Women
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It is popular in society to regard women as either beautiful or smart, isolating the two descriptors as mutually exclusive. Let’s break those stereotypes by recognizing some of today’s most attractive and accomplished women. Here is our editors selection of 50 of the most beautiful, brainy women. hers-magazine.com
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Kristi Castlin Top 5% of High School Class; Virginia Tech graduate.
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Natalie Portman Harvard University graduate; multilingual.
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Jessica Alba Founder of the Honest Company.
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Lupita Nyong’o Yale Graduate; Multilingual.
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Sara Blakely Florida State University Graduate.
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Ivanka Trump University of Pennsylvania Cum Laude Graduate.
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Dr. Candice P. Cooper University of Buffalo Graduate; Syracuse University Master’s Degree Recipient; Drexel University Ph.D. Recipient.
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Lori Greiner Loyola University Chicago Graduate.
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Emma Watson Brown University Graduate.
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Megyn Kelly Albany Law School J.D. Recipient.
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Lisa Nicole Cloud Emory University Graduate; Johns Hopskins University Graduate.
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Amara SohnWalker University of Southern California DualDegree Graduate.
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Natural Remedies That Grow
Longer, Thicker Hair BY Jaime Johnson
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s women, we are encouraged to have a thick, luscious, shiny head of hair. Unfortunately, not all of us are blessed with hair that is thick or grows quickly. There are many reasons why you may be experiencing slow hair growth or even hair loss. It could be due to stress, hormones, or it may even be part of the normal aging process. The good news is there are some natural ways to encourage, and possibly increase, the growth of your hair. The first step of your hair growth journey should be to examine your diet. Like so many other problems we have, our modern diets are often lacking a variety of vitamins and minerals, which can contribute to a lack of hair growth. Try to eat a healthy, well-rounded diet, full of vegetables. Be sure you are consuming plenty of proteins, as these are the building blocks for hair. Find ways to add meats, fish, eggs, and even bone broths to your diet. Bone broth, also referred to as stock or soup stock, is made by boiling bones with vegetables and herbs. It is a mineral rich brew that has been used for centuries as a nutritious (and cheap) food or cooking aid. You can buy broth in the store, but for best results and to better control what goes in your broth (and body), make your own broth at home. Sip warm broth by itself or find ways to add it into your cooking routines. You do not just have to eat your way to healthy hair. There are numerous topical, all-natural remedies to encourage hair growth. These methods stimulate your hair follicles and increase the blood flow to the scalp. Create a hair mask with one of the following treatments and massage directly onto your scalp. Allow the mask to remain on your scalp for 5-10 minutes before shampooing your hair as usual. • Onion Juice Squeeze or mash a medium sized, yellow onion to release as much of the juice as possible. The onion boosts collagen production to help hair grow and increases the flow of blood to the scalp.
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• Coconut Milk Mix together the milk from one coconut, 1 tsp of lemon juice, and 4 drops of lavender essential oil. The milk is rich in iron and potassium, while the lavender is antibacterial, which will clean the scalp and open up your pores. • Egg Mix one egg white with 1 tsp of olive oil and 1 tsp of honey. The proteins in the egg help with the formation of hair cells. • Aloe vera Aloe vera contains vitamins and minerals that help stimulate hair growth. It also helps remove built up oils and reduce the overproduction of sebum. Sebum can slow growth of hair by clogging pores. After shampooing your hair, consider using these natural ingredients as a final rinse: • Apple cider vinegar cleans your hair and scalp. The use of ACV helps encourage hair growth by creating the necessary PH balance for an optimal hair growing environment. This ingredient will also help put shine back into your locks. Mix 1/8 cup ACV to 1 cup water and pour over your scalp and hair. • Green Tea is rich in antioxidants that help boost your hair growth. Make green tea from tea bags and hot water and allow to cool completely. Then pour over your scalp and hair as your final rinse. Be sure to avoid pulling or tugging on your hair when combing and brushing. Treat your locks with a little TLC (tender loving care). Then use these remedies no more than once per week, and you should soon see results! Jaime Johnson’s passion for all-natural products started as a challenge to produce high-quality health and beauty products at home, from common household ingredients. This research lead to the creation of her book, Natural Beauty. hers-magazine.com
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KRISTI
CASTLIN Makes Her Olympic Shot Count BY ANNETTE JOHNSON
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W
hen Kristi Castlin graduated from Virginia Tech in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in political science and government legal studies, her intention was to become a sports agent if she could not continue to pursue track & field professionally. While in college, Castlin managed a 4.7 GPA while amassing seven NCAA All-American honors and five NCAA championships in hurdling. Gaining acclaim not just for herself, but also for her school, she helped earn Virginia Tech’s recognition as a competitive track & field university. In fact, she broke the school’s records in both the 60 meters hurdles (8.20 seconds) and 55 meters hurdles (7.61 seconds). Castlin made her international debut at the 2007 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships and came away with the gold medal and a 100 meters hurdles championship record of 13.02 seconds. Not only would Castlin compete professionally after college, she would earn a spot on track & field’s biggest stage, competing for the United States in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil. While in Rio, she set her personal best time for the 100m hurdles in 12.50 seconds during the finals of the Olympic trials. Even while competing to win on the field, she had another, more universal mission in which she sought victory. And like track, it had impacted her throughout her life.
The Other Platform Born July 7, 1988, the Douglasville, Georgia, native, has been running since age 14. She won multiple state championships and all-state honors before graduating from Chapel Hill High School in Douglasville. She also competed in the triple jump and relays, but chose to focus on the hurdles during her senior year. One of her many records includes the Georgia state record for the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 13.73 seconds. On December 7, 2000, when she was 12 years old, her father, Rodney Castlin, was murdered at a hotel he managed. “I experienced sadness because…I would like my father to be here, or I would like for him to see these races and these experiences,” Castlin once said in an NBC interview. This wouldn’t be the last time she was confronted with gun violence. She graduated in the top five percent of her class in high school, and was awarded a scholarship to study political science at Virginia Tech. A week after the Virginia Tech track team won an ACC Championship, a fellow student, Seung-Hui Cho, shot and killed 32 people and wounded 17 others. “I’m definitely guarded,” she admitted. “Sometimes there’s even a feeling of being numb to it – even at the trial seeing the details [unfold]. hers-magazine.com
“I think it was Alton Sterling who lost his life over CDs. Just things like that are constantly put into our faces. It’s constantly exposed. And even them taking the lives of the officers in Texas. People aren’t valuing a human life. We can come together, and we can stop it. But it just can’t be one person, and everyone keeps saying the president. One person cannot solve a problem. It’s a community.” As for her role in the community, she declared, “I really want to help make a difference. I really want my story to help make a difference.” She would also like to see both the police and parents to a better job at curbing violent reactions. “I would just like to see more responsibility, especially from the local level, from the police enforcement level. You guys are supposed to be diffusing situations. They’re escalating situations, and you cannot do that. They’ve gone through training. You shouldn’t be abusing power. They shouldn’t ever go into a situation where, if they feel like they need to raise their voice, let the person go. You can find them, you can follow them, you can do all of these different things. It’s different tactics to doing that. “Then from a community level, I know a lot of the violence is from men. I know men have such responsibility to and respect for their mothers and for grandmothers, so that’s where it’s going to start – these women holding their sons accountable. The thing is, you want to see more mothers, but it’s like men are supposed to be the powerbrokers in this country when, really, it’s women… So, I think having more leaders is important, which was a part of the Ludacris Weekend this weekend. It was a great event, but it would have made me feel good if they would have had a woman to take a stand and really have a role in it.” While Castlin was able to attend college and graduate, she feels that route may not be for all young people. See would like to see more at-risk kids going to technical schools or taking technical courses while in high school. “Why do they have leave school campus? Why don’t they get that at their schools? If some people can’t afford to do all of that, that’s just room for error. So why can’t we have cosmetology, makeup artists, and producers? Why can’t we have that in the school? So, mechanics, electricians, all of that should be right in the school. You shouldn’t have to go off campus for that.” She asserts, “That’s how you keep the kids off of the streets.” Effective leadership and inspiration continue to be her themes for redemption when interacting with youth. “When I go show kids my medal, I let them touch it. I let them put it on. Nobody ever put a medal on me. So imagine if I got that experience.” | Se ptem ber/O c to ber 2 0 1 6 | H ER S Ma gaz in e |
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The Championship Platform With so many news stories coming out about the poor living conditions in Rio during the Olympics, Castlin says her experience was quite the opposite. “The conditions were fine, and everything was fine in the village. We didn’t have any bad experiences. I didn’t have a bad experience at all. It was just so very spread out. Everything was so spread out. I’m used to being in Europe, London, Brussels, Switzerland, and Paris, where it’s a better transit system. That was the main thing. In the village, we were kind of isolated. Everything took an hour to get to and from. But overall, it was an amazing experience. It was warm. The culture, I was embraced a lot, even in the stadium. They were screaming my name. When I did that little twirl, people were going wild. So it was fun.” About meeting the “world’s fastest man,” Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, she said, “I see him all of the time. We all go on that same professional circuit. We all go to the same competitions. He’s a really cool guy. Just fun. Likes to have a good time. A really good person.” 66
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However, what she remembers most is what it took to get to Rio and stay there. “I just remember most that I actually did kind of underestimate the level of competition. Not underestimated, but it took a lot of focus. It took laser focus to actually get there, and for us to not just do the sweep, but overcome so much. Even going through the trials, because there were other girls that had been just as successful that didn’t make our team. So we were dealing with that controversy. So it was a lot that we dealt with, and a lot just to get there and to get one of those medals.” Brianna Rollins, Nia Ali, and Kristi Castlin swept the 100-meter hurdles in the 2016 summer Olympic Games in Rio. Rollins led the American squad with gold (12.48 seconds), Ali took the silver (12.59 seconds), and Castlin won a bronze medal (12.61 seconds). Castlin was satisfied with her bronze medal but felt a shaky start cost her the chance at gold. “It was just my reaction, and I was a bit dehydrated so there was a little bit of cramping going on. That was it,” adding, “no shade on Briana. I’m supposed to think I can win just like she does.”
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What’s Happening Now with Former Child Star
Danielle
Spencer BY Brenda Davis
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Once known as “Dee,” the sassy younger sister on the ‘70s sitcom What’s Happening, she is now officially known as Dr. Danielle Spencer-Fields. After the show went off the air in 1979, the former child star famous for the line “Oooh, I’m gonna tell Momma,” went on to become a veterinarian and later married in 1999. Just two years ago, in 2014, Danielle publicly announced she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. This would represent the second time she had to face a life-threatening illness. The first time, she had suffered serious injuries from a car accident during the first season of the TV show. She said, “I was severely injured, like I broke my leg, my arm, and my pelvis, and I was in a coma for three weeks. By the grace of God, I healed six months later.” Her stepfather died during the accident, but she thought she was completely recovered until nearly 30 years later when she began to get a tingling sensation in her legs. “Come to find out that I had a disc impingement on my spinal cord, and I had actually ignored it for a good three or so months. By the time I actually went to the hospital to have it looked at, I basically couldn’t even walk. It had gotten that bad.” After surgery to remove a disc in her upper spine, Danielle was paralyzed from the waist down for about a year. Through intense physical therapy, she had to learn to walk again. “I’m at the point now where I’m walking on crutches, which I’m so thankful for that, and I’m still doing physical therapy from time to time.”
From the Start Originally from New York, she moved to California to do the show in 1975. Spencer, now 51, lives in Virginia with her husband, Gary Fields. She had been in California for almost her entire life but moved to be closer to family. “I also just wanted to be on the East Coast,” she said. “Eventually, my husband and I do plan to move to Florida possibly, but, for right now, we’re East Coast bound.”
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While her whereabouts may change, she has always been certain about her career path after acting. “It was always a goal,” she said referring to her choice to go to college. “I wouldn’t say I always knew what exactly I was going to study because I went through a couple of different things in my head. But my mom had gone to college and my cousins had gone to college, so I knew that I was eventually going to do it.” Her parents noticed her love for animals as a child. “I was always going to the zoo, and I was always caring for animals. I was always bringing home strays, that sort of thing. My mom kind of put a name to it. She said, ‘Oh, you love animals. You should be a veterinarian.’ That was when I was like 6, 7 years old, and ever since then, I knew that’s what I wanted to do.” Calling herself somewhat of a “loner” growing up, she gained a deep connection to her pets as primary friends. “I wasn’t one to run in groups of three or four girls. It was always me with one friend, or because I would always hang out with my cousins or someone like that, while I was at home, I had my dog. It was just me and my dog. I think, at one time, I had a cat. So, after that, I just felt like they were family, and ever since then, I just couldn’t see going through life and not being able to help them.” When her dog named Rubia died from distemper virus, which, at the time, she didn’t understand what it was, this became her motivation to become a veterinarian. “I want to make sure nothing like that ever happens to my animal again,” she explained. After high school, she attended University of California Davis, which has a veterinary school. However, her plans to stay close to home changed after meeting an African-American female veterinarian. She and her husband had both graduated from Tuskegee University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, and she became Danielle’s mentor. “She was like everything that I wanted to be: a veterinarian, an accomplished business owner, and also the fact that she went to Tuskegee.” After that, she made plans to attend Tuskegee University in Alabama instead. She was there for two years when producers decided to bring “What’s Happening” back to television. The plans were to re-film the show, bringing it out of syndication. While she thought this was a “wonderful,” unique opportunity for an African American TV show, this would interfere with her education. “Once they started taping the show, I transferred to UCLA for my undergrad part. Then I believe the show taped for three years, and in ’89, I went on to Tuskegee Veterinary School.” Danielle may have been a relatively big deal in LA, but no one in Alabama really got into the fact that she had been a TV star. “By the time I got to Tuskegee, I think they cared about it for
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Poll Results:
Women in the Draft After the Senate passed a bill in June 2016 by a 85 – 13 vote requiring all women turning 18 on or after Jan. 1, 2018, to register for Selective Service, just as men must already do, many women are surprisingly supporting the idea.
Ultimately, in order to pass, the bill would have to be approved by the full House and signed by the president. So for now, there is no impending requirement for women.
We asked our readers, since women are now allowed in military combat, should they also be required to register for the draft? Here are the results: There was no indecision on the question of whether allowing women in direct combat would cause them greater risk. To that, 57% said “yes” while 43% said “no.”
Fifty percent (50%) of women said “no” to women being required to register with Selective Service, 38% said yes, and 13% said they were undecided.
Most women were undecided (43%) or said “no” (43%) to whether men should even be allowed to decide if women would be required to register. Only 14% said “yes.”
To cast your opinion in our polls, visit our website’s news page or our Facebook page. 78
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#TheMeEyeSee Self-Awareness for 2016 and Beyond
H
ers magazine wants to remind women: “What you think of yourself is more important than what others think of you.” Using #themeeyesee hashtag to promote greater self-awareness, the magazine wants women to begin to visualize, declare and pursue the person they can rightfully become. We believe that the way we see ourselves propels us on the path to who we will ultimately become, driving our thoughts, actions, habits, and lifestyles. Thus, declaring an intention of our ideal selves can motivate us to achieve our goals.
Ask Yourself: Am I living up to my core values and personal mission? Am I being a person others can respect? Am I respecting my body the way I should?
#themeeyesee is a movement with the purpose of encouraging and challenging women to become the people they want to be in the new year and beyond. This is not a New Year’s resolution, but a public pact and declaration. We will feature the posts on the Hers magazine website, #themeeyesee website and Hers magazine social media platforms: www.themeeyesee.com www.facebook.com/hersmagazine www.twitter.com/hersmagazine www.instagram.com/HersMagazine www.google.com/+HersMagazineOnline
Am I meeting the expectations I set for others? Am I using my talents fully? Am I performing at my peak capacity? Am I giving my family and friends my most and my best? Am I engaging in worthy activity? Am I making a positive impact on the world? Am I on the path to my preferred future? Readers and others should post a short video or a selfie online with the hashtag to declare their unique vision for the future. They should then also challenge 5-7 friends in the post to make their own #themeeyesee declaration and agree to be accountability partners for 2016 to ensure their success.
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Air Travel BY Peggy Hattendorf
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F
lying can be a personal and fascinating experience. You can be transported to a different city in a matter of hours or a foreign country in a little more than a day. The aviation industry presents the possibilities of connectivity and expedience for global business links and serves as a major conduit for worldwide commerce. Air travel also facilitates personal and family connections as well as the ability to discover new places and destinations . . . through the sheer joy of travel. In 2015, the world’s airlines carried 3.57 billion passengers.
However, before you ever board a plane for a flight, a reservation must be made and purchased generating a ticket or e-ticket. Most of us feel comfortable acquiring a ticket from an airline, consumer website or through a travel agent. But consider do you really understand how that fare was determined on the ticket you just purchased? Here’s a basic reference guide to the alpha and numeric airline terms and codes necessary for identification and formulation of an airline ticket.
Important Travel Industry Terms: International Air Transport Association/IATA – is the trade association for the world’s airlines, based in Montreal Canada. The association works in conjunction with the transport industry to promote safe, reliable, secure and economical air travel for consumers worldwide. Among its responsibilities is the establishment of the following codes and designations. Airport Code – a 3-letter code is assigned to each airport or location. Examples: ATL – Atlanta, LAX – Los Angeles International, MIA – Miami International and MAD – Madrid, Spain. Airline Code – each IATA air carrier is given a 2-digit code. Examples: AA – American Airlines, DL – Delta Airlines and BA – British Airways. Accounting or prefix codes – a 3-digit accounting or prefix code is used for airline tickets to identify the issuing airline. Example: 001 identifies American Airlines. This is followed by the ticket number. Example: American Airlines ticket/e-ticket 0012305774887. City Pair – refers to the origin (departure) and destination (arrival) cities of flights. Example: Los Angeles to New York.
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Once the city pair or locations are determined, you need the Airport Codes to book the flights. Some cities have multiple airports like New York. Example: NYC (location) the three airport codes – JFK, LGA and EWR – representing the three major airports – Kennedy, La Guardia and Newark. Note ** Many airport codes are similar so double-check your itinerary before ticketing. If you are booking a flight from New York to San Jose California, you don’t want a flight to San Jose Costa Rica instead. Example: JFK to SJC – San Jose California versus JFK to SJO – San Jose Costa Rica. Yes, this does happen. Passenger Name Record/PNR – a record in the database of the computer reservation system (CRS) that contains the itinerary for a passenger or a group of passengers. Record Locater – an alphanumeric code typically 6 characters in length – for example, GIIXTZ – used in airline reservation systems to access a specific record. Now we are ready to conquer the fundamentals of ticket fare construction and pricing. The airlines have large tariff and rate departments that establish pricing, fare rules and construct fares. Computers continually search and monitor thousands and thousands of published fares and regularly update fare schedules. Fares are inventory controlled. When a fare is sold out the next higher fare level normally applies. Airfare construction starts with the Booking Class or the Class of Service. This refers to the Economy, Business or First class cabins of the airplane. Below is a sample of a flight with airline code, flight number, class of service, departure airport code and arrival airport code, the date of travel and the departure and arrival times. AA255F JFKLAX 05MAY 10:00am 1:10pm The major Booking Class codes are: • F = full fare first class ticket. A and P also designate first class depending on air carrier. • J = full fare business class ticket. R and D are also business class designators. • W = premium economy. • Y = full fare economy/coach class ticket. Discounted economy fares use codes – B H M K L W S N Q. • IN = infant fare usually 10% of the adult fare • CH = child’s fare • DP = diplomat fare • YGA = contracted military fares
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Beyoncé’s
Formation Tour What Does It All Really Mean? BY Iman Combs
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+ HER MUSIC
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here is a reason she is regarded as royalty. America’s very own Queen Bey has charmed her Beyhive with her Formation World Tour, which promotes her latest album, Lemonade. Her musical reign, especially as of late on this tour, is filled with symbolism demonstrating her power to love, leave and forgive, as well as her evolution. When the tour came to Atlanta, Georgia, the show featured a slew of onstage musical surprises, beginning with Atlanta-based guest performers ranging from the up-andcoming Migos to mainstays like Usher and hosted by DJ Khaled. Surprisingly, as the album’s main song calls for ladies to “get in formation,” the opening acts didn’t include any female entertainers or empowering preludes. Bey, as we would see, was going to be the sole conductor of any and all such female energy in the Georgia Dome. While the first hour was almost satisfactory enough to be considered its own concert, nothing, not DJ Khaled, not T.I., nor Ludacris, could mentally or emotionally prepare the crowd for the out-of-body experience everyone underwent during Beyoncé’s performance. Strategically and brilliantly intertwining all of her top songs with the audible art that is Lemonade, Bey did not just put on a show. No, she entertained; she preached the gospel; and she ultimately gave her audience a whole new outlook on her life, as well as theirs. Behind her remained a massive rotating, cube-shaped monument to her success, streaming clips from her videos along with home movies and pictures from her family life – both before and during her success. It illustrated a variety of psychedelic images and displayed pre-recorded performances, all used to coincide with and complement the amazing choreography of her and her backup dancers. As if that wasn’t enough, periodic fireworks exploded to commemorate the concert as it was occurring. To add to her unbelievable stage, she included symbols all throughout her routine. The most prominent referenced Egypt in a few different ways. The first, was a subtle Ankh necklace, a hieroglyphic symbol used to represent life, she wore around her neck. That, itself, could be a way for her to further celebrate womanhood, which was speculated to have been one of the main muses for Lemonade in the first place. Secondly, the aforementioned digital monument was hers-magazine.com
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F E AT U R E S • H E A RT • f L AVO R • H E A LT H LESSONS • WORK • PLAY W W W. H E R S - M A G A Z I N E . C O M 92
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