BOXES (My ICBB 2015 Speech)

This past weekend was ILSb-ICBB 2015 in Dallas, TX. I am still processing the entire weekend, so will post those thoughts soon. I wanted to put the video of my speech here, but can't figure out how to do that. So will post the text of it.

Boxes - an amazing invention used to store items.  However, they were never intended to store people. Society truly enjoys putting human beings in a box. When people fight against being put into whatever particular box society wants them in, they are then labeled a rebel.

For many years, I had been sealed in a box that had been labeled by others. After meeting Daddy Tyr, she broke the seal on my box (chuckle) and removed the labels that had been placed upon me. As our relationship blossomed, she encouraged (chuckle) and yes, sometimes pushed me to step out of that box. It was only when I climbed out of that box during the SW Leather Contest in March that I finally felt accepted for me. This acceptance brought about a transformation in every aspect of my life, most especially my bootblacking. Society wanted to label my box lover, caregiver, slave, bootblack, mother, sister.  Fuck those other labels, I AM CHERIELLE, nothing less!

We - you, you, you  and every member of OUR community have already been labeled as outlaws and rebels, so I declare this the YEAR OF NO BOXES. Let’s live our life authentically, without fear of what others think. Because when each of us live our lives according to OUR truth, we will be able to make a positive change in our world. The way I see it, we can’t see outside the box when we are still in it.

SO, I challenge you to break…. No…. EXPLODE out of whatever box you have been put in, THRIVE and help others to do the same!