How has your upbringing shaped where you are today?

• “I would say that my upbringing caused my perception of reality to make navigating my adult years challenging.  Specifically my upbringing has made me naive and fearful to trust losing my grandmother at an early age and having to spend time alone babysitting myself so my mom could work, which now I am 100% grateful, because she did the best she could with what she had left me a little sheltered and misguided and misunderstood. There is not anyone I know in my family who has been 25 in my position and wanting a life outside the traditional societal structure (I see Hollywood, lights, camera, action). So being 25, I still find myself a bit afraid and unlearning a lot of unhealthy habits. “
• “My mom has her own business and I see that she took a leap of faith with me so she may have taken more of a traditional perspective, by reaching beyond the traditional lifestyle I never witnessed other than television or the internet. “
• “Sometimes not having the resources to do some of the things I wanted to do or sometimes having things taken away from me made me resentful and I think that resent I let set me back. For instance, while living in Toledo I was taking dance classes, I received a lot attention and material riches, but as child you never realize how much can actually afford or understand the cost of living then when you move to NY at 10 years old away from all your family. I felt like I lost myself, I was around people that didn’t talk like me, dress like me or even share the same values. I was going to public school in an influential community and I was the minority for once and the one with “less.” Some of the kids were racist, but at this point I’d give the benefit of the doubt of naive. They would pick on me and tell me I talked “hood” and I never lived in the hood a day in my life. I was use to private school and luxury apartments, I just had a very heavy accent at the time.”

As an adolescence, we usually dream about the direction we would like our life to go within our career paths. What was your dream during this time?

• ” I was debating between being a lawyer and a video vixen or model. I would idolize the women I watched on Bet 106 & Park, but I always felt I could debate.”

Can you talk to me about specific instances that influenced you to diverge from the route that you were on? How did these instances lead you to your current situation?

• “My college had this slogan: “Find out how good you really are”. While in college, I was in this grey area of dealing with my sexuality. During that time, I realized there was more to life. College for me was the whole experience, the good, the bad, and the ugly. I had a traumatic situation happen to me my freshmen year that shaped the rest of my college career. I found myself exploring my sexuality and realized discovering what I had inside of me and the type of energy I posses. I’m definitely able to influence a room negatively or positively.”
• “As I got older and got into radio scene the entertainment industry reminded of when I used dance in recitals and model down the stairs for my family.  The entertainment industry really helps me understand there is more to life and I have purpose and gives me more understanding of what I need to do. My godmother use to listen to the radio station from New York while we were in Ohio. I remember I used to ride in the car with my siblings’ mother and I’d mimic the personality and sing all of the songs. She would always ask me, “Are you the radio!” It wasn’t until college that radio started calling my name. I thought about becoming a forensic physiologist at this point, I took political sciences courses in colleges and even tried computer science, but I always had this strong desire and passion to be myself and explore my creativity.”

What is your definition of the grey area?

• “Being in a space of not knowing what is next. Not knowing the direction or the next steps to take to achieve your goal.”

Can you talk to me about your emotions in the grey area?

• “Emotions of unworthiness and fear of not being able to handle what I am capable of, but to move forward. I realize you can’t worry about what others think sometimes not even yourself when you’re doubting your own vision. “

Post-Graduation, what were your feelings and thoughts?

• “I wanted to get my masters. During undergrad, I did not do any internships until my last semester when I was at Sirius XM and I felt I was not really prepared to go into the real world. My mentor Ang, told me she wish went to get her masters and gain more internship experience before she went straight into work. I walked in May, I was enrolled in grad school in the Fall, which I felt created another Grey area and awkward period in my life. It’s like I graduated and now people have expectations of me, but I’m still in school trying to find myself and working at the same time. It’s like people think your degree is a golden ticket to success when it is not. Employers will say you need a Bachelors or Masters and 2-3 years of experience, but where am I getting all that? Not to mention here comes this starting salary, bills and student loans. They should have told me I needed to be a superhero before I attended college. 

Was it worth the debt?

• “I mean I guessssss. Currently, I work for one of the top radio stations and media companies in the United States. I just got a radio connection in Miami and able to get a meeting and I was only in town for one business day. I am not sure if things would have been able to happen for me if I did not continue to go to school and intern. I know my resources will allow me to make more money and I will use that to pay off the debt. Plus, I view my debt as an investment in self, because education is worth it. I definitely wish school was cheaper though.”