Almost everything is multisided – including the occurrences that give us pain. So, we asked some of the most enlightened folks in the community to share how they have harnessed their pain to help rather than hurt them.
Susie Taaffe
For most of my life, I was the high-achieving girl who never let the mask slip. I believed I had to earn love by performing, helping, achieving. But under the surface, I was a scared little girl who didn’t feel worthy unless she was doing something for someone else. Read more>>
Alicia Coulter
When I developed the Alicia Nicole™ Experience brand and wrote the book, Safe Spaces for Black Women. After surviving workplace abuse, I knew I needed to heal and that healing would come from being in shared space with Black women. Read more>>
Alivia Levie
When I was around 19 years old I began to write journal entries that were almost reminiscent of scenes from a film if you will. They were messy, but they were real. These writings were my form of free therapy when I couldn’t afford therapy sessions in its generic form. Read more>>
Anthea Neri Best
I immigrated to the U.S. from the Philippines when I was four, carrying pieces of a homeland I was too young to remember but would spend years trying to understand, and growing up between cultures, searching for where I fit. I was the kid in ESL classes, learning to translate not just language but identity. For years, I tried to blend in. Read more>>
Alex Cole
I stopped hiding my pain and truly started using it as power when I realized that discipline and self-care were the ultimate forms of rock ‘n’ roll rebellion. My transformation wasn’t just about looking better; it was about conquering the mental and emotional pain that came from not performing at my peak, both in life and on stage. Read more>>
Akeisha Howard
I stopped hiding my pain the moment I saw it reflected in my daughter’s eyes. Watching her doubt her worth reminded me of the parts of myself I had buried the girl who once questioned her value and tried to be everything for everyone. That realization broke something open in me. Instead of running from the hurt, I decided to give it purpose. Read more>>
Rich Monteiro
I’m still learning how to use my pain and convert it into power. I envy artist who are extremely vulnerable in their work. I still have my guard up on certain parts of my life, I try to be private. I just wonder can you be fully private but be a true artist? Cause if I’m not sharing my pain, then what am I sharing? Read more>>
