Today we’d like to introduce you to Lindsey Cheers.
Lindsey, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I’m originally from the Midwest, Ohio is my home. I grew up in a small college town called Oberlin, not many people have heard of it, but occasionally I’ll run into a few gems that have. I wouldn’t consider myself your average ‘girl next door’ due to my upbringing and how its affected my overall lifestyle. I grew up in a single family household that lacked the basic things people find essential to their everyday life. Not only was money always an issue, but things like love and emotional support were too. I grew up very guarded and kept a lot of things to myself out of embarrassment and not being able to trust others. My way of coping was to numb out emotionally and mentally forcing myself to forget my reality. My heart hardened and I became a very cold person.
Still not being able to trust others, I needed to find a way to release this pain in a healthy way. I journaled a lot but it wasn’t something I was consistent with which led to a lot of half-filled notebooks. I would write during hard times because it helped me sort out thoughts that were jumbled up in my mind. I was able to make sense of my emotions when I saw them on paper. Sometimes, I’d write as a diary entry to myself and other times I’d write letters to God. This was the safest way to release emotion but it didn’t make my hard times any easier. I was writing things down but my emotions still felt bottled inside of me.
It wasn’t until recently that I decided to start sharing my story. I created my blog that I titled ‘Simply Lindsey’ because that’s what I wanted it to be, simply about me. I wanted others to know me more and understand me better as a person. My blog goes into deeper detail on the pain that I’ve mentioned above and how I’ve been a warrior through it all. I’ve somewhat built a small audience that has been able to really see me and relate to the things I wrote. My blog has helped me to not feel so alone and has become therapeutic for me. I’m letting go of shame and things I once found to be embarrassing by allowing others to connect with me.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Nothing about my life has been a smooth road, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t any hope. It’s all about your mindset and how you choose to deal with it all. A lot of my challenges stem from my childhood and how my brain was programmed from a young age. I was taught not to trust, I was taught to fear. I wasn’t fed much positivity and it showed, it still shows. I have to dig deep into myself and get rid of these toxins that I’ve unknowingly let control me for so long and it’s not easy. Finding safe people to talk to, praying and building a relationship with God has become apart of my everyday life. Letting go of the ‘I can do it all on my own’ mindset has helped along the way as well. I crippled myself thinking that I had it all figured out. If you are anything like me you need to allow others to feed you wisdom, allow yourself to be open to help. Practice putting your pride aside and being a little more vulnerable. That doesn’t mean losing sight of yourself and what you see as your “strengths”. Others sometimes find it offensive that I’m not as “soft-hearted” as they need me to be and that’s fine. Stay true to yourself and find what works for you.
We’d love to hear more about Simply Lindsey.
I’m a writer that shares the realness of my life through my blog post. My brand is all about being open and honest, showing others that sometimes its okay not to be okay. In this generation, we’ve allowed the internet to create a false reality that we all seem to get lost in. Giving false hope of what happiness really is to our followers just for a few likes is the new ‘norm’. Reading my blog you will find that I’ve been through a lot, but I’m learning to overcome it all. Taking others on this journey with me, I hope to inspire others to 1. see that they’re not alone and 2. give them the push to not give up. Unlike other female bloggers, instead of blogging about beauty related things for your outer appearance, I want to help others find the beauty within themselves. Yeah, all of these beauty hacks and trendy topics are fun and catch a lot of attention, but what about your inner self? I don’t know about others, but I never went to slept night with my heart at ease because of a new eyeshadow palette.
We’re interested to hear your thoughts on female leadership – in particular, what do you feel are the biggest barriers or obstacles?
Let’s just point out the obvious, the biggest barrier to female leadership is simply just being a female and that’s sad. Females are often considered emotional causing men to see our leadership skills as being weak as if men never make any irrational decisions. I mean, have you seen our president? Not only am I female, I’m a black female living in white America. Stereotypically, I’m always bitter with a chip on my shoulder, I’m ghetto and lack basic intelligence. In movies, black woman is always mocked and made out to fit these rolls for laughs. It’s rare that us black women are shown in a positive, dominant light. Being used as sex symbols, society praises women like Kim Kardashian instead of strong women like Issa Rae. A woman that writes and produces her own show, gets less praise than a woman who famous from a sex tape. As woman are so much more than what society gives us credit for.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.lindseycheers.com
- Phone: 818-561-1799
- Email: lindseycheers91@gmail.com
- Instagram: @_simplylindsey
- Twitter: @lxndso
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
