Who is your wellness mentor? What do you love about them?
Writer and content creator,
Alex Elle is definitely my online wellness mentor. I’ve gotten to interview her for an article when her new book, After the Rain, came out and it really felt like a full-circle moment for me. Back in 2013 when I first discovered her Tumblr, I was so amazed and inspired by her transparency and vulnerability through storytelling. As a writer and Black woman, it’s deeply and intrinsically informed how I write and share my experiences both personally and with my online community. She’s definitely my North star when it comes to wellness.
How have you been staying positive during the COVID pandemic?
I would honestly say that this has been tricky for me. When I first sat in the reality of what COVID meant to the end of one normal and the start of new normal, it was hard to deal. I was laid off from my job due to COVID, I decided not to move back home because I didn’t want to put my family in harm’s way, and the isolation caused me to experience a sense of loneliness that I had never known before. The only saving grace was knowing that although this was an individual experience, we were all still experiencing this shift on a global and collective level.
Still, I had to fight for my peace of mind, and what has helped me get there is by realizing that all of this is temporary. Fingers-crossed, the extreme lockdowns and quarantine that we had this time last year was the worst that it’ll be and if we all continue to take care of ourselves and each other, we can get to an adjusted, but livable and communal experience again. So just keeping the “end goal” in mind and staying COVID-connected with friends and family had really been what’s gotten me through in the most positive manner possible.
What have you discovered during quarantine?
Two things I would say that I discovered and rediscovered are matcha lattes and Tumblr! I was always a heavy coffee drinker until I realized that it didn’t really metabolize in my body that well, so I was searching for an alternative and matcha was the way! Now, I can’t go without mine in the morning to start my day.
With Tumblr, I realized I needed a space outside of Twitter and Instagram to find inspiration. A lot of ideas and concepts are just regurgitated on those platforms and there’s just always been something pure about Tumblr. It has given me the creative spark that I’ve needed so badly: no likes, no numbers, just vibes!