Hey meet our newest feature! Have you ever met someone and you felt like they knew something that you didn’t know? And something in you deeply wanted to know? That’s most likely the feeling of being in the presence of someone who is a radiator of positive energy and this comes by way self acceptance and self cultivation. If you are ever blessed to meet Carinna Dennis you will know she exudes this success of self. It is a blessing to know there are still some individuals in life who are dedicated to cultivating their selves and in doing this they will give permission to other to do the same. Upon meeting individuals with this unique beauty I am prompted to remind myself if I don’t cultivate myself and grow myself I will be of no use to anyone else. Take a moment and honor our newest feature with a standing round of applause. We dive into the success of self cultivation and choosing oneself over societies propaganda.
- What do you do? What is your job?
I am a full time AmeriCorps member, wrapping up the last quarter of my service with City Year Detroit. I work full time in public education, bridging the gap between “what schools and teachers can provide and what students actually need”. So, In other words, I am a second voice for both my partner teacher and my students. I am a tutor. I am a mentor. I am a human study guide. I’m an advocate and motivator. I work hard to try my best to show my students that education matters, and shouldn’t be taken for granted, as it is the key to success, and personal freedom.
- Do you consider yourself successful?
I consider success to be so many different things. For one, total independence and personal freedom. To live life comfortably in a way where if I were to get a call saying that my life was coming to a close in the next 24 hours, I’d be able to reflect with ease, knowing that I’ve done all I could to thrive to the fullest. I am not thriving yet. But, I am successful because I survived abuse and trauma, and I chose to pursue myself rather than anyone else or anything else that did not do me justice. I am here, and I still have hope in my eyes. I do have a long way to go, though.
- What are you striving for in life?
Although I do the best I can, I still feel like I’m living my life day to day.
Right now I am drafting a plan to guide me along my journey to the levels of success that I have yet to reach, which is to thrive as an independent, autonomous, happy and healthy being, in a position to share my wealth with others.
- When you reach your ‘ultimate goal’ what does that look like?
My ultimate goal is to become my own version of a cultural anthropologist and naturopathic healer. I want to travel all over the world and study how people have fun alone and together, love themselves and each other, and naturally care for one another. I want to study everything from the arts to nutrition. I want to discover what’s beyond my own home, and find a way to bottle up some of the things that touched my soul and gave me healing, and share it with others.
- Of the things you have accomplished thus far (things that were previous goals that you now have under your be
lt) how easy was it to achieve these things? What did that look like?
As someone who previously studied social work and anthropology in college, and decided detour away from being a student to become an apprentice and learn from life rather than a text-book, it has been a harder road to achieve the tools I need to suffice me as I continue on my journey to success. I wanted to become a better communicator, and to develop my interpersonal skills while working in spaces that allowed me to get closer to humans. I’ve learned so much from working with kids and, if anything, I’ve questioned my abilities more than I ever have before. But I know that this rocky road that I chose to take is what’s best for me right now even if it doesn’t yield me the results I’m looking for, sooner rather than later it wil. Slow and unsteady wins the race too, as long as you remember to breathe and find balance.
- What do you want People of Color under thirty to know about success? Is it only one version?
Success takes on many different forms. I want people of color to find what success means to them, not what society tries to propagate it to be. Discover who you are and what you want before you blindly buy into a dream that you did not create, that could potentially become a reality that you won’t be able to proudly claim as your own. Escaping the slave mentality is hard, but freedom is something that we don’t have privileged entitlement to, so we have to pursue. Not all those who wander are lost, so it’s ok to wander off from what you are told to walk towards, in order to find the path you need to be on in order to be closer to living life authentically.
- What are you planning as your next move in life?
I soon hope to acquire a career lifestyle, or make my own, where I am able to travel and learn about various cultures within the U.S and abroad, and take all the unique things I’ve learned and harness it in a way that I can share with others, to motivate them to keep hiking through their barriers so that they can continue to see what lies beyond.
- Is there anything you would like to share with this blogs audience?
Love. I’d like to share my love. *virtual hug*
Black 30 Under 30 