Journey of self
Hi, I’m Shannon.
I started Blk Women Wellness Co. in November of 2019 to create a safe space for Black Women who like me, needed support on their Wellness journey. Coincidentally it was during this time that I decided to take my Wellness journey to new heights and make more of a conscious step towards prioritizing Wellness in my every-day life.
This realization didn’t come from an idea, a conversation, or in the form of a motivational video. It came after experiencing a burn-out that heavily impacted my mental, physical, and emotional health.
For an entire year, I worked full time in both college and my profession, 7 days a week. No days off. 4am mornings, 12pm bedtimes, and more than 64 hours of c0muting between home, work and school each week. During this time I also was researching and creating content for BlkWW.Co to post at least 3 times a day.
If you ask me why I took on so much responsibility, I would tell you that I didn’t have a choice. Imagine that? Believing that you don’t have the option to REST. This chaos felt normal to me — despite my mental, physical, and emotional health declining. That’s when I realized, I was in autopilot.
By December of 2019, I had obtained my Bachelors degree in Sociology from Stonybrook University. To me, Sociology showed me something that I wasn’t learning outside of class. It really got down to the “why?” of certain societal issues, and there were years and years of research and statistics to prove it. I found a lot of displeasure in my classes however, when looking at different race disparities in certain systems such as the financial, health, and educational systems.
From a young age I was raised to be proud of my culture. Understanding our pain while cherishing our accomplishments has always been a large part of my identity. I went to an all Black elementary school where Black History was heavily implemented into the school system. I grew up hearing stories about my Grandmothers sharecropper experience in the Carolinas and her experience migrating up North. I’ve spent hours on end watching my favorite Black films with my family, celebrating our own traditions, and watching Black Families dominate the television screen throughout my entire childhood. Recipes passed down, sayings that became staples in my mind, and prayers that follow. I am my culture. When I saw these statistics, I saw my family, I saw my friends, I saw myself.
It wasn’t until Covid and the world began to change that I began to realize why I had not had the opportunity to prioritize my Wellness before. Nor did my mother, my grandmother, and the women who came before them. Recently graduated and without a job, for the first time I had time to rest.
This time forced me to be still and in constant reflection. How satisfied was I with the life that I was living? Not satisfied. How could I become more satisfied with it? What do I need to do? & What do I need to stop doing?
This led me to take a step back to study Wellness and learn more about myself for the next 3 years. This took a lot of trying new things, releasing old things. A lot of crying, losing, winning, hurting, laughing, celebrating, fighting. Any emotion that you can think of, It’s been experienced. But I found hope in that, since learning to be present with my feelings was new for me.
I’ve come to realize that’s what life and Wellness is really about. Life is going to happen - but finding balance within ourselves as we experience it can be what leads to the shift that we wish to create. I believe that by learning to prioritize our Wellness along with the other aspects of our lives, we can have a positive influence on our lives and the lives of those around us.
Maya Angelou’s book of poetry was the first book I ever purchased. As a young black girl she told me that I was phenomenal Woman, and that’s something I will forever believe. As a Black Woman, my healing begins with me. As I heal, I want to invite other Black Women and girls to heal themselves with me.
This journey is less about perfection and more about the road that we must take to reach our destination.
Wellness is for us too and it starts Within.
Let’s take this Journey together.
Love,
Shannon Qualls
