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Showing posts from March 10, 2019

Loss + Grieving = Healing by Syreeta Talbert

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On August 29, 2017, while celebrating with family my father’s 75th birthday, my son, unbeknownst to him, was being lured into a remote area in the farthest suburb of Chicago and shot to death. He wasn’t in a gang, he didn’t know his victims. He was simply targeted, set up and killed. He was 3 months shy of graduating with his BA in Audio Engineering and Recording. Unfortunately, I wasn’t new to this type of traumatic loss. 20 years earlier, I lost a brother, the same way. Talk about losses of great magnitude. I knew immediately that I needed to get into grief counseling before I lost my mind and sense of being. I questioned myself constantly, as to why I wasn’t grieving the way I was “accustomed” to seeing those on television grieve. Once I started grief counseling I learned everyone grieves differently; some quietly, some become despondent, many don’t even know how, so for me, I wanted to learn how to grieve healthy. In my grieving and healing process, I’ve learned I grieve out l

Quitting for the Sake of Winning by Alexie Young

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Soon I will be known as the woman who put Chicago’s Westside arts and culture scene on the map in a new way. While using this opportunity to affirm what is becoming of my art career, I’d like to share my artrepreneurial journey. After I gave birth to my son in 2010, party time quickly came to an end. While I had much time on my hands, I hadn't figured out how to relieve stress. My love for art influences me to paint. I simply went to the art store and bought supplies. I had no clue what I was doing but it felt right. I shared the paintings with my boss, and she was ready to purchase. Not before long, so were others. I never thought about selling art but it was bringing in some extra cash. I continued to work in the educational field and youth development. That is where I learned the art of facilitating and creating workshops. Over time, I learned to use the fusion of art and workshop facilitation to step into the sip and paint industry. While it was my side hustle, it br