my world is…
10 days. 23 stories. Some crying. Loads of laughing and joy. Many reconnections. And a book full of advice, thoughts and emotions to hold onto forever. For 10 days, I decided it was time to let someone else do the talking. There is so much power in the act of listening, so that is what I did. I think the pictures and stories speak for themselves, but if you didn’t catch on, this was a womanhood project. The following photo and interview pairings are available for in person viewing one time only at MANIFEST - October 12th, 2018 .
-Sarah
My name is Maab and my world is adventurous.
“In my free time I like to hang out with my friends, because I don’t have much time to hang out with all of them so I always try to make the most (of the time) with every single one I can with them… I feel like human’s worst fear is to be lonely in their life.
So having friends can actually heal you and your heart. Whenever you’re down or just need something, it’s great to have someone be there for you. It’s non-blood family… Since I don’t really have much family in America I usually take my friendships very seriously. Because I don’t have family, I treat friends as my own family...I basically grow with friends not through time but through quality. Some of my friendships I’ve created, I’ve known for only about a year.”
My name is Annie and my world is changing.
"I definitely believe in the ‘fake it until you make it’ mindset. I remember in high school, I was not like this at all. I mean I’m still pretty shy but I was SHY. Super introverted. I had my two friends and I was good. I was the person in the back of the class reading books and stuff, minding my own business.
Then I went to college and thought, new me!… I really didn’t change. I just faked being confident enough that I became confident. I think I found it by finding a really good support system who hyped me up a lot. Especially Lauren (her boss). Finding a good mentor and boss that pushes my growth, that just gives me confidence. That she believes in me. And then, also having strong women to look up to and good friends."
My name is Bryanna and my world is limitless.
“I want to talk about Vegas! The trip was fun, being somewhere new. So I was in Las Vega as one of the delegates for VCU’s Chapter of Alpha Kappa Psi. I had a ball, but not for the reasons I thought I would have. Literally just.. That was the first time being off the east coast. With different time zones, meeting different people and with the brotherhood, I was meeting 10-15 new people everyday.
It really made me realize there’s just so much out in the world. There is no reason for me to ever really hold on to a situation that makes me unhappy. I was there for business. I didn’t go out and go clubbing because everything was 21+... SO I was walking the strip and eating out. It’s stuff like that...it was so warm. It was good to be out there talking to new people about their lives. The way I felt out there, I had no care in the world. I was so happy just to be out there, with all the food.. So great! So when I got back to Richmond I was thinking that I know that I can’t live my life everyday like a vacation.. But there’s no reason to strive to feel like that everyday. Before I went, I was content with my life. I guess settling for less. And I don’t wanna do that anymore.”
My name is Hadiya and my world is oceanic... you don't really know what's in it.
"I was sitting in my room and I was like, I don’t feel as on fire for my religion as I used to be and it’s slowly driving me insane. At one point I even looked up ways to restart the fire. So that I feel more in tune with things like I used to be. Now I still pray, I read the bible every now and then, it’s not where it should be. At the same time, there are times where I feel like I'm on my own doing stuff. But then I look at like people that go to church all the time, or heavily involved with that community. They look like they have everything together. But it’s like, on the other side of things, I know that’s not the answer of everything. Just because you go to church doesn’t mean that you are any more engulfed with everything in it. Or your faith is greater than the next person’s, without continuing to try and work. It’s a relationship. A relationship that you have to continue to grow in, but also work for.”
My name is Keyris and my world is radiant.
"You just have to keep doing what you’re doing and you have to keep being inspired by anything. Like this project or tomorrow you want to wake up and interview chefs or people in the gym world, it doesn’t matter that you’re not studying this.
You can always be a storyteller. You can always tell a story of a community or people. You can’t let anybody tell you you’re not good at something just because you’re not studying it. That doesn't matter. If you’re studying it on your own time and you are really trying to work hard and not be a fraud, then it doesn’t matter. Everything is a work in progress. In terms of love. You just have to wait… You just have to wait for the right person. And when it’s the right person it might suck at first. From experience it really must suck at first, and then it might just be awesome! Like I might just marry this person and I don’t wanna date anybody else. I think that you just have to be patient and the right person will find you and you’ll find them. And when you find them you better be persistent."
My name is Janet Lawrence and my world is blessed.
"Sometimes you get anxious and you need to work on your mental health and your own internal battles. You have to take care of yourself. You can’t take care of anybody else if you don’t take care of yourself. You have to have wellness time. Go to a spa, set yourself up a nice bath, go for a walk, learn breathing exercises. Know how to center yourself and calm down. Pray. Drink some tea. Whatever it is you need to do to get well. Have a good friend that you can talk to, someone you can confide in. Don’t keep everything inside. And Forgive. Don’t hold on to bitterness and resentment because that will cause you physically, mentally , emotionally.. damage. You can get cancer and all types of diseases just by not forgiving. Forgive. Forgive.”