Transcript for S1E7

Pat McMahon [00:00:03] This is part two of a conversation with AmaYah Harrison and Coral Martin. Part one is available to listen and can be found wherever you are right now, having just found part two.

Coral Martin [00:00:14] You did mention in your factoid sheet, you mentioned that you had also kind of this experience of moving around, changing your idea about what you want to study when you were in school. And I'm just curious to hear a little bit about about your experience with that.

AmaYah Harrison [00:00:31] Yeah. I mean, I didn't really I was like, okay, I've been involved in, you know, around artists and art and stuff. And I'm just like, okay, college is a time to explore and figure out what you want to do in life and all that, all that spiel. And so I, I thought about being in psychology. My mom was in psychology. That still is really interesting to me. And then I dabbled in like being a humanities major. And then I finally landed on I was like. I think after I took all my core classes, I was like, I think it just really matters like what I want to spend all my time and all my energy actually. Like what I what I want to invest all of that into. And the only thing that's really worth it is something that I'm really passionate about. So I came back to photography and was really glad that I did. And then I also minored in Africana studies, which also completely shifted my or it didn't shift my perspective, but it did like fill in the gaps of. It answered a lot of questions for me. Like in my black psychology class, like I wanted to take black psychology at a community college when I was in high school and the advisor then advised me not to. She was like, Because you're already taking psychology classes, why do you need to take black psychology? And when I got there, like, it really, really matters. Like the whole a whole like foundation of a class was understanding that there is no universal psychology. And the fact that black people have a completely different experience than the rest of America influences their psychology. And that was like like that can just be applied across so many other, so many other subjects and so many other just like facets of life like that. That was kind of like the deciding. I was like, okay, I need to diive deeper into, into these studies and. And yeah, so that's that's kind of how I landed where I did when I ended and. I guess I'm just, like, constantly trying to figure out, like, what what my voice is. What my like. I don't like the word pitch, but like what. Like if I were to explain, like, what my photography means or what I want to do with photography, or like how I want to, like, contribute to the world or even like, you know, our community. I'm trying to I'm still trying to build that out, but I know it has it's like it's definitely a combination of the things that I studied and just like shedding a of a light on our community from, from our perspective, like so much of our, so much of what is seen in the media and what is seen in of us is like not even from us. Like it's like taking, you know, like just taking back that voice and and like. Saying like, this is what I think black beauty is. This is what I think this is. This is how I feel about us. And, you know, I guess like taking agency in that matter. But I'm still trying to figure that out. Like I'm still trying to work out how to make that not a five sentence thing. But yeah.

Coral Martin [00:03:57] I so relate to that in terms of just kind of wanting to make sure that what you produce is counter to that imagery or kind of the world of cultural products that are is that are representing black people that weren't necessarily even written or imagined by black people. And I think that's something that's I feel like a lot of black creatives and not even necessarily creatives, but like just black people in America are constantly grappling with of the kind of like, how do I stand in my truth and, you know, like live the life I want to live in the face of a lot of imagery, some of which is is received imagery that's like people are still chipping away at and learning to question that that's actually been produced to keep us subjugated or in a space of marginality. And so I just I so relate to that. I mean, I think a big part of why I persisted in ballet was was an issue of representation, because, you know, I grew up looking at magazines to try to learn about this form that was so fascinating to me. And I really didn't see myself. Like unless I, I mean, in a human way. Yes. I saw other human beings. Okay. Yes, I saw other women. But women of color, not even just black women like it was such a white space. And especially when I was coming up, a lot of the material I was looking at was like older I would read. I was really wanting to learn like, well, what, what does it mean to be a ballet dancer? And if you only to look at the visual iconography, it was clearly coded so white, you know, it's like and not even just white, but like a very specific way of being white. And so it's just a very exclusive space. And so I felt like the older I got and the more self-aware I became, and the less it was even just about my enjoyment of of dancing and my sense that like, oh, I have this talent that I think I need to to hone. It also was kind of like it's even just me being in this space that has been reserved for like a specific type of white woman for centuries, just existing in this space and succeeding is a form of being revolutionary and is a kind of imagery that I want to be able to present as a way of being a black woman like this is this is an option. And I think that that was that became increasingly important to me and to this day is very important to me that one of the reasons I am really adamant about teaching. Being in a space where other and it doesn't have to be other young black women. It can be anyone who feels like somehow excluded from from the conversation can see me. And say like okay like she found a way into this thing where everything was telling her not to join the conversation. Everything was clear that the party was not for her. She wasn't invited. And yet she's here. And yet she's taken something from this forum and kind of decoupled it from this cultural messaging and just made it about the art. And so I think that's something that I feel like is really powerful in photography as well, in terms of just how do you how do you frame your subject matter in such a way that you are kind of taking a conversation that has been mainly held by, like, let's face it, white men and like a specific kind of white man for the majority of the history of this forum and kind of change it so that that voice is specific to you and enter that conversation. I think it's just such a. It's difficult, but it's so nourishing to continue to work in that direction. So I applaud you that you're like, I'm really trying to hone this this voice because it's like it's a life's work. That's it's like, oh my gosh.

AmaYah Harrison [00:07:54] Yeah, I love that. And it's so it's just is it's crazy how, how your presence alone is already already the act of like, pushing towards what you want to see. Like, you don't, you don't have to like, you know, I mean, protesting is one thing, but like that in itself, just being there just like occupying space in a predominantly white space. Is, is the is the protest is the pushback is like, no, I'm here like that. That in itself is such a huge step. So I love that.

Coral Martin [00:08:32] Yeah. I mean, right back at you. I mean, I'm really curious. I'd love to hear also kind of curious about, you know, like there's so many different ways that you exist as a as a photographer, both like, you know, videographer, fine photography, all these ways that that you interact with that part of your identity. And I'm curious if there's like a way that feels like really like, oh, this is the thing I like to do the most. Like, I really love taking these type of photos. Or is it just kind of like the entire experience feels like, this is me. This is AmaYah.

AmaYah Harrison [00:09:13] Mmm. I mean, I think I'm really attracted to film photography, which is something that it just has, like, so much soul. And just the just the whole process of it alone gives the work somewhat like an extra layer of depth, I feel like. So I would say that that's what I resonate most with. And as far as video, I guess I'm still trying to find the sweet spot for that because I've I've done like I've done shorts and I've done like promotional videos and interviews and different things. And there's definitely a category for like commercial things that I will do video for to make money. And then, and that's what it's been mostly these days. So it's hard to it's hard to look back at it and be like, okay, what? How, like. Like, that's where that's where I like started in video first. And it's hard to like, like dig through all the commercial stuff and what, what I've used it for up until this day and like find, like where I was passionate, like what made me passionate about video. And I guess it just comes back to like storytelling and like being able to create a story from nothing but what, what kind of like shifted me to photography was just being able to be more independent with that storytelling because it seemed like going down the path of filmmaking and the shorts making and everything like that would just mean like working on bigger production sets. And like, I just didn't, I couldn't, I couldn't see the I couldn't see a clear path to like how just like how you keep your vision alive or like how. I don't know, just like how that how that operates. I guess I was just, like, intimidated by the idea of working on larger production production sets. But I mean, Louis is just like diving headfirst into this stuff, and it's making me be like, okay, maybe, maybe I just like research more about it, like taking baby step, baby step. And it's like, maybe it's not that scary. Maybe there are ways where you can, like, create your own, create just like what works for you and collaborate on the scale that you want to. And so that's exciting. And like, I'm just like figuring out the path of video again alongside with him, which is, which has been really nice and helpful.

Coral Martin [00:11:44] Actually, that kind of brings me to another question I have for you AmaYah, and that is just what's what is it like to have both a partner in life and a partner in your creative endeavors? And like, how does how do you balance that two of kind of like, okay, we're learning together about these things that are going to further our artistic identities both separately and together. And then also like where do you draw the line of like, we don't want this to affect our relationship? You know, I'm curious.

[00:12:20] I mean, it's been an amazing journey. Like, I'm just like so lucky that I have someone that I can I can collaborate with artistically and on a personal level. And we just like, we just get each other so well. And, and we're, you know, we're continuing to learn about each other. But just the fact that I mean, I can see how it can. Just our personalities are are very different, but they work really well together and we're like, it's it's a good it's a good formula. It's a good sauce that we have going. The fact that like just considering our personalities and the fact that we collaborate on pretty much all all facets of life, it's been it's been working out really well. I mean I mean, it does like there has been times where we get too business minded and like completely forget about like, are we we're not like nurturing our relationship because we're all we're just like always like we need to figure this out. We're like we're on to, you know, making contracts and, like, you know, doing this and that. And just like wait but we're also in a relationship. Like it is interesting to have to like kind of like set set apart time for our personal things and then time for business. But it's just an ebb and flow, like when we when we got this house together that that completely shifted things to mostly personal and just like collaborating in that space instead and like working on house projects and just figuring out what we, what we want from this and like what, what just planning for the future and things that. It's been it's been an interesting ride. It's been it's been a really great ride with ups and downs. But mostly just like if if there's ups and downs, it's mostly like a gradual incline or you're still on the rise. So. Yeah.

Coral Martin [00:14:18] I love that. A gradual incline. I like that. I like that a lot. I was also you've mentioned I'm still thinking about all the things you told me about yourself. And I feel like I could talk to you for hours. But I have to respect the framework of the podcast. We have to just, like, schedule coffee, zoom each other.

AmaYah Harrison [00:14:37] Yeah. Oh, I love that. Yeah.

Coral Martin [00:14:39] Yes. Let's do it. I am curious because I know you'd mentioned you spent some time traveling traveling in Europe. So was that over the course of a summer, or what what encouraged you to take that trip and what did it end up looking like? Just curious.

AmaYah Harrison [00:14:58] Yeah. Oh, that trip. And so I, I wanted to go because I had there was an exchange student from Belgium that I'd met in high school and we just became such fast friends like she was. She was hilarious. And then my friend, who was also in digital media, the exchange student, her name was Martha, she she joined the digital media class. And me and my other friend and her were like the trio, like the old kid, the older kids in the class. And like, we just kind of did all kinds of photo fun photo stuff together and were friends like long after high school. And so I wanted to go visit her. And then my other friend Isaac, who was in digital media, he studied abroad in Europe and visited her and like had his own adventure. And so I was like, Oh, we should all like me and Isaac, we should go to Europe and visit Martha and like see all the rest of the people that he'd met at that time. And Isaac ended up dropping out, and that was fine. I was like, Okay, I'm just gonna go by myself then. I'm still gonna make this happen. And, like, I'm going to take all my savings that I have. I Throughout high school, I was like, I worked as a princess doing magic shows, and facepainting, and I, I made some change on the weekends. And so I had all, I had all that saved up and just was like, okay, let's go. This is what I'm going to do. I double major photography and art history. So that was kind of part of it too, was like it would be cool to see these things that we learned about in person. And so yeah, that's kind of what fueled it. It was so much fun and it was a lot of fun. Like it was so cheap to fly around and take the train to different countries and stuff and like the food is amazing and like all that, all that, like, romanticized ideas of Europe there are true when you're traveling there. But also, I mean, there was the other side of it. Like there was a lot of lot of frustrating things that happened over there. I just remember like being in France and there was some just like a lot of like Sambo imagery around and like people didn't think anything of it. I stayed at an Airbnb and the hosts were super sweet and they just like had this image of, like, blackface person with, like, the giant red lips and on there on their kitchen walls. I mean, I didn't start the conversation about it, but it's just like those those things, like they're small, but they do sting. And then my mom my mom ended up coming out for a couple of weeks, too, and she she faced a lot more like microaggressions than I did that influenced her time. I think it was we were in Italy somewhere and she was like just trying to shop places and like she couldn't get any help and stuff like that, which is really bad. I had a taxi driver and I tried to reach out and like squish my hair. I was like this is not happening. Just like just little things like that. And I, I mean, I could, I could go on and on about like the places in Northern Europe. Like they're the worst of it.

Coral Martin [00:18:23] Oh, no.

AmaYah Harrison [00:18:24] Besides that, like, it's still like that was part of the experience, but like at the same time, like, there was some really magical, magical parts of just like, just like feeling free and skipping through cobblestone alleyways and, and eating pizza and having bottles of wine and stuff like that, too. So it was just the ups and downs of it. And I just feel like Louis isn't interested in going to Europe. And I do want to show him because I want to. Like, it's such a it is such a romantic place, and I want to go with him, but he's just like, I don't there's no reason for me to go over there like already. He, like, he already has this idea of, like, what it'll be. But I feel like, like letting already letting that stop you from, like, seeing parts of the world is like some like having that win in some way, you know. Like you still should be able to like go and enjoy yourself in these places. But I think he's warming up to it.

Coral Martin [00:19:25] Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, I hope, I, I hope that he can because I know he's such an avid traveler, find an angle where it's like, feels worthwhile to him. Because I know, I mean, I lived in Europe for about a year and for sure, some of the things you're mentioning, I really ran into what felt like. It's probably just because I'm acclimated to like the aspects of how the US are racist like and had kind of like developed my, my coping mechanisms for US, the U.S. brand which is is, has a lot of regional flavors like I'm not going to pretend like it just import one product.

AmaYah Harrison [00:20:03] Right.

Coral Martin [00:20:04] Or export, import, I don't know. But it just it was really interesting because most of the time I was in Europe, I the apartment I found was in Paris. So it's like my home base was France. But I moved around in Europe and there were some moments where I was like, this is such like there's like, this is the most unvarnished racism ever. Like, it's just kind of like, not even slightly hidden, like, yeah, well, sorry. I'm, like, not trying to offend you. It's like, I don't even care.

AmaYah Harrison [00:20:34] Right!

Coral Martin [00:20:34] But at the same time, as you could kind of see that a lot of what where this was coming from, like the intention didn't hold malice. It was just so deeply embedded that there was like this this version of racism in this space that I think that the. I can tell you also a whole bunch of stories.

AmaYah Harrison [00:20:54] Yeah!

Coral Martin [00:20:55] But like these moments where I was like, okay, okay. And I mean, and one of the things I found really interesting because when I went over there, not surprisingly, I was dancing and I did interact with, you know, other dancers of color. And I felt like I mean, what's complex about Paris is that like the actual kind of almost like birthplace of ballet is Versailles. It's like, right, you know, 45 minutes outside of the city. So they do have this really longstanding, deep, traditional relationship to this art form. So with that comes, I think, both a lot of pride and like how they approach it. And then also, I think even more intense gatekeeping than you might find at a local ballet school in the Bay Area, obviously. And part of the reason I went to France was I had a friend who danced for the Paris Opera Ballet, and so she helped me to get an apartment. So it was like that was where I had my entryway. But I just kind of I remember talking to like some dancers who took ballet class, but they did other forms of dance, or they're just kind of like doing dancing more, kind of just for their spirit and to to enjoy themselves. And two beautiful black women dancing were basically like, I knew because I was black I couldn't do ballet. Like they just like, kind of like like they were automatically the door was closed to them. And I hear that mentality of kind of like I, I see this world and the world looks this way and I automatically know I'm not invited. And it really broke my heart because it's like, okay, I feel like I've I had to push against a lot to get to a place where I did ultimately have a professional career in ballet. I'm still currently having a professional career in ballet, and I felt like there were moments when people essentially told me like, Oh, don't do this. And the underlying idea was, It's because you're black, you shouldn't do this, not because I wasn't talented enough or whatever. It's just like purely that. And so to hear people who like believe that and let that actually kind of rearrange the course of their life really was galling. But I felt like, okay, my time in Paris, if I've grown up in this space, I'm too might have had that feeling because there were like just kind of a different inflection on the way people were treated that, you know, because I was coming from like an outsider's context, it was more shocking to me. And I'm sure someone coming to the U.S. from France would also see things that they'd find really shocking. But there were just some moments where I was like, Oh, hot damn. Like it was almost like it was so extreme and just so, like, are you kidding? I remember there's this grocery store like pretty close to where I live, so I would go pretty frequently, so I'm pretty sure they'd seen me before. And at that already at that time you couldn't use reusable bags, so you bring your own bag. And I remember I was leaving the store and like one of the people working there was like, Oh, I have to check your bag, ma'am. And I'm like, Well, this is the only bag I have. My groceries are going to be in it. And the person doing this was another black person. And I just kind of like had to stop because I'd only been living there for about two weeks or something. It was a very, very fresh kind of transplant and I felt really bereft because I actually like moved there. I had a visa to live there for a year, so it didn't feel like visiting. I was like, This is like my home for a while. And so I had to I had to tell this person. And I'm sure it came across strangely because, you know, like I was not fluent in French, I'm still not fluent, but I was like, I'm going to tell you to the best of my abilities. Like the way that this comes across so disturbing because I saw so many other people leave this for. Why was it me specifically that you chose to stop and, you know, like, you know, my whole life in the U.S., this has never happened to me. In my first two weeks in France, this has happened to me. And I'm just letting you know how it comes across as a black, you know? A black person who's not French coming to this country and understanding what it means to be black in France to this other black person. And they basically said, I'm just trying to prepare you for what it's like. And I was like, Oh, oh, that's not good. Also, like, what you going to find? Like some yogurt and a tomato and my receipt. Hello? Like, I just was. So I was really sad because I felt like there was already this kind of downtrodden. Like, the best I can expect for is something diminished. Like these women who are like, I can't do ballet or like you should expect to get racially profiled. And it's just so like, that really hurts my heart. And I don't want Louis to think, like, I can't go to this country because I can't go to countries in Europe because I feel like it's kind of embedded in that kind of mentality of like I'm already being restricted, therefore I'm just going accept this. I'm like, No, you go, you travel to Europe, no. And you do ballet if you want to do ballet. I'mma buy my tomatoes if I want to buy my tomatoes. So I feel like any time I see a person of color accepting limitations, I always kind of wonder like, how much of that is them feeling beaten down by what they've seen versus what's actually genuinely inside of their heart? And so I'm always suspicious and I'm always on the side of like, you do the thing, you go and do the thing, okay. So maybe we can take him.

AmaYah Harrison [00:26:23] Exactly, exactly!

Coral Martin [00:26:25] Just be like we're just going to Seattle, and fly all the way to like Brussels or something? I don't know we're gonna surprise him.

AmaYah Harrison [00:26:34] Right!

Coral Martin [00:26:35] But, man I'm telling you AmaYah.

AmaYah Harrison [00:26:38] Yeah, that's so. I mean, that's so true. Because that's just like those institutions really, really like doing what they were made to do.

Coral Martin [00:26:48] Yeah exactly.

AmaYah Harrison [00:26:49] Opressing. And, like, like you're not even letting them tell, you know, at that point. Like you're doing it for yourself and.

Coral Martin [00:26:55] Right, right. Very disturbing.

AmaYah Harrison [00:26:59] Crazy. Yeah. Oh, I'm sure you have so many stories.

Coral Martin [00:27:03] Oh man. Like, too many and no one needs to know.

AmaYah Harrison [00:27:09] But was, how was your overall time there?

Coral Martin [00:27:09] You know, honestly, AmaYah. It's interesting because I think what influence what influenced me to want to go to Europe. I mean it was there's just there are so many different threads kind of involved in that decision that, you know, if I were to look back at it now, I'm really glad I went, but I don't know that I would have done it in the way that I did it were if I were to repeat it. And I think part of what happened is that when I was in college in my junior year, I got the opportunity to travel abroad or study abroad. And that was amazing because I'd never left the country before and that experience was not in Europe. I was in Brazil and South Africa and Vietnam, so I was in all of these countries that were majority people of color, the global south. So just very different contexts and very different histories than, you know, the European continent. But I just kind of felt like, oh man, I got this taste for travel that was so powerful and my wanderlust was always already quite powerful, even before I had had that opportunity. So I really was like trying to seek out any way to continue to travel in a way that I could afford. So when I was graduating from school, I applied for all these different things that would allow me to travel. And so the reason I was even able to take that trip is because I did get a grant to go and live abroad. I didn't technically have to study, but I did have to kind of like establish an interest in the particular country or some kind of connection. And since I already spoke French and like I am a dancer and I knew that there is a lot of opportunity to train as a dancer in France. And I had some connections there. That was the country I chose just because there's kind of no other place outside of the US where I really felt like I had enough of a network and granted it was a very, very thin network. I'm saying there wasn't like much to rely on, but it was more than anywhere else. And also like I had some language skills, so I was like, okay, I'll try this, but. I don't know. I mean, I think I, I think I still hold to this that I want to believe there's nowhere on this planet that's, like, barred to me. I don't want to experience the world from a place of fear or anticipation of retribution, whether that's through racism or sexism or what have you. But if I had, like, just done kind of this kind of like where will I go and feel like the most comfortable? It probably wasn't going to be Paris. It's just that I didn't want to feel limited and I'd spent so much of my life after that point, kind of like pushing against the grain of like entering into spaces that some of them were like really like subtly coded, but coded as like white only really honestly, a lot of very elite spaces that had traditionally been built to support the lives of of privileged white people. And I was like, well, I'm here too. Hello. So I wasn't really like super stressed about it because I've been doing that my whole life, but I've never really done that in that context where I was completely alone outside of my language context because I spoke French, I understood French, but I was not fluent. And I was also not in school and I wasn't employed and I couldn't legally work. I was I had a long stay visa, which is like this weird in-between where you're it's fine for you to be there, but you can't take take a job unless that job sponsors your visa to be an actual resident. So it was this weird space where it's like every other time I had been really like forced to face that amount of challenge, I at least had my family or like some projects that I was involved in, whether that was school or like some intense amount of dancing. So that I was like my energies were at least harnessed. And so it was just like if I were to do it again, I wish I'd had a little bit more community or I'd had like some kind of job I could do legally or even under the table so that I might, I would had like something using up my time because I just got I had too much free time. I know that sounds like in a way really nice, but it was a little too much and I just had too much time to reflect on the state of the world, which was not always great.

AmaYah Harrison [00:31:28] Right. Right. Yeah.

Coral Martin [00:31:30] But on another level is like it was such a privilege that I was able to live outside of the US. With a stipend that was being provided for me with a certain amount of safety net because I was on this grant and with the amount of free time and the amount of kind of like. Just range of motion to not feel like, Oh, I have this program that I have to like come back to. I literally could do whatever I wanted. And so I'm also glad I'm a goody two shoes because that could have gone really wrong. But all I want to do is take dance class and cook. And so I did and it was really, really hard also. I mean, really like all I would do is like fry beans and jump around, but. But it was really nice to also have the opportunity as a young woman and I relate to what you're saying when you're saying like just traveling around was was so inexpensive to like just up and go to another country and just like move freely in all of these different cities and all these different countries purely for the experience of kind of like expanding my my expanding myself and understanding the world better and that it's just so, so privileged. It's such a privilege. And I wish it was available to more people because it really helped me to feel more solid within myself, just because I was seeing more of the world and understanding myself in relationship to so many different contexts and having to kind of fend for myself sounds a little extreme, but like kind of sometimes, yes, fending for myself, understanding how to take care of myself in context where I didn't have much. Of a kind of sense of comfort because it was like I didn't speak the language. I didn't necessarily know where I was going. I was heading to a lot of not really like intense auditions, but I did a lot of company classes with companies I would have loved to work with, just kind of to get a sense of what these companies work with. So there was like a certain amount of nerves and pressure involved in a lot of it. And just like learning how to manage all that I think was really, really useful. I think I overdid it because when I came home I was like, done. I was so exhausted. It took me like months to recuperate from that. But I think it also because I was living alone and I wanted to kind of like protect myself in the sense that I understood how to do that. I was like a little over serious and maybe could have had more fun or allowed more people to be my friends. But I was like, Don't come for me, ahhh, you know? So yeah, I probably would do it a little differently for sure at this age. But you do what you do with the information you have, you know, and like I was only 22, so I didn't know what I was doing, but I was doing the best I could. Yeah, I mean, yeah. Interesting. I'm glad I got to do it. It was maybe too much for me at the time. I think I could have done it at a pace and in a way that was kinder to myself. But I also think I felt like I had to prove something or achieve something. I'd come out of this like really, really high pressure academic environment at Harvard, where it just felt like everyone was incredible. Like you couldn't turn and look at someone and be like, Oh, that's that's fine, that's boring. Like, everyone was like, Oh, I just I just discovered a new star. I'm like, Oh, my God. You know? So I kind of felt like, oh, like the best and the most interesting, and I have to, like, really achieve something. And I think I was still really influenced by that mentality. Even though I was free of that environment, it still kind of infiltrated the way that I was moving through the world in a way that I don't think was healthy. Like no one really cared. No, there was no one, like, tracking me to be like, are you doing the best? You know? But I think it still was. I kind of hold on to that.

AmaYah Harrison [00:35:24] Yeah.

Coral Martin [00:35:25] And so. I'm glad I have the experience. It was hard. I did experience a lot of racism and sexism and just really weird encounters where it was just really clear that people had a pre-formed idea of who I was that actually had so little to do with anything that I'm about or who I am. And it just it was revolutionary because I think I was a little bit sheltered in a lot of spaces where I was surrounded by very loving parents and often encouraged enough encouraging teachers to drown out the ones who were discouraging. And so that I could feel like, Oh, I'm special, like I matter. And entering into these spaces where people really kind of were like, You got to prove yourself just to exist in this space. Was that kind of useful to a certain extent. As much as it was a hard lesson. It was useful. Again. So long winded. I'm done.

Coral Martin [00:36:16] No, no, not at all. Don't ever apologize for that. Like the. Like. Just the way you, like, tell your story. I don't know. I just, like. So. I'm so, like, absorbed into. Into your storytelling, so I don't ever apologize for that.

Coral Martin [00:36:33] Thank you. Right back at you. I feel like I'm with you.

AmaYah Harrison [00:36:37] Wait, can I. I have 2% left on my laptop. Let me. Let me go grab my charger before we're cut off.

Coral Martin [00:36:47] Oh, my gosh, Pat, we're talking so much. You have to tell us when to stop. Okay. No? This is one of, I think, Amy's talents is she just creates these these spaces where all of the people surrounding her are so fascinating and so awesome. And I'm just like, oh, my gosh, I want to talk to everyone. I don't you know, where were you all my life? Thank you, Amy, for connecting, you know, so I'm just I am a little star struck and excited. Like oh my gosh we're getting to actually connect.

AmaYah Harrison [00:37:17] Aww! Yeah, yeah. I mean, same! Amy's been talking about you too and like and wanting us to connect too. So I'm like, I'm so glad it's finally happening.

Coral Martin [00:37:29] I'm so, so glad we got to connect. It feels like, just like the tip of the iceberg and the beginning. But for our listeners, I think we should show some grace and be like, Okay bye!

AmaYah Harrison [00:37:42] I forgot, people are actually going to be listening to this.

Coral Martin [00:37:45] I know. Me too. I was just like, Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Pat McMahon [00:37:49] Bring Your Full Self is put together through the collective effort of the members of Converge Collaborative. Special thanks today to Coral and AmaYah and to you for listening. If you're interested in learning more about our group, our work, or would just like to say hi, you can reach us by emailing Converge at Converge Collaborative dot com or on Instagram at Converge Collaborative.