I grew up in SW Atlanta, and I was raised by a single black mother. We have faced environmental obstacles like poverty where the effects were more circunstancial (these were personally easier to work through for me). High school is a very vivid memory in my mind, as this is the time in which I began to experience anxiety and depression. Being transparent, I had some really “interesting” relationships in high school that were obstacles at the time (I have since allowed these experiences to help shape me into the woman that I am today). I believe that knowing you are not alone in your experiences makes finding the strength to go on easier. When I was depressed, self harming and sabotaging, I felt alone. Music has always been a source of strength for me through these milestones (even now I really enjoy listening to affirmations, positive subliminal beats and music mantras). When Clairo’s EP diary came out in 2018, I was mustering up the courage to come out to my family (specifically my traditional single mom). I was a junior in high school, working in Little 5 Points (Rag-o-Rama) in Atlanta when Are You Bored Yet ft. Clairo would play during my shift. For the song duration, I felt like I was floating (which sounds weird to say, but I’m sure we all have music that makes us feel this way). To me, it is both apparent and important that music has a positive impact on the mind. Certain music can bring about certain emotions (and memories). Clairo’s music is on my feel good playlists and my manifesting love playlists. I enjoy the way that the instruments and the beats sound in the music, it makes you want to dance with your eyes closed and feel good about yourself (body dysmorphia is another obstacle that I continue to work with). And the way that you feel is reflected in the way in which your life looks and what you attract. This is why music that sounds good and feels good is so important in my life. For me, Clairo marks an era where music made the teenage love/life experience seem not so lonely and dark. Clairo’s music makes me remember the high school nativity (the high school hurt but most importantly the ways that I healed and developed). It is painful, scary and potentially ominous (depending on the song or the moment), but it is bearable and worth living through. I have grown to know that everything happens for a reason, and I am grateful for this opportunity. Thank you

“Wisdom is learning from other people’s experiences“. This is the one sentence that I would share with the world if I could. Possibly unoriginal, as it sounds like I’ve heard it before, but this sentence is one of the phrases that I hear in the back of my mind sometimes. Growing up, my peers surrounding me and those older than me would ask “How are you so wise?”. This question always made me smile, and the answer is very simple. I was raised by an older, single mother who did not have me until she was 45. The people around her (and in turn the people around me) had done almost 50 years of living even before I was born. I would sit, and I would listen, and I would learn from these spoken word experiences of the elders around me. I would strongly empathize with these stories, and hearing these experiences shaped my mind into a younger brain with much older experiences. This is my personal definition of wisdom. Thank you.

Knowing that life is a constant changing, self balancing mechanism is an undeniable truth for me and has assisted me in staying optimistic through tough times. The idea of optimism is not toxic positivity or this concept that a person has to be positive at all times no matter the circumstances. Optimism is being able to clearly see a situation for what it is, as terrible and messy as it is, and to be able to know or say that things are always working out for us and that no matter how low this point is getting that things will undoubtedly improve. As I previously mentioned, things are undoubtedly “always working out for us”. This is an affirmation that I’ve taught myself to know. Affirming yourself is a key component to being more optimistic. Staying optimistic through tough times has taught me resilience and a grounded peace that I wish to share with everyone. It has taught me to separate myself from my anxieties, and it has taught me that the mind is a powerful tool that becomes the words that you feed it. Thank you.

Growing up, like most people, I battled with severe anxiety and depression. I have always been an avid believer, though, that it matters more what you do with these unpleasant thoughts than the fact that the thoughts are there (because bad and negative thoughts will come regardless). I make it a goal to move my body everyday, whether this be from dancing to a song that I like or going to Planet Fitness with my membership to work out. Sometimes, it is easy for me to get overwhelmed and my bedroom will reflect that. For me, self care can be as simple as cleaning my messy room or cooking for myself so that I remind myself to eat today. My life is positively impacted when I prioritize myself and my self care. I love my friends and family around me, and in order for me to love them properly I have to fill my own cup (tend to my own needs) first. Thank you

I was raised in a single parent household by a single mother while my father was incarcerated for 7 years of my life. I was able to obtain an instant understanding of what happened when my dad butt-dialed the house phone accidentally while running from the police. I heard the yelling, and the slamming, and the sirens… and I sat by the phone crying for dad until mom came over and gently hung up the phone. I didn’t speak to my dad for a while after he was locked up. This event was a shock to my younger self and showed me with my own eyes that actions have consequences. My dad did not always make the most wise decisions when I was a little girl, and to hear my dad getting arrested on the other side of the phone (presumably from an unwise choice that he decided to make) was a rude awakening for me in a way. I was around 7 years old when my dad was incarcerated, and most 7 year olds don’t spend their free time thinking about how bad results can happen if people do bad things. Being the youngest child raised by my mom and seeing her work all 7 days out of a week taught me grit. The fact that my mom never gave herself even the weekends off (although it pained me) taught me the value of hard work and gave me a high standard to work up to in my future. The work ethic that I observed in my mom is the one that lives in me now. Forgiveness is something that I have learned in life (and am still working on everyday) and I often contribute my familiarity with forgiveness from my experiences that I’ve had with my dad. I was hurt for years knowing that my dad could not just come home right now. In order to rebuild a new kind of relationship with my father, I had to forgive parts of him that were not his fault. This is hard to do, and I am still working on it, but I forgive him. Thank you