We recently connected with Bree K. Jones and have shared our conversation below.
Bree K. , thank you so much for making time for us today. We’re excited to discuss a handful of topics with you, but perhaps the most important one is around decision making. The ability to make decisions is a key requirement for anyone who wants to make a difference and so we’d love to hear about how you developed your decision-making skills.
Unfortunately, I did not make many good decisions when I was a youth. I don’t want to paint a picture that I always made terrible decisions, but the bad decisions I made were quite huge and left a negative impact on me and those around me. As I was coming out of my teen years and entering my early twenties, I remember listening to a sermon where the Preacher’s subject was about making decisions. He stated, “Every decision you make today, will either positively or negatively affect your tomorrow”. That statement was both enlightening and profound. It changed not only my perspective but my life. Since then, I’ve lived a life of intentional decision-making. I; ‘m human and of course, I will still make decisions that may not benefit my being. But the difference is my intentionality in not being impulsive.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I am an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter and an aspiring TV Producer. Attempting to juggle both careers is quite a challenge because I’ve reached success in one career while starting at the bottom of the ladder in the other. Both careers are demanding and trying to maintain one while striving for another is difficult, to say the least.
One thing I can say about Sign Language is that, if you don’t use it, you lose it. I’ve worked really hard and put in a lot of years to become fluent in the language and foster relationships within the Deaf community. As I’m striving to attain another career, most times, it gets in the way of me being able to attain my skills as an interpreter. As a result, I have to take extra measures by practicing during my spare time to ensure that all won’t become lost.
My journey to becoming an interpreter is a long one, but my passion for the community ignited after befriending members of the community. Most of my friends were actors or people who wanted to be in entertainment in some capacity. However, they often found it difficult because of the language barrier and lack of awareness about the Deaf culture. As a result of supporting their dreams, I fell into the realm of entertainment. The entertainment world wasn’t new to me. My mother is a thespian so I often had the privilege of seeing her grace the stage and captivate audiences. However, being behind the camera was something I had little to no concept of. This is the shortened version of how my desire for wanting to combine both my career choices came about.
Despite it being difficult, I know I’ll get it done. I don’t know how I don’t know when. But I have the faith and work ethic to ensure that it will come to pass. God would not have placed this passion within me if it was not going to prevail.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
No one likes a mean person. So please be kind. It may sound simple, but you’d be surprised how many people are just simply unpleasant. Make yourself friendly. We’re all going to need someone in some capacity to help us along the way. However, if you’re not friendly or nice, no one is going to be eager to come to your aid. It’s quite hard and almost impossible to make it anywhere in your career choice without some type of support system.
If you’re an introvert and experience social anxiety, just breathe and take it one day at a time. Find one person who you trust and love and begin working on those skills with them.
Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?
I don’t think my parents were strict, but my parents often had the reputation of being strict compared to how my peers were raised. Based on my personality, I needed to be raised the way they raised me. The type of person I was, I didn’t believe fat meat was greasy and often tested boundaries that could have resulted in detrimental consequences.
So yeah, what others saw as being strict was my parents’ attempt at trying to shape me into a responsible adult who could contribute something positive to society. I didn’t see it at the time of course, but looking back, this is definitely the best thing they did for me.
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