We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Aria Moody a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Aria, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
I firmly believe resilience for me has come from never giving up. There is a place deep down on the inside of me, (I’m sure it’s the God in me), that simply won’t allow me to ever completely let go of my dreams. I have a million and one days and a million and one reasons to want to let go and simply find a way to be satisfied with wherever I am and whatever I have now, but I can never shake that still small voice that says – Keep Going! No matter the trouble, trauma, or tears I face; I can’t shake the drive to be better than I was the day before, to make my God, myself, my family, friends, and even my ancestors, proud of all I accomplish (even when the only accomplishment is getting up from a failure and making my way back to where I once was). One such example has been returning to the comedy stage after the death of my mother. As one of my greatest ever supporters, I didn’t think I could do it again without her face in the audience. Then I heard that voice say, “but she was so proud of you chasing your dreams. You can’t give up on that,” so I didn’t. Resilience is a by-product of surviving the dark days and remembering next time that you’ve done just that Every Time in the past, so what makes this time any different?
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I am the proverbial “Jack of All Trades”, but what most people don’t realize is that it’s actually a good thing (read the entire quote). As a teacher, I have to manage personalities and emotions and attention spans all day so being an entertainer helps me to think on my feet when my scholars require an attention grabber to get them back on track or a silly song to give us a brain break without losing track of what’s important – learning and growing. Being an entrepreneur helps me recognize how transferrable my skills are between all of the creative and professional endeavors I have, and how to manage my time more effectively for the best outcomes in all areas. I spend my Sunday mornings worshipping, learning and growing as a human, and my every other moment living my dreams according to God’s plan, loving on my people, and my puppy while learning, resting and eating as needed. When I’m a better me, I have more for myself, more to offer the world and all of those around me.
It gives me a chance to love what I do even when I’m too tired to do anything else.
My life is full of motion and emotion, so I work hard to make sure it is all positive and forward. Life takes its best shots at us all the time, but how we bounce back is what’s most important. When my brother passed away I thought I couldn’t write poetry anymore, so I focused more on acting. When my father passed away I thought I would never want to sing anymore, so I focused even more on voice acting and comedy. When my mother passed away, I realized that not one of those things had ever stopped. I was still writing not only poems, but scripts and even lesson plans and business plans. I realized that nothing had stopped the gifts that not only I believed in, but that each of them had believed in for me. I finally admitted to myself that no matter what it took, I would always keep going. When not for me (because I didn’t feel I could), when not for them (because I didn’t have them here anymore), then for Jesus Christ who had blessed me with all of them and all of these gifts in the first place. Now I’m back to learning, growing, auditioning, booking roles, and making people laugh all while I teach middle school science and book group & family travel. What I don’t seem to be great at though, is websites, so I truly need help with that…lol
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
I think the three things most impactful in my journey have been accepting the love of family (those I was born to and those who chose me), learning to love myself first (then loving others as much), and having the faith to believe that through Christ, All things truly Are possible.
My advice to others early in their journey is to trust your God, your gut, your higher power, or whatever it is that gives you strength and helps you find peace (in a healthy way). Never stop learning and growing because if you’re not doing that you’re simply waiting to die. Surviving is the easy part, your body and brain are designed to do that innately – so go out and LIVE! Life has too much to offer us, even in all that we suffer, to not go for our dreams and LIVE. Besides, if you ever need to know where you fit, baby just Stand Up and Stand Out!
What’s been one of your main areas of growth this year?
My biggest area of growth in the past 12 months has been allowing myself to be enough for me and to give myself grace. Recognizing that I’m ok whether I have an audience of hundreds, thousands and millions, or simply an audience of one. There’s no one else like me and what I have to offer the world is equally as valuable and necessary as what everyone else, and it’s not just a cliché.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ariathesongbyrd?utm_source=qr&igsh=ZDVhajBxZWdzeGg5
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shar/18K8rANAWF
- Other: If you’re ever in Metro Detroit, you can find out where I am performing through linktr.ee/AllThingsAria
Image Credits
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