We were lucky to catch up with Alea Lovely recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Alea, so excited to talk about all sorts of important topics with you today. The first one we want to jump into is about being the only one in the room – for some that’s being the only person of color or the only non-native English speaker or the only non-MBA, etc Can you talk to us about how you have managed to be successful even when you were the only one in the room that looked like you?
When I was a kid, I grew up in a very diverse school setting where I had a really good friendships and confidence in who I was but that all changed when in middle school I changed schools and I was largely the only black kid in a lot of my social settings. So I got really used to being the only one in the room that look like me and it got to a point where for a long time I disowned my own personal qualities. I did my best to assimilate and acclimate to those who are around me until I just kind of had this breaking point where I was like what am I doing? It felt so forced in an authentic and I’m alive and I just decided that nothing could feel worse than trying to fit in a box with everybody else who is trying to fit in the same box that I would have a lot more space outside of the box and that is where I learned to spread my wings.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
My career first began in photography and I’ve done that for almost 20 years. I have recently stepped into painting, and I’m having my first big debut show in May. I am also a podcast host of a podcast called Spiritual Shit that has been chart topping in the past and explores the aspects of human life with spirituality. A since a child have had medium abilities and a deep connection to the spirit world and I really enjoy being able to bring that to my podcasting, my readings, and now my art. Having this deep spiritual connection to the other side at times has made me feel other, because the way I see things can be quite contrary to the human experience, but I’ve learned to really embrace that and have had great success, and bringing those ideals and topics to the masses through my voice and my artistic expression
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I definitely think my ability to look at a situation for what it is and find a way to make it happen has been a great skill of mine. There’s so many things that people have told me I couldn’t do, and even with financial devastation or a growing up really poor I had to get really creative with how I would be able to keep up with the other people around me who had more privilege or more resources. So when I see an obstacle, I tend to be very defiant the obstacle. I tend to look at it and try to find more ways around it and it is that ability that has definitely given me the vast amount of opportunities I’ve had because I don’t often stop trying or quit. The second thing is my connection to my spirituality. It’s giving me a lot of confidence, and due to my curious personality has sent me on a journey of finding ways to know myself better, but also know the world, and how to have more empathy for the world. That has given me a lot of grace and patience with people and circumstances I don’t often feel fair, and when I’ve been super down, I’ve been able to turn into a spiritual support system that has really given me the positive outlook I have today it gives me more empathy for myself and my failures, and to be honest gives me a lot to look forward to in my day-to-day human life . The third thing is my artistic vision, my ability to look at a blank canvas and give emotion or movement or color has always been one of my favorite attributes that I can definitely credit my mother, for she was always so creative and would give us the space to do crafts, and uplift, our creative ventures and so I think I get a lot of my artistic vision from my mother who has been so encouraging in the process of me discovering what that is for me. I’m really thankful for that.
Looking back over the past 12 months or so, what do you think has been your biggest area of improvement or growth?
In the past 12 months I would say overcoming my imposter syndrome has been a massive area of growth! I have decided that I am tired of the gatekeeping that art Galleries purport so I decided to put on my own gallery show and I’m making loads of pieces, and essentially producing an exhibition, curating, framing, and doing all the work of what feels like 10 different people haha. But I’m really excited to see the in and out process of what it means to produce this type of event. I’m really happy that I didn’t give up on myself because there have been you know every other day where I was like I’m not a painter and will pack up all my stuff and decide that I couldn’t do it. That I wasn’t good enough to do it and I just had to ask myself the question Why not me? Success happens for those who are not bound by their negative voice in their head, I wanted to explore if I could and I’m really thankful that due to the support of my friends and family I have ventured out into a semi-new world for me to do something I really genuinely love .
Contact Info:
- Website: Thelovelyalea.com and alealovelynyc.com
- Instagram: @thelovelyalea and @alealovely
- Youtube: YouTube.com/thelovelyalea
Image Credits
Mariah Seifert on the professional images.
