We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Natalie Sun Frost a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Natalie Sun, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
Name an issue, I’ve probably been through it! No lie!
From homelessness, to job loss, to childhood trauma, and more.
I built resilience from realizing I survived it all, but I also realized that God had the upper hand in letting me.
My faith is the strongest push of my resilience above all. Even when things seem tough, I remember there is peace on the other side.
As long as I keep pushing and keep praying, I will make it through— every time!
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?
Since 2017, I have been active in the writing profession of poetry, as well as curating, facilitating, and performing for numerous local events and nonprofit organizations.
My brand is a representation of Memphis itself.
Raw, Real, but Beautiful.
I fight to always highlight and advocate that through every performance.
Since being an active artist, I soon recognized the need for a solid foundation and a supportive community to thrive in the literary arts field.
Being that a lot of platforms slowly went away or spread a part, I wanted to provide a home for a lot of those starting who didn’t have a common ground to go to.
With that, I formulated ‘Spoken Memphis’ By Writers, For Writers in Fall of ‘22.
Since its creation, I have provided free mentorship and artistry guidance to countless up and coming artists. The platform has also showcased new and unknown artists on stages, as well as presented it’s first festival entitled ‘ The Mid-South Poets and Writers Festival ‘, to showcase and bring awareness to the local talents within the literary field.
My long term vision is to continue to cultivate artists who embody integrity and adhere to standardized practices, enabling Memphis to become a well-known city for prestigious and incomparable talent.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I think the three most important things I learned throughout my journey is:
1. F*** the naysayers. If you are being booked and you are requested, then your talent is noticed and you are apparent!
2. Be authentic. You should be able to be the same person in every room you enter. If at anytime you notice you have to ‘code switch’ to fit, then you are not authentic! Never change who you are for anyone but yourself! Even when changing for you, be sure it is truly who you want to be!
3. Take care you you first! You can’t take care of a single person if you’re not okay! No matter how much we want to extend and assist, if we’re not okay first— our efforts are worthless! Take care of that mind, that body, that energy, and that spirit baby! You have to love and feed into you, and then you can touch those around you at your best ability!
Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?
Who has been most impactful, again has to be the one I center around with my faith.
I pray literally everyday. That has built a light and protection around me like no other I have ever experienced.
I walk light even when on fire, because I know I’m guided by a Heavenly Father.
I lean on me more than anything, but me leans on God!!
When I literally don’t know what to do, I look above and say “take control”!
I then let the hurt go, leave it in his hands, and let him work!
To me, that’s all I need to be successful!!
Trusting in God and putting the work in, has done more for me than anything else I’ve ever encountered in life!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.spokenmemphis.com
- Instagram: NatalieSunFrost
- Facebook: Natalie Sun Frost
