Meet Sasha Camille

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sasha Camille. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Sasha, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
The magic of my ancestors runs in my DNA. I come from a family of hard workers. My bloodline originates in Haiti and my people have always had a fighting spirit. My grandparents and my parents immigrated to the U.S for better opportunity. They worked long and hard even despite the language barrier to get an education and a career here. My grandmother was much older so she jumped straight into working minim wage odd jobs to provide for my entire family. It wasn’t easy and there were many complications in the process that they had to overcome but no matter the circumstances they never gave up. My family doesn’t believe in giving up. Growing up, i knew failure wasn’t an option for me. My parents had high expectations for me and my sisters and I knew i couldn’t fall short in anything i did. I’ve always had a thirst for knowledge and i was very curious. I’m the first to ask questions or think of an innovative way to make something happen. I’d have a lot of out of the box ideas and would get into all kind of shenanigans with my cousins, which definitely got me into trouble at times. I was born in New York and moved to North Miami to live with my grandparents when i was 4 years old. I loved to read and look at books even though i didn’t know how to do it yet. My mom bought me a bunch of writing practice books and other learning books and I would just go through them. I didn’t go to preschool and jumped straight into kindergarten; learning English while being raised by my grandparents who only spoke Creole was a learning curve, i was in a in between of knowing broken creole while learning the English language. Once i actually made it into school, i picked up on everything very quickly. I’m not a numbers person so i struggled with arithmetics but excelled with reading and writing. Once i was properly taught how to read and write i couldn’t put a book down. I’d be caught reading during math class or walking and reading at the same time. There was a lot of pressure for me to be great. Good never cut it and once i got older it really shaped how i handled problems. I was always self sufficient and my parents were constantly working so me and my sisters were constantly looking after each other and taking care of each other and the house. By middle school, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer and had to take a break from working. Chemo made her very sick and i would take time to take care of her and massage her when her body would ache or if she needed anything. I had to make $20’s stretch a week, would walk a mile to get to school, make sure my younger sister did her homework and that my homework got done. By the time i was working age i immediately got a job at cold stone and would sell ice cream and sing for tips. In my mind, i knew i had to hustle because it’s been instilled in me since a young age that this world is cruel and unforgiving. No one is going to help me but myself. Throughout my entire life, I felt conditioned to be perfect and one way, fall in line with the “American dream” and assimilate into white American culture. It wasn’t until i took the time to do my own research on black history and my culture that i realized I wasn’t living in my truth. I spent all my childhood catering to what my parents expected of me and not what i wanted. I worked hard to please others instead of making sure i was happy and that realization made me furious. Once it clicked in my head, i knew exactly what my purpose was. I was always a creative, i was always a storyteller. I used music and writing to express my most inner thoughts and to explore my self journey into womanhood and becoming who i am now. My grandma had all girls and one boy and nearly all of them are nurses. My mom wanted the same for me but i knew that isn’t what i wanted to do. I didn’t want to be a nurse, i wanted to be free. I wanted to create freely and be able to profit off of that so i can take care of myself, my family, and my future. I thought big, i had bigger plans for myself and i knew i could find a way to use my talents to help people on a wider scale. They were not receptive at first and i got a lot of push back for wanting to go a different route. For the first time in my life, i didn’t do what was expected of me. I did what i wanted to do and it felt exhilarating. Once i got a taste of freedom and passion i couldn’t let it go. I started thinking of more ways to explore my ideas and creativity, started trying to bring music programs to my schools, joining any creative after school activity available, to even beginning to write and create my own music and poetry at a young age. I was overflowing with vitality like I’ve been reborn. My work ethic comes from generations of innovators who had to persevere despite any trial or tribulations. I’ve nearly given up many times but through it all I’ve persevered and overcome.

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’m so grateful for the life i live. To be alive and to share that experience with the people i love. All I’ve ever wanted since i was a little girl was to be able to have the people around me be happy, fulfilled, and taken care of. I’ve seen enough struggle and pain to know that no love can thrive in that environment. I use my artistry to propel my activism so i can give back to my community. It started as an outlet to express myself and better understand who i am and became how i break the barriers set around me so i can transcend the system put in place to oppress me and my people. The goal is to truly be free so i can reach financial freedom and share that wealth with an entire generation of innovators and out of the box thinkers. I grew tired of struggling and hustling, i want peace for everyone I’m blessed to meet. I know that it sounds idealistic in hindsight but not impossible. Now more than ever in the times we are in, we need to come together, so many things are put in place to keep us apart and at odds. Through volunteering and donating to not only organizations but actual people who can reap the benefits of receiving aid and care, i know we can create that shift in the way we communicate to eachother. Children have and always will be the future and nurturing them and giving them opportunity to learn and grow is the key to a successful revolution. We are in a new era and I hope my influence as a creator can shape a better future not just for myself but the world around me.

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?
The 3 most important things that impacted my journey that still hold value to this day: 1. Faith
2. Integrity
3. Mindfulness

These 3 things may seem separate from each other but they’re all very deeply interwoven with each other. You need all 3 for a truly balanced life. To have faith is to have full trust and confidence in something. You need to stand for something or you will fall for anything. Deception and illusions will leave you stuck, you must turn to your faith to guide you and i don’t mean it in a religious way but a deeper spiritual way. Your soul naturally gravitates towards its true purpose, it’s up to you to guide it there. To have integrity is to be whole in oneself. When you can be honest with yourself you can navigate the world around you easier. You don’t need to be perfect to have integrity, you just need to know who you are and live honorably. Remember you are not alone in this life journey. And lastly, to be mindful is probably the most important step and something i still work on to this day. To be mindful is to live in the moment with awareness. There is a lot to take into account like our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and surrounding environment. You must get out of your head and live in the now. The past has already happened and the future is a mystery, all we have is the present. It is easier said than done but when you take the time to focus and slow down your attention then you become more aware of the little details which can lead to a major domino effect. You are never not in control, it’s all about using your power to the best of your abilities so you can grow. I’m 21 years of age as i write this but i know these core values will stick with me for a lifetime. I hope it helps you as much as it has helped me.

Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?
A book that resonates with me deeply is, “Breath, Eyes, Memory” by Edwidge Danticat published in 1994. The book speaks of a woman named Sophie who was born in Haiti and moved to New York City as she recounts her childhood memories of being on the island and her transition into American life. It deals with the wounds of trauma and having to navigating through those pains and womanhood through generations. Sophie has a deep inner battle with herself while bearing the weight of her own wounds and that of her mothers. She doesn’t meet the expectation of her mother and is kicked out of her home in New York and flees back to Haiti with her infant daughter. Eventually her mother joins her in Haiti and they reconcile. I really enjoyed the beginning when Sophie was being taken care of by her aunt in Haiti and they spoke of the children playing and the culture of the community at the time, it made me feel closer to my roots. “ The bélét man, this albino, whose name was Chabin, was the biggest lottery agent in the village. He was thought to have certain gifts that had nothing to do with the lottery, but which Tante Atie believed put the spirits on his side. For example, if anyone was chasing him, he could turn into a snake with one flip of his tongue. Sometimes, he could see the future by looking into your eyes, unless you closed your soul to him by thinking of a religious song and prayer while in his presence.

I could tell that Tante Atie was thinking of one of her favorite verses as he approached. Death is the shepherd of man and in the final dawn, good will be the master of evil” (Danticat, Chapter 1).
There are certain things i know of through word of mouth. My own grandmother liked to play bélét and gamble and my mother the same. Being born from New York myself with hatian roots i always empathized with the narrator of the novel. It felt like i was there with her when i would read the book and it really spoke to me. It’s a heart wrenching tale but very raw and true. I’ve always struggled with standing up for myself and people pleasing and this book helped me a lot with realizing that you need to stand up for yourself. Saying no when you don’t feel comfortable is not a crime. Women are conditioned to be complacent with things we don’t even agree with. You can overcome fear and it’s okay to take a risk. There is power in saying no and being defiant. In a time where Haiti was riddled with supernatural occurrences and scarred by corruption and political violence, it really explains the wisdom and suffering of an entire group of people through the tales of one young girl.

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@indigoviiision @angelinacphotos @kaptured_bykhalil @loadedupvisuals

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