We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Serenity Bassett. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Serenity below.
Serenity , 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?
My mother, without a doubt. She’s the hardest working person I know, and growing up, she taught me that hope alone isn’t enough – you have to put in the effort to make things happen. She’s always been an entrepreneur, and that shaped my own entrepreneurial mindset. My mother is the CEO and founder of Mary & Berries Beauty. Mary & Berries Beauty creates handcrafted face and body care products that keep skin soft, smooth, and moisturized while supporting those with dry skin from eczema and rosacea. It has been inspiring for me to watch her have an idea and work so hard to make it come true. This is why I like to stay busy, pursue new ideas, and take action on opportunities that can make an impact. For me, it’s important to work hard so I don’t look back with regrets about what I could have achieved.
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 have always been a creative person since I was a child. I loved, and still love, video games which led to me wanting to be a video game designer. This grew into me studying computer science and engineering at the University of California, Merced where I obtained my Bachelor’s of Science. I still create video games in my free time because I love storytelling. I love the process of designing my characters and planning what will happen in the story all while ensuring it is engaging and challenging enough for the player.
Because of my passion for storytelling, this blossomed as my life today as an actress. Due to my experience as a video game designer, it gives me a unique perspective on attacking a character in the script because I know what it takes to make a character engaging. The nuances it takes to make a story interesting and the character complex. In 2026, I have a feature film coming out called “BYRON” where I take on the character Taylor Matthews. BYRON is an upcoming faith-based movie about a boy, Byron, who grew up a sheltered Christian but encounters a string of difficulties as a freshman at an HBCU by being a part of the wrong crowd. Taylor Matthews is a part of that crowd and quite a misunderstood individual. She has had to take on a lot of responsibility as the oldest in her family, which led to her being an adult longer than she’s been a kid. Alongside this, she has also been a main support for her friends who tend to lean on her a lot for their problems, which leads to her feeling depleted because she doesn’t feel like she has enough energy to give to herself. This movie is about faith, hope, and the difficulties we all struggle with because no matter what you believe or what path of life you have – we are all human. You can follow @byronthemovie on Instagram for more updates about the film, coming soon!
Since I have been writing stories for so long, both plots for games and short stories I would publish, acting feels like I am becoming the characters I write. Like I am being transported into the screen. This past June, I got to expand upon my creativity by writing, producing, directing, and acting in my own film entitled “Just A Game”. This film is about a family game night gone wrong and explores themes like masculinity, generational trauma, but most importantly what makes a family, a family. Directing combined both my engineer and artistic brain which gave me a familiar feeling of making my video games from scratch.
Expanding upon my passion for writing, I am also a poet. I have been competing in slam poetry since I was 16. Poetry has always been a passion of mine as I first discovered I had a knack for it while I was in detention in 5th grade. We couldn’t talk or do anything, so I decided to write and see what words I could rhyme together. This developed into me performing on my middle school stage, then in front of national audiences at the Brave New Voices Slam Poetry Competition in 2018. To this day, poetry is still an outlet for me to turn my life experiences into impactful stories and make meaning out of the moments that I have shaped my life.
Amongst those things, I am a musician as I play both guitar and piano. I am also a painter, a singer, a dancer, and a model. I most recently walked in the 2024 LA Fashion Week wearing SHE the Collection’s cut up designs which was my first debut as a runway model. Being a creative person is in my DNA and I am grateful to have such experiences in my life that have helped shape me into who I am today. If you want to keep in the loop of my journey be sure to follow my social media for updates on my new projects I have coming out such as Byron.
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?
The qualities that were most impactful in my journey were the ability to be resilient, the capacity to be empathetic with others, and being hopeful.
Resilience is a quality I had to develop at a young age because of my experiences growing up with severe bullying. Due to this, I had to build my confidence and self esteem brick by brick. Growing up, I was bullied heavily both physically and mentally. I was picked on for things that I couldn’t change about myself which developed into deep insecurities that took me years to grow out of. I became very self-conscious and felt that no one cared about me, simply because of the fact that the kids I was surrounded by made it a point to make sure I knew that. I didn’t feel seen, I didn’t feel heard or understood. This made me become a bit of a chameleon as a survival tactic. I’m not going to lie, I was a follower. I would copy mannerisms of the “cool” kids so that I would be considered “cool” too, and not picked on. In doing this, it made me lose who I truly was. Who Serenity was at her core. It took me a long time to discover that. Although it’s easier said than done, I had to stop caring about what people thought about me. I had to tell myself affirmations in the mirror every morning. It took me about to my senior year of high school to find who I was, throughout my years in university to accept who I was, and now to this day to thrive with the understanding of who I am and live in it comfortably and boldly. The more confident I became in myself, the more attractive I became – and I am not just talking about looks. I am talking about the types of people that I attract. The friends that I have now that support me and genuinely do see me, something I did not think was possible for me before.
Because of these experiences it allowed me to have deeper empathy for others. For a long time, I felt like an outcast during some of the most pivotal years of my life. That taught me how to step into someone else’s shoes and empathize deeply, even if their situation isn’t exactly like mine. One of my mottos are, “I’ve been broke longer than I’ve been rich.” While I wouldn’t say I had nothing, I learned to live a full, meaningful life without financial abundance. That shaped my belief that if I have something extra, I should share it. I don’t think it makes sense for someone on my street to go hungry while I have a full fridge at home. That’s why giving back is so important to me. Recently, I volunteered with Habitat for Humanity, helping build and paint playhouses for kids. As someone who loves working with children, it was meaningful to know that our creativity could spark theirs – and that kind of impact can make all the difference.
When times get hard I have to remain hopeful and a large part of how I remain hopeful is through my faith. Many people have different belief systems which help them get through and understand life, and this is mine – Jesus Christ being my Lord and Savior. My personal relationship with God has helped me so much and I truly wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Him, not just mentally but also physically, so I owe Him my life. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding. But in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.” ~ Proverbs 3:5-6. This is the scripture that I have tattooed on my arm and it is one of many of my favorite verses in the Bible because as a person who struggles with anxiety and fear of the future, it reminds me the future is not up to me. My life is not in my hands, it would be in shambles if it was. It reminds me that I have only one instruction, one thing to focus on, and it’s to trust in God. If I do just that one thing, instead of the million other things running through my brain on a daily basis, God will take care of the rest. How? I don’t know, it’s not for me to know. God will take care of it and do what only He can do cause He’s God – that’s what keeps me grounded. Yes, I sometimes I have those moments where I do breakdown and feel like I can’t do it anymore, but He always picks me back up again. Mental health is very important and often overlooked and misunderstood because of it’s complexities, but what has helped me in my journey with it? My faith.
The advice that I have for folks who are early in their journey with developing or improving on these qualities is to be easy on yourself. We are often harder on ourselves than anyone else is on us. Remind yourself that no matter what the outcome of your work is, if you truly tried your best and put your all in it – that’s enough. Remember that you don’t have to get everyone to love you, the ones that do, you should pour into them. The grass is not greener on the other side, the grass is greener where you water it.
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?
My parents have had a huge influence on who I am today. As I mentioned before, my mother’s work ethic has inspired me deeply, but so has her confidence. She has always carried herself unapologetically and never tolerated disrespect from anyone, and that strength has helped me build my own confidence to show up as my authentic self.
My father has always been the person I turn to when I’m facing important decisions. Growing up, I sometimes hesitated to ask for help because I didn’t want to seem irresponsible, but I had to learn and accept the fact that it’s okay to not have all the answers. My dad has had a lot of life experience and is mature enough to realize where he went wrong and what he would not do again. His advice is very sound and clear, which makes me confident in making a decision I was not sure about before. No matter how old I get, if I don’t know something, I still call my dad.
My parents have instilled a lot of skills and lessons in me which allow me to move in ways that makes me feel confident in my approach with life. They always remind me that they are there for me as a support and continue to pour into me which has helped shape me into the person I am today.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.serenitybassett.com
- Instagram: @sincerely_serenity
Image Credits
Shamar Binns | Instagram: @shamar_vibez
