We recently connected with Rojonna Luv Handy and have shared our conversation below.
Rojonna Luv, 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?
As human beings we all have to live this thing called life. No one is exempt from facing the obstacles that come with this life. No matter the level of the obstacle, you can trust that you will be served one on a platter. How you handle hardships varies on the level us as humans are operating on. For me, RESILIENCE is one of my main strategies that got me to where I am now and that keeps me continuing on this journey. I’ve watched RESILIENCE as a child, growing up in a single parent home. My mother was my first teacher of this strategy. Watching her do everything by herself, while providing a great childhood for me is my best memory. I never lacked for anything and if my mother didn’t have it she always made a way to get it. Throughout my life I have heard stories where young girls have missed and felt the absence of not having a “father figure” in their life. I’m cognizant of how blessed I am to have never felt the lack or absence of not having my father in my life consistently. It never bothered me and I wondered why. Now, I know it is because of the RESILIENCE my mother has in her. She didn’t allow the difficulties of being a single mother to hinder her or her daughter. Yet, she only let it make her stronger, wiser, and more motivated to do and be better.
When I think about it, RESILIENCE comes from the strong background of women in my family. For example, I’ve watched my aunt who owned one of the most prominent BLACK Dance Studios in Connecticut beat the odds by making history and overcome tons of obstacles as a Woman of Color in the Arts. Her RESILIENCE sparked my RESILIENCE within myself for my career and artistry.
So, having had the examples of RESILIENCE I became RESILIENT. I understood the depth of difficulties and what they are meant to do for us as humans. I understand that nothing is made to destroy us but to make us stronger, of higher quality, and wiser. We go through these challenges in life to correct us internally and to lead us to where our purposes are. I understand that to live is to continue. Not having your mind set on the how, why and when, but being able to be flexible with where life leads you and to make due. With all of that, I am able to adapt to the ugly and the beautiful which helps and continues to build the strength in my character.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I was born and raised in the small town of New Haven, CT. My artistry started in Dance at the age of one. I’ve studied Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, Modern, Tap, Hip Hop, West African, and Musical Theater. By the age of 14, I started my career in teaching Dance. My first experience teaching, I taught Ballet and Jazz to a city-funded after school program for low income students which gave me an appreciation for community. Throughout my formative years, I attended Art schools and Theater camps, that developed my love for ACTING, WRITING and ENTERTAINING. In 2018, I started taking classes at New York Film and Television school learning on camera etiquette. The following year I decided to fully go after my dreams as an Actress, Filmmaker and Entertainer, and I relocated to Los Angeles, California. I studied at Richard Lawson studios learning Auditioning & Acting skills as well as filmmaking, making it a business for myself. I recently graduated from an online course at NYU|TISCH Film & TV program, developing my Writing,Directing, Film & TV skills.
I am a vessel in this world being used to tell my stories (testimonies), and share my gifts to encourage and set souls free. Nothing in this world moves without a story and I never understood or accepted the stories of my life until I realized they were given to me for my purpose. God has directed me on how to turn my trials into my treasures. God has given me stories to tell the world through filmmaking, bringing awareness to each and every issue that arose in my life. I describe myself as an ARTIVIST. I am a survivor and my art will fund and create safe houses and organizations for Domestic violence, human trafficking, mental health and more. My dream is to own a Major Film Studio (Luv Studios) that will serve also as a Performing Arts Center, as well as an Arts program for children with Autism. I am here as a servant available and ready to help in any way I can. I want to create a space where people feel comfortable and safe within themselves and their experiences, not letting what you’ve been through define YOU but YOU define it.
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?
1.Faith- My faith is what has sustained me in every season of my journey. Faith is the substance of hope. Substance translated in Greek means “a placing or setting under, a substructure or foundation”. My foundation is my faith. We all HOPE to achieve our dreams we have, right? So keeping your faith alive is vital because without it you will not have anything to build off of. 2.Support- It is so important to have a proper support system in your life. You need a balance between being able to have someone giving constructive criticism and love. There is NO WAY you can be on this journey alone. We all need someone and were made for connection. So, having a great support system has been gas for me.
3. Experience- I have learned soooooo many things on this journey to the point where there have been times I was concerned that I was off track from my dream.For example, I have a job camera operating for sports but my dreams have nothing to do with sports or camera op. I know, how did I even get the job? That’s another story for another time. But anyways, I felt like I wasn’t adding value to my dreams doing this job but that definitely was not true. This experience helped me get to my next experience. So now, I welcome experiences with open arms because you never know what they will lead you to.Dont box yourself in!
What has been your biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months?
I love this question because we are constantly growing and improving daily. Lately, my biggest area of growth has been the battlefield with my mind. I know I’m not the only one that has battled with negative thinking, condemning inner thoughts and LOTS of overthinking. I noticed I had a lot of negative thoughts because of the different traumas I’ve encountered. With everything that I’ve been through, although it made me elevate it also made me discouraged. Having doubt, discouragement and negative condemning thoughts are all tricks of the enemy. “You are your worst critic”, is a real statement. “The enemy within”, is also a real experience. What you think will eventually come to pass. So if you’re constantly thinking negative then negative will manifest in your life. Think about what you’re thinking about. Ive done a lot of work training my mind to think positively. For anyone who is struggling I highly suggest reading Joyce Meyers- Battlefield of the Mind. That book gave me so many tools and has been a significant part of my growth.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://rojonnahandy.wixsite.com/my-site
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonnaluv/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rojonna.handy/
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/rojonnaluvhandy
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcLicnQeK8ZCj3nAVu–KzA
Image Credits
John Kale Mark Murphy Carly Pierre
