Sidity’s Secrets
An inside look at Destine’s Journey with Mental Health
At what age would you say you had your first experience with mental health? How has this experience shaped your life?
My first experience with mental health occurred when I was about five or six. My mother began having an episode due to her suffering from bi-polar/schizophrenia, however I didn’t know what was going on. All I knew was I was watching my Mom behaving incredibly weird, and it was scary for me since I had younger siblings I wanted to protect. From then on it was my immediate response to protect everyone around me when I felt my Mom becoming her “other” self.
What does mental health mean to you? How important is it for you to teach your daughter, younger siblings, and everyone else who looks up to you about mental health?
Mental health means the ability to have peace or destruction. Mental health has extreme definitions to me due to my Mothers’ journey; her health was a difference between a normal day or a constant state of emergency. It’s my duty, not just important, for me to teach my younger siblings, daughter, and anyone I come in contact with to learn about mental health. Mental health can be taken for granted by many due to their ability to wake up in the morning and feel like they have a normal day. On the other side of that spectrum people can wake up in the morning and feel like a new person every hour, every second, and be lost within their own mind. So, teaching mental health to others is making sure we're aware of how we treat people in order to have them be in the healthiest space possible for every individual.
As a business owner, college student, and mom how do you balance your mental health with the busyness of your life? Why is it so important that you never give up?
Balancing my mental health is a part of my business. If I can’t categorize my day and put myself in the best position to present my talents then I haven’t correctly prepared. It’s critical that I be able to deal with going to school, talking to my daughter, and running my business at high capacity. Every single item is dependent on me being in my best space. Planning is the key to all of this. Making sure that I’ve prepared the night before, week before, or sometimes month before puts me ahead of the game. That way if anything goes astray, I’ve planned my day in a way that allows me to handle whatever comes. Giving up isn’t an option, so it’s of the utmost importance. I’m one of six siblings with a daughter, if I give up then what have I taught everyone around me?
How did you decide to start Sidity Society? What makes helping people with their own businesses so important to you?
Sidity Society was actually my everyday life, I just never realized I should put a price on it. Having started a hair business and clothing store previously, I was used to being on a never-ending quest to learn about how to make my businesses the best. Eventually I realized I enjoyed being the director of talents more than just a vendor of products. Helping people with their own business is like doing my favorite puzzle everyday. To this day I love learning about marketing strategies and figuring out innovative ways to bring them to different markets. So working with businesses allow me to stay sharp and do something that I love in different industries!
What are some ways you practice self-care?
Sleeping, eating meals that I enjoy, and hanging out with my friends. Everybody needs a break, including me, so I always make sure to find ways to decompress and let my hair down. I also talk to God daily. I know this world is bigger than me and talking to my creator allows me to relax and put my restlessness or doubt in someone who can transform any situation.
What is one thing you feel is important for people to learn from your journey?
RUN YOUR RACE. There are a million people trying to figure out everyone else’s recipe for success, love, happiness when the only thing they should focus on is their own journey. The final answer isn’t usually the final answer, because it took several different paths to reach that answer. Running your own race will teach you and grow you for exactly where God wants you to be.
What does Evolving mean to you? In what ways have you been trying to evolve?
Evolving means preparing for my next level. I’m not perfect and won’t ever be perfect, however consistently looking for ways that allow me to change how I respond to situations and learning to adapt will let me evolve into my best self. I’m trying to evolve from a hustler to a CEO, I’m trying to evolve from this current version of me to my best version of me daily… Hopefully, I am evolving for life, there’s never a time to stop learning and growing.