“Please, keep looking. Not for your person but your passion, your love, your courage, your goals, your dreams, your happiness, yourself. Keep looking. Explore yourself before you explore another. Know your worth. Know yourself. Only then will you know what you need over what you want. You need yourself to become your own.“ – Chanel Herbert
Chanel was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY in a “huge family full of outspoken and lively Caribbean people.” Caribbeans are not only known for their amazing partying energy and delicious ox tail dishes, but also for having an immense love and value for family. This is something heavily ingrained in most Caribbean children growing up. “Growing up in a Guyanese household with strong personalities has taught me a plethora of things. I learned to love my beautiful black skin, to be free and confident in who I am, to be independent and self sufficient and also loving and caring of those around me” Chanel eloquently shared. This statement alone deserves its own dissertation written about it, but to briefly unpack this, self love for black men and women in America is a critical and almost timeless issue. What many fail to understand is that black adolescents in most home are taught that their skin color does not make them less valuable but that it is a sign of strength. This isn’t to say children of other demographics does not struggle with image, because image and beauty is a universal notion that every group has their own ideas towards. The issue with image for black people is just different to say the least. Because the history of our country has trampled and mischaracterize what it means to be black, young children today need these movements today the celebrate black success and black love to help them believe and understand their validation; this is why it is imperative that this begins in the home of any black adolescent.
Q + A TIme
What has been one of your greatest challenges when interacting with other people in regards to backgrounds and culture; what was your response to it?
“I feel that I interact well with other people, regardless of background and culture. I think that communication is the first step of getting to know people so I approach all interactions with open arms. Something that I do struggle with, especially now as an adult is projecting my personal stereotypes and bias on others. What I mean by this is given the social climate we are currently in and the impact of social media, I find myself having preconceived notions about how other people feel towards black people. Therefore, when talking with other people outside of race, culture or background, I try to avoid certain topics or I tend to internally judge someone if they say things that don’t align with my racial/social views. However, I am working on getting comfortable with having those types of conversations.” – Chanel Herbert
Awesome! This leads to to ask you about your own values. You model, or have the ability to, and you are very strong and confident in your beauty. What is it that drives you?
” I some modeling in college through a fashion show called “Envied” and it was definitely the confidence boost I needed. That explains why I did it until I graduated. It was then that really started to embrace my beauty and get comfortable in my femininity. Before then, I felt a part of me was still hung up on the fact that I didn’t have the curves or bust or butt of the women I saw on Instagram Lmaoo. But that show gave me confidence in just loving what I have. So after my first first show sophomore year, I decided to just focus on loving myself a bit more. The thing that drives in life is simply happiness. I want to be happy and content in everything I do. In order to that, it’s important to have confidence in yourself and you abilities. You will never perform well or do you job correct if you have self doubt or feel self-conscious. So I try to do a lot of self-care and self love.” – Chanel Herbert
I love that, “just loving what [you] have.” That is something we should start paying attention to, the things we have! What would your advice be for other young black women or men for that matter to learn to become confident or take a stance?
“Don’t let anyone silence you. In the black community, most notable with black women, there are a lot of negative stereotypes about us. We are not loud and combative for voicing how we feel. We don’t “always have an attitude” and we are not mean and ghetto. There use to be a point where I hated my hair if it wasn’t straight. There was a time when I didn’t like the color of my skin. There was a time when I just felt like I wasn’t enough. But then I realized who the fuck I was and stopped caring about other people’s opinions of me because it’s just that persons negative perception of themselves being thrown at me. If you want to start that business, do it, if you want to join that job field do it, if you want to act, sing, model, create, advocate, etc; whatever it is that you want to do in life, do it and don’t let “societies” perception of you stop you from following your heart.” – Chanel Herbert
If you are enjoying this series, be sure to follow me on all social platforms! And click the arrows to read about our next feature.
Copyright © Daniel Blanc Studios (DB Studios)