An Introduction of Sorts
(aka Who Is This Chick?)
It might make the most sense to start off by introducing myself. 👋🏾
I’m a black woman. That means I’m going to have a perspective informed by my experiences of the world as a black woman. The frustrations and challenges (because black and woman) but also the joys and beauty (because life and love). I’ve also always wanted to tell stories, and when I was about 12 a teacher helped me see that I could do that as a writer. Those three things, black-woman-writer, exist at the core of who I am. Everything else is bonus material.
I’m also the middle of five kids, a Virgo with a lot of Leo in her chart, an INFJ, enneagram type five and human design Projector. I like frameworks that help me understand myself and the ways in which I interact with the world. Because the world is a scary and confusing place a lot of the time, messed up beyond measure, and understanding more about myself and how I can thrive in it is how I cope.
I’m smart. I passed a test when I was nine that confirmed it and marked me gifted. But, more importantly, I’m curious in a way that is obsessive and always excited about learning new things. Every day, all the time, as much as I can. If I could be a professional learner and make a comfortable living (outside of the hallowed white walls of academia) I would do it in a second. I guess being a writer and storyteller is sort of my best attempt at that.
I tell you these things not to brag or to bore you, but because where you come from, where your characters come from or where your company comes from matters. It informs the story you tell and often creates the magic that makes it worth sharing (and hearing). Work on understanding you. Remember, always so much more than what’s shared, because editing.
I’m a dreamer turned journalist turned strategist turned researcher turned storyteller. I write words for a living in ways that have brought to life real life stories and brand stories and people stories. There’s an art to storytelling, but also a science. And I want to share both with you in this weekly newsletter/adventure/dose of something different in your inbox. I promise to make it useful and actionable and interesting. So you can apply it to your life, business, work or writing. And, having experienced the devastation of a broken promise as only a child can, I don’t make that promise lightly.
Let’s do this. (I wanted to put an exclamation point there so badly, but controlled myself, I’ll tell you why another time).
Please comment, share and encourage your friends to subscribe if you think they’ll enjoy a bit of the magic of storytelling in their life.
Also, a story worth telling and reading about Micaela Cole (my current storytelling hero).
Chantaie Allick
Writer|Strategist|Storyteller
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