Lella
TW (Trigger warning) // Discussions of suicide
“Being a woman for so long felt like a disadvantage, and yet there was never a time I didn’t want to be a woman. For me, it means having space, making space, and being a space. From that space anything can arise, it has no limit or boundary. It is phenomenal to be a woman. I love becoming more of a woman as each day goes by.”
Lella’s energy is both infectious and boundless. She is an accomplished yoga instructor, chef, writer, and career woman who wears many hats, channeling her passionate spirit into an array of professions. She approaches life every day with an optimistic outlook, continually striving to grow and evolve. Meet Lella. This is her story.
K: Please introduce yourself!
L: I recently self-diagnosed myself with ADHD because how else can I be a yoga instructor, a vegan chef, a life coach, founder of two start-ups, a poet, and a senior sales consultant. Like please explain to me. Besides that, I am trying to be more human every day however way it manifests each day.
K: Describe yourself in your own words
L: I am an impact-driven, pan African eccentric force of life to be reckoned with.
K: What is your favorite thing about yourself?
L: My favorite thing about myself has to be the involuntary, nonconsensual insisting optimism I have. I can find a silver lining long before you are done telling me about the cloud.
K: Tell us a story. Have you had an experience that has defined you or made you stronger?
L: The day I decided I have had enough of suffering. By that I mean, I simply had enough, I was in so much suffering to the point that I was suicidal. And then I realized I actually like myself, I don’t want to die, I WANT TO LIVE! It is people, society, and their expectations that make me want to end it. After making that distinct discernment, I CHOSE myself. I choose myself every day, just like my survival instinct chooses me. Life has never been the same since, it’s been nothing short of magnanimous.
K: What is one piece of advice you’d give to your younger self?
L: Girlieeeeeee gurrrllllll, stop being scared of authority figures, they're human beings just like you. And can you please take life a little less seriously? But also you are perfect, and deep down I would not change anything about you but I would change things around you. I love you. Last but not least, thank you for getting us through our childhood.
K: What does being a woman mean to you?
L: Being a woman for so long felt like a disadvantage, and yet there was never a time I didn’t want to be a woman. For me, it means having space, making space, and being a space. From that space anything can arise, it has no limit or boundary. It is phenomenal to be a woman. I love becoming more of a woman as each day goes by.
K: Who is one woman that inspires you? What would you say to her if she were here now?
L: Emily Dickinson, #twinning! That is what I would say to her and that I would love to have been friends with her both in her time and mine.