Healing Or Hestitation?

So if you can't tell, last week's episode was literally centered on hurt, pain, to be specific, and whether it actually amounts to purpose, pleasure, or anything at all in this reality, for that matter. And fathoming that kind of transformative power just put me in this inquisitive headspace. You know, I got to thinking, can people really ever heal fully from their pain? Is there a finalized point at which you can say, hey, I'm fully healed, I'm all better to speak on this, I have a guest here with us today. He's an amazing creative, a talented writer and photographer. Welcome to the show, Brandon Harris!

Brandon: What's going on with you. I appreciate you letting me get on your platform and talk for a little bit.

Host: You know, the pleasure's all mine. How are you feeling today?

Brandon: I'm doing good. I'm doing good, you know, can't complain too much.

Host: That's so great to hear. Hopefully today's topic won't scare you off or change your mind about that. I just wanted to bring you on because I know you have a story to tell. And I'm so glad we met because I honestly think you can lend a very unique perspective to this topic. So let's get right to it. So, last episode we were speaking on pain, and now I know everyone has their own personal relationship with pain. So I'm going to humanize you here for a minute. What's yours? What has been one of the most painful experiences of your life thus far that you're comfortable sharing with the audience? Of course.

Brandon: Yeah, no, I'm very much an open book. So, you know, any pain, I would say, wow, probably losing my brother when I was seven. He died in the car crash, and then he didn't. The crazy part about it is basically didn't have any, like, bleeds or scars on him. He died from brain damage. I remember getting the call from my. My stepfather, called my mom and then, you know, took me to the hospital, and I pretty much like he was dying right in front of us, pretty much. So it was that I would say one of those crazy things where you think you're going to, you know, have, you know, your. With you forever and him see you grow up and do all life things, marrying, see his nephews and niches and stuff. And then it's kind of weird being 26 now. It's like my brother hasn't really. Wasn't there for the big moments. Yeah, I would say that.

Host: Wow, I am so sorry for your loss and that you had to go through all that. It sounds so traumatic, and I know it must have had a huge impact on you at such a young age. And how did you manage to get through that? Or are you still getting through it in a way?

Brandon: That's super interesting that you said that. So my first coping mechanism was to. When I was in school, I. Well, watch this documentary on a big documentary, but it's called Loud in the bomb, and pretty much louder than the bomb is a poetry festival in Chicago where a bunch of high schools come together. They compete with their poems and, you know, just for bragging rights type of ordeal. And I fell in love with poetry that way. I started writing and I got made a club. It was a club. One of my favorite teachers to the day, he created the club, kind of trained me, like mentored me. And then we did. My school did loud in the bomb in 2014, he did loud in the bomb ourselves. My second mechanism, then therapy. I've been in therapy for about three years now, and it really has helped me. I was getting very dark lace, not only because of that, but for many other reasons. And with therapy is, it helped me put a light on a lot of things that I. I knew I probably. I did, but my therapist kind of connected the thoughts where it might stem from. So I would say those two were my mechanisms dealing with.

Host : That is so powerful, especially considering the overall sentiment in the black community towards mental health today. It's just incredible to hear how you overcame and molded that experience to your benefit rather than to your detriment, of course.

Brandon: Yeah, it's one of those things where it wasn't that I was against therapy, I just never, like you said before, it's not common in our community to go to therapy. So my mom never. I don't think my mom ever went to therapy? Her mom never went to therapy. So I don't know, none of my siblings that have went to therapy. So I'm trying to break that cycle of, like, trying to do better. I got a couple life goals. I want to have kids and things of that sort, so I want to be better for my future wife and kids. I'm in therapy just trying to stem through the traumas and heal through within. So that's pretty much where I am.

Host: Absolutely, you have to. And there's almost a duty to do so because you know better. So now you have to do better, you know, to a point. I just love that you were able to express yourself in that way, you know, in that setting. And last episode, I was actually speaking on the fact that for me, and I know for many other creatives like us, our pain very often transforms into art. Right. That's how we express it. And that's kind of what makes an artist an artist for me, you know, it manifests in forms of writing, poetry, tattoos, et cetera, you know, and it's like creative expression. It really does lead to healing, and I just wish more people would tap into it.

TUNE INTO THE S1 EP 19 FOR THE REST OF THE INTERVIEW!