The Power of Your Story

I am elated to be with you today!

Today I'm going to give you an overview of what to expect from the island of positivity.

This is essentially an exploration of what are all the facets of our Positivity Pause podcast. I hope to use this as an opportunity to tell you a little bit about myself as well!  

I am a storyteller, and I firmly believe in the power of story to educate, to learn, to be able to expose us to knowledge, to elevate us above our circumstances, and to be able to empower us to take action.

This has been a theme that has been prominent in my own journey from the time I was a little girl.

My dad is a journalist from Guyana. My mom is a science teacher from Guyana, and I grew up in the Caribbean, after being born in Guyana and moving to Barbados at age 10.

We were always deeply, deeply involved in stories. We would listen to stories at the dinner table and we would create our own stories as kids. 

Writing was a big part of our lives and I brought this with me into my training through undergraduate school at Johns Hopkins university, and medical school at Harvard, and even into my residency.

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"We were always telling (and listening) to stories at the dinner table..."

 

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One of the things that is really important to me as a black woman and neurologic surgeon was to make a difference by creating images that helped young black girls see what was possible and believe in themselves.

I want every young girl to know that surgeons and scientists look like them. So, I created a girl super surgeon by the name of Dr. Dee Dee Dynamo, and decided to use this exciting storytelling platform where she goes on adventures all across the universe.

I brought these kids into a world that helped them to not only enjoy the wonders of science, create a curiosity about science, but also create a role model, and imprint a set of images that demonstrated for them what is possible so that they could see themselves represented as powerful and as positive and as leaders...

So, the tagline for my super-surgeon, girl superhero, Dr. Dee Dee Dynamo is, “Not even the sky is the limit!” 

So today, as you take a pause to reflect on this introduction, one of the things I want you to be very mindful of is what is your story?

The power within your story represents an opportunity to heal, not just yourself, but others. It represents a way to encourage. It represents a way to motivate. It represents a way to leave a legacy for our children, and for the generations coming behind them. So, the power of your story is incredibly important. 

So, as you take a pause today, think about your story. Think about your upbringing. Think about the things that have positively impacted on you, even in the circumstances where it seemed difficult.

Think about those stories and how they have created for you an opportunity to teach someone, an opportunity that allowed you to rise above your circumstances, and an opportunity for you to be empowered and to take action.

Then reflect on the power within yourself that you were able to achieve those things...